AJ

[HCCForever]

What is the wrap that he wears around his midsection when he comes out of the game? I noticed he put this on whenever he went to the bench yesterday.

 

[Jaydumo20]

The takes hammering this kid are irrational.

He hasn’t even played a year of cbb - relax, holy hell.

I agree 100. The fact that he is very visible is also good thing. Once again, these coaches know way more about signs of progression than we do. We expect that at "this point in the season" he should be fully grown. We haven't even started conference play.

 

[MTBingNinja]

Love it, his new nickname. Action Jackson!

 

[jayteeman]

People seemed to forget the times when he accumulated 3 fouls in 10 minutes. He's working on his D but he is also a freak of athleticism with the closest probably being Burrell......anyone would want to have to harness that.
I see no problem if he is beat to the hoop to have Whaley or Sampson help and AJ getting the rebound and have the ball at half court in 2 seconds going the other way.
Plus he takes on the toughest defensive assignment. Who else on this team do you want to give that to?
He is also the best passer and defers his shot to the better constantly.....he is a team player 100%
On another note.....he is indestructible.....never sweats and gives 100% every time and just seems to be in play or where he should be to make an impact.
I'm sure he is on every scouting report with a big ? how to handle this guy if we can't get him in foul trouble. He's not the big scoring threat but he is a game changer and a huge problem.

 

[alphasigko]

THIS: "People seemed to forget the times when he accumulated 3 fouls in 10 minutes."

He has definitely improved in this area of his game and it keeps him on the floor longer, rather than on the bench in foul trouble. Now if he can improve his handle and FG %, he will be a monster on the floor!

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

He doesn’t miss in practice.

Him and Sanogo are in the gym more than anyone else. It’ll come

 

[SubbaBub]

People on the chat were dissing AJ quite a bit. OK. he's not an outside threat and does get beat off the dribble too much. Guy had 9 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. What game were these Jackson haters watching? That being said I though Akok was player of the game.

Not an outside threat, gets beat off the dribble, and can't drive. You've said it all. I'll add, puts himself on an island on both ends of the floor. What you have left is a high flyer who can dunk on breakaways and grab the odd rebound. 11 rebounds is great but we have an entire team that can rebound well. We wouldn't miss those. If he was a monster on the offensive glass and put back missed shots, we'd have something. Instead, we have a guy with a lot to work on and other options that fit better.

AJ's value should be as a swing player who can play effectively at the 2, 3 and 4 and even matchup as a 1 or even a 5. Athletically, he should be a stretch 4, an unstoppable 3, or an outside sniper. In short, he should be a better version of Niels Giffey. Instead, he's a not as good version of Stanley Robinson. Great highlight material but makes more mistakes than winning plays. They lead to fouls against are better players, turnovers, and botched possessions. If I could other him some advice it would be to do less, focus on defending, rebounding, and movement without the ball. Also work on his hands (catching and holding the ball). I don't think he can be a better dribbler, in season. That's an offseason project. We've had a dozen guys like AJ who play 10-12 minutes a game and been positive contributors. Playing him 20-25 is coaching malpractice right now.

 

[SubbaBub]

Points aren’t there yet, but he’s averaging 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 block per game so far this year. The last players we had putting up numbers like that across the board were Rudy Gay (05-06, 15.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.6 bog) and Scott Burrell (92-93, 16.1 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.4 spg, 1.1 bpg).

This is an insane comparison. These two guys were among our leading scorers. If you want a comparison, he is more like Toraino Walker in 91-92 (6.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg, 0.6 bpg, 1.5 TOpg). No one is or was pining for Toraino to get more run. Right now, he's a role player that needs to be reined in, yet everyone wants him to be Rudy Gay or Jeremy Lamb. Maybe he gets there, but he's not close right now.

 

[87Xfer]

Not an outside threat, gets beat off the dribble, and can't drive. You've said it all. I'll add, puts himself on an island on both ends of the floor. What you have left is a high flyer who can dunk on breakaways and grab the odd rebound. 11 rebounds is great but we have an entire team that can rebound well. We wouldn't miss those. If he was a monster on the offensive glass and put back missed shots, we'd have something. Instead, we have a guy with a lot to work on and other options that fit better.

