Jewel Spear came to Lady Vols basketball with WNBA dreams, and now she's on the cusp of making those come true after two seasons at Tennessee.
If Spear earns a spot in the league, she'd be the first from The Colony, Texas, to do it. It's surreal to be so close to the goal she set as a teenager, Spear told Knox News during the NCAA tournament.
"I set this goal, I think around high school when I started seeing myself bloom a little bit," said Spear, who spent two seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to the Lady Vols. "But knowing that no one from my high school, no one from my town has gone to the WNBA would be surreal and iconic, honestly."
There's a possibility Spear gets selected in the third round of the WNBA Draft on Monday (7:30 p.m., ESPN). If she isn't, she's likely to sign a training camp contract and have a chance to earn a roster spot.
ESPN analyst Andraya Carter, who played at Tennessee from 2012-16, said there are aspects of playing in Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell's system that will help Spear carve out an opportunity.
"I think if she can bring the frenetic energy that they played with in the full court into a disciplined defensive style in the half court, I think that would be huge for her in the WNBA, as far as sticking on a team," Carter said on a call Thursday with media members to discuss the WNBA Draft. "But I think throughout the season, just keeping her confidence, trusting herself, those were the type of things that we had conversations about that I think translate from college to the W."
When Caldwell was hired last April and met with Spear, she told Caldwell she wanted to become a better defender. Caldwell said Spear accomplished that goal.
"That's not a selfish thing. That's a team thing," Caldwell said during the first round of NCAA tournament. "She wants to make our team better by improving her defense. She's not saying she wants to shoot step-back threes or she wants to score more. She's saying she wants to be a better defender, and she's done it."
The 5-foot-10 Spear averaged 12.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 24.5 minutes per game this season. She shot 37.9% on 77 made 3-pointers this season.
Spear believes she's a better leader now, which she said sounds small. But it helped her become more confident in herself, which led to more efficiency on the court. Spear also learned how to play with a lot of great players around her with Tennessee's deep rotation.
"I know in the pros, as a rookie, you're going to be playing around a lot of top, well-known players," Spear said. "They're not looking for you to just being able to score. They're looking for the little characteristics that you can bring to the team."
Former Lady Vols like Carter and Tamika Catchings, who is a member of the Naismith ...
