Instead of any type of game preview for UConn’s game today at Seton Hall, I wanted to have some fun and write a brief post of appreciation for Andre Jackson’s play this season. I was a Jackson skeptic entering the season, but the sophomore shooting guard has slowly but surely proved me wrong, especially as the calendar turned to December and Jackson was forced to step up due to injuries to teammates.
Jackson is one of the few players on the team who has played in every game and is averaging 7.2 points, 8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in and shooting 49.2% in over 27 minutes per game. In the five December games, Jackson is averaging just over 9 points on 63% shooting, 8.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Jackson has also made four of his five 3-point attempts and is somehow shooting 43.8% from three on 16 attempts, despite his ugly shooting style and huge struggles from deep last season. On the season, Jackson has three double-digit rebounding games and scored nine or more points seven times. He was outstanding in UConn’s two most recent wins against St. Bonaventure and Marquette, recording nine points, 11 rebounds and five assists against the Bonnies and 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists and steals against the Golden Eagles. Hurley’s confidence in Jackson has clearly gone up, as he’s played more than 30 minutes in three consecutive games.
Jackson is such a valuable player because of his versatility, and I would go so far has to call him the most versatile player on the team currently outside of Tyrese Martin. Jackson’s rebounding skills are remarkable for a guard. On the boards, he is able to use his wingspan and jumping ability to block out and leap over opposing players and also does a strong job of anticipating where the ball will bounce off the rim. Jackson’s defensive rebounding percentage of 25.7 is the highest on the team by far and ranks 46th in the country according to KenPom. While Jackson takes just 12% of the Huskies shots, his true shooting percentage of 59% leads the team and his effective field goal percentage of 54.6% is fourth. While most of Jackson’s shots inside the arc come very close to the rim, those numbers are still impressive and a huge improvement over his freshman season. While Jackson continues to sometimes lack confidence in his 3-point shot and passes up open opportunities, there’s no way I could have imagined him shooting 43.8% of his treys on 16 attempts to this point of the season, second to Akok Akok. That’s bound to come down as teams focus more on defending Jackson from deep, but he deserves a lot of credit for such a vast improvement.
Where Andre Jackson is probably most valuable on offense is his ability to use his passing and speed to push the tempo and run fastbreaks for UConn, particularly off of rebounds. He is definitely the quickest and most athletic player on the team and Jackson’s outstanding court vision allows him to anticipate which players will be open. UConn is arguably at its best when playing up-tempo (despite not doing it nearly enough) and he is essential to making them succeed in that area. As the season has gone along, Jackson has improved his ball-handling and done a much better job of taking fewer risks when passing and making sure teammates will be prepared to receive the ball. His assist rate of 28.2 is second to R.J. Cole. Jackson has cut down his turnover rate from 32.6 to 27.9. After committing at least two turnovers in the first eight games of the season, Jackson has had just five in the last five games.
While Jackson can be a shaky defender at times, he is a huge weapon on that end at his best. Jackson will use his wingspan and speed to make it difficult for opponents to handle and pass the ball and is skilled at defending the passing lanes and earning steals. Jackson has multiple steals in six games, with a high of three, and his steal percentage of 2.9% is tied for second on the team with Cole. Jackson has improved heavily at pressuring without fouling and has committed over two fouls in a game just three times. The biggest areas Jackson can improve on defense is not putting himself out of position by searching for steals and providing help defense to teammates.
Despite making huge strides this season, Jackson still has a long way to go to reach his potential. He has to be more aggressive on offense and look to score, while improving at finishing at the rim and developing his outside shot. Jackson, who Hurley has said could be a point guard, must continue to improve his ball-handling and accuracy as a passer. Finally, the Albany native must be a more disciplined defender. Jackson is already the Huskies Swiss Army Knife. Eventually, he needs to become a consistent scoring threat and second “point guard”. I look forward to watching that development.
HUSKY NATION 