AJ's value should be as a swing player who can play effectively at the 2, 3 and 4 and even matchup as a 1 or even a 5. Athletically, he should be a stretch 4, an unstoppable 3, or an outside sniper. In short, he should be a better version of Niels Giffey. Instead, he's a not as good version of Stanley Robinson. Great highlight material but makes more mistakes than winning plays. They lead to fouls against are better players, turnovers, and botched possessions. If I could other him some advice it would be to do less, focus on defending, rebounding, and movement without the ball. Also work on his hands (catching and holding the ball). I don't think he can be a better dribbler, in season. That's an offseason project. We've had a dozen guys like AJ who play 10-12 minutes a game and been positive contributors. Playing him 20-25 is coaching malpractice right now.

post/custom title

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Not an outside threat, gets beat off the dribble, and can't drive. You've said it all. I'll add, puts himself on an island on both ends of the floor. What you have left is a high flyer who can dunk on breakaways and grab the odd rebound. 11 rebounds is great but we have an entire team that can rebound well. We wouldn't miss those. If he was a monster on the offensive glass and put back missed shots, we'd have something. Instead, we have a guy with a lot to work on and other options that fit better.

AJ's value should be as a swing player who can play effectively at the 2, 3 and 4 and even matchup as a 1 or even a 5. Athletically, he should be a stretch 4, an unstoppable 3, or an outside sniper. In short, he should be a better version of Niels Giffey. Instead, he's a not as good version of Stanley Robinson. Great highlight material but makes more mistakes than winning plays. They lead to fouls against are better players, turnovers, and botched possessions. If I could other him some advice it would be to do less, focus on defending, rebounding, and movement without the ball. Also work on his hands (catching and holding the ball). I don't think he can be a better dribbler, in season. That's an offseason project. We've had a dozen guys like AJ who play 10-12 minutes a game and been positive contributors. Playing him 20-25 is coaching malpractice right now.

this is ridiculous. and then u follow it up with a toraino comp? oh, brother. really ridiculous. make that really, really, ridiculous.
action jackson's shooting challenges were laid out long ago, including the realistic expectation that it shouldn't prevent him from being an opportunistic scorer. on o, his handle is a work in progress to achieve above average results (he's still a 1 assist to 1 turnover stat, yet getting better), but his presence on offense is very important. on d, his being fast but not quick (watch his feet) leads him into the learning curve of a new player on when to move, which comes with experience. he'll get there. on the d glass, his mates treat him a bit like drummund ('he's got it, no worries.' even better, they know that after he gets it, he's the frontcourt guy who can spin, and charge up the floor. noice). overall, on a team with a lot of indispensable players, he's one of them.

 

[Horatio]

Like someone said on a podcast I heard maybe Dausters, if AJ could shoot he wouldn’t be at UConn. He would be a 5 star recruit that would be at Kentucky, Duke or G League etc. If he did still come here he would be gone this year or last, again if he was also decent shooter.

Exactly

 

[ucp990411]

Some people do not get how disruptive he is for an opponet. I would bet that opposing coaches spend more time talking about AJ than any other player.

 

[SubbaBub]

this is ridiculous. and then u follow it up with a toraino comp? oh, brother. really ridiculous. make that really, really, ridiculous.
action jackson's shooting challenges were laid out long ago, including the realistic expectation that it shouldn't prevent him from being an opportunistic scorer. on o, his handle is a work in progress to achieve above average results (he's still a 1 assist to 1 turnover stat, yet getting better), but his presence on offense is very important. on d, his being fast but not quick (watch his feet) leads him into the learning curve of a new player on when to move, which comes with experience. he'll get there. on the d glass, his mates treat him a bit like drummund ('he's got it, no worries.' even better, they know that after he gets it, he's the frontcourt guy who can spin, and charge up the floor. noice). overall, on a team with a lot of indispensable players, he's one of them.

If you compare stat lines, you get Toraino. Not my rules. People love flashy play. I'll take winning play.

