Rickea Jackson is no stranger to playing for USA Basketball, but the former Lady Vols basketball star is gaining valuable experience playing in her first senior national team camp.

Jackson, who just finished her second season with the Los Angeles Sparks, was one of 17 players invited to the first training camp of the 2028 Olympic cycle. The women’s national team will be coached by former Lady Vols star Kara Lawson in Los Angeles, and Jackson said it meant a lot to be coached by a fellow alum.

“It just goes to show the legacy that Lady Vols have. We’re everywhere,” Jackson said Dec. 12. “To hear Coach Lawson’s speeches and the way she’s able to just touch us with the words that she uses is truly amazing. She truly has a way with words, so to be able to pick her brain and learn from her and be a sponge has been amazing.”

Jackson has played for USA at the senior level before at the 2023 FIBA AmeriCup, and she led the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game. Her 102 points were the second-most in USA AmeriCup history behind the legendary Lisa Leslie, who scored 129 points in 1993.

But the AmeriCup roster was all college players, so Jackson is getting her first taste of the USA Basketball environment with veterans. The camp roster includes 2024 Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

Jackson described the environment as intense, but in a good way. Copper has already helped Jackson out as the veteran in her position group on the wing.

“(It’s) very competitive, but at the same time, people are there to help you,” Jackson said. “(Copper will) just say some stuff, she hypes us up. She had great energy today. So I feel like just having that vet energy is always wanted and needed. I mean, a vet is a vet. They have multitudes of experience, so to just continue to pick their brains is only going to take my game to the next level.”