 

[SubbaBub]

Some people do not get how disruptive he is for an opponet. I would bet that opposing coaches spend more time talking about AJ than any other player.

The opposing coaches love AJ with the ball. Watch how they play him.

 

[navery12]

If you compare stat lines, you get Toraino. Not my rules. People love flashy play. I'll take winning play.

Funny, could have sworn we've been winning games this year. Wonder what team I've been watching

 

[Palatine]

Some people do not get how disruptive he is for an opponet. I would bet that opposing coaches spend more time talking about AJ than any other player.

He deflects balls. Fills passing lanes. He is a pest on defense. Leads the team in rebounds by 30. Is second on the team in steals. 3rd in assists. 4th in blocks. Shoots 75% from the FT line. He is in constant motion. And yes, he does get beat off the dribble occasionally --like every freakin' player in the world.

If you don't SEE what he does for the Huskies on the court, you're wearing your face mask over your eyes.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

If you compare stat lines, you get Toraino. Not my rules. People love flashy play. I'll take winning play.

okey doke, i compared stat lines.
soph t-walk, soph aj:
5 ppg (jax almost 7)
almost 6 boards (jax almost 8)
almost 1.5 apg (jax almost 3)
1 steal (jax 1.5)
1/2 blocks per (jax 1)
27% on free throws (jax 75%)


so, pretty much 50% more contribution across the board.
50% more is a pantload.

 

[Frank06830]

Somewhere in between lies the truth

 

[Huskyforlife]

Defense takes time to learn, and AJ is often checking the other teams best guard/wing. Cut him a little slack.

This aspect has been lost on people. He's never guarding the floor spacer, he's always tasked with handling someone who specializes at creating his own shot. Especially since Martin went down.

 

[husky429]

The best part of being a fan is getting hyped about players. It feels like some of you are so stubborn after an off-season hot take you're rooting AGAINST kids on our team. Complain about the coach all you want... not the 20 year olds playing for the name on the front of the jersey.

No, he isn't the next coming of Rudy Gay. He's still a super dynamic player and fun to watch. He makes our team better and it's obvious to see he's got a lot of great skills. He's a couple bad decisions a game and an average catch n shoot jumpshot away from being an all big-east caliber player. At his current trajectory, he'll be great by senior year. It's obvious.

 

[superjohn]

The best part of being a fan is getting hyped about players. It feels like some of you are so stubborn after an off-season hot take you're rooting AGAINST kids on our team. Complain about the coach all you want... not the 20 year olds playing for the name on the front of the jersey.

No, he isn't the next coming of Rudy Gay. He's still a super dynamic player and fun to watch. He makes our team better and it's obvious to see he's got a lot of great skills. He's a couple bad decisions a game and an average catch n shoot jumpshot away from being an all big-east caliber player. At his current trajectory, he'll be great by senior year. It's obvious.

Agreed but I think he'll be in the NBA after his junior year.

 

[CL82]

What is the wrap that he wears around his midsection when he comes out of the game? I noticed he put this on whenever he went to the bench yesterday.

Looked like an infrared heating pad. I’m guessing to prevent his back from spasming.

 

[olehead]

I appreciate what he did today and I’ll take that for the rest of the season. My only question is who was responsible for his basketball development before he got to UCONN and what did they actually do with him???

I believe I have asked this same thing in past posts. Who worked with him before he got here? No slight on his AAU or HS program.

When you look at his shooting form you get the impression he has a past injury on the right arm/shoulder (kinda of like Michael Kidd Gilchrist - Kentucky). He's lacks a shooting pocket and the semblance of one struggles to fully extend into the shot. At his age, he may want to inquire into the routine of Lonzo Ball who had one of the worst shooting forms ever. He rehabbed that form and shot over the course of two seasons and now he's dependable for 3 in the corner for the young Bulls.

 

[olehead]

He doesn’t miss in practice.

Him and Sanogo are in the gym more than anyone else. It’ll come

Great to hear. AJ is special.

 

[CL82]

Funny, could have sworn we've been winning games this year. Wonder what team I've been watching

I’m not sure, but I’m pretty confident it is not Syracuse.