Are we sleeping on v. Jackson?

[UconnFanNVa]

I try to temper my expectation for freshman. There is just no real way to know before they get in the game and show us what they have. I'm extremely optimistic though. If he can shoot as well as billed there is always room for a guy like that to get minutes. I flash back to last season when there were long stretches where all we did was chuck 3s because we couldn't get into the lane. If he was taking some of those 3s for us, the floor may have opened up and we may have won some of those games we just couldn't eak out. And if his defense really isn't great there are ways to cover that up a bit. We will see how things go, but I'm optimistic to say the least.

 

[rayrayfor3]

I'm kind of picturing a Niels Giffey freshman impact from Jackson. Maybe he'll be a better shooter than Niels was freshman year but you have to wait for the lights to turn on to really see a freshman's shooting ability on this stage. I believe Jackson's ceiling is higher than Niels' was however I think it'll take a few years for him to put it all together. I'd love to be surprised though.

 

[husky429]

I hate to pull a chief on first night here... but the husky run is a joke. It's not a good measure of the athletes ability.

First of all, some of these kids barely try at all at the husky run.

Second, a 5k is in NO WAY indicative of basketball performance. It is not relevant for the evaluation of Vance. If it was a soccer player, different story. We do not ask them to run a 5k in a game. it is a different type of athleticism. They are asked to sprint, move laterAlly, push, hit, and jump etc. for a two hour game, but in small segments. Sometimes even in 30 second increments at the end of games. Basketball is a game of endurance, but of power endurance oftentimes.

Vance couldn't finish practice. He is not there athletically. But stamina is easy to change with some time. Anyone can run for 20 minutes and push themselves. A 2 or 3 hour d1 practice? A tad different.

I am tempering expectations, but he certainly has the pedigree to surprise us.

 

[UChusky916]

He will be good.

Superb analysis, you've really outdone yourself

 

[gtcam]

Thing is when you got guys like him that lack elite athleticsm they struggle on the defensive end against good quick players so he ends up riding the pines after getting burned a couple times in the game. Then he`ll struggle to score against athletic guys who can defend and he becomes a non factor in big games. He`ll then turn around and put up 25 against lower level teams. obviously i could be wrong but this will likely be the type of player he ends up being.

Give the kid a chance
Here we go - killing guys before the first game ball is even unpacked

 

[TheChamps990411]

Give the kid a chance
Here we go - killing guys before the first game ball is even unpacked

Nobody is killing anyone. Thats how you want to take it. This is just an observation that could turn out to be completely wrong. Relax.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Not sure of the automatic "non athletic" vs defense


Sorry but a huge assumption Champs no? I mean there have been very successful people who weren't labeled as "athletic" who could both score and defend by using the ultimate gift, intelligence. With your stereotype of him he should have no shot of seeing major minutes at UConn ever?

And then the people who think he may not succeed because he didn't finish the first practice. Are you the same people who said if you suck at distance then you're not in shape? He came in 2nd to AB in the Husky Run FYI. I am guessing there are many of whom we didn't hear of over the years with JC, who thought they were ready for that 1st one or 1st week in general, and they also hit the corner 55GAL Rubbermaid container placed strategically for those a bit short of their own expectations.

Give him a chance people, he's a gifted kid and seemingly smart along with his most obvious of credentials, he can shoot it. He will be a key component at some point because he wants to be!

Yes it is an assumption and i could be wrong but i could be right. This is why the game is played on the court not on the internet. WE shall see. Im excited about ALL our freshmen.

 

[Stainmaster]

Yes it is an assumption and i could be wrong but i could be right. This is why the game is played on the court not on the internet. WE shall see. Im excited about ALL our freshmen.

If your "assumption" holds out, then KO really shat the bed...why would he recruit someone to UConn who will be a "non-factor in big games" and only "put up 25 against lower-level" teams? Why was he a consensus 4-star and top 80 recruit if he had all these issues? Sounds like a failure on the part of multiple recruiting services as well.

We all have every right to make assumptions about the team, but if one's made with fuzzy logic don't expect it to go unchallenged.

 

[Tenspro2002]

If your "assumption" holds out, then KO really shat the bed...why would he recruit someone to UConn who will be a "non-factor in big games" and only "put up 25 against lower-level" teams? Why was he a consensus 4-star and top 80 recruit if he had all these issues? Sounds like a failure on the part of multiple recruiting services as well.

We all have every right to make assumptions about the team, but if one's made with fuzzy logic don't expect it to go unchallenged.

Is it really that controversial to suggest that a backup forward who didn't have a great year post-commitment and who has already shown glaring athletic deficiencies isn't likely to be a big contributor in his freshman year?

 

[Stainmaster]

Is it really that controversial to suggest that a backup forward who didn't have a great year post-commitment and who has already shown glaring athletic deficiencies isn't likely to be a big contributor in his freshman year?

For his freshman year, that makes sense. The post in question made it seem as if that was what we were getting for four years with Vance, especially since it mentioned "dropping 25 against lower-level teams" -- aside from Brimah putting up 20 and 8 vs. UCF in '14, I can't recall an occasion when Ollie has ever put a freshman in position to rack up those numbers against anyone.

 

[microfich]

I'm kind of picturing a Niels Giffey freshman impact from Jackson. Maybe he'll be a better shooter than Niels was freshman year but you have to wait for the lights to turn on to really see a freshman's shooting ability on this stage. I believe Jackson's ceiling is higher than Niels' was however I think it'll take a few years for him to put it all together. I'd love to be surprised though.

Oh, please no! As a frosh all Niels could do was pivot.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Im not expecting too much out of him this season. Was not very good when I saw him. I think he has some big upside tho as a junior and senior. Not knocking signing him at all though.

 

[intlzncster]

Oh, please no! As a frosh all Niels could do was pivot.

Yet people LOVED him even then. Never understood that. Set a decent pick as a frosh I guess.

 

[selles]

Yet people LOVED him even then. Never understood that. Set a decent pick as a frosh I guess.

Buried Kentucky with a 3 in Maui (ah, the symmetry) and had 14 in the game. If you're going to have one moment of glory your freshman year, that was the perfect timing.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

The key for VJ getting playing time might be his ability to defend and rebound at the 4 if he is not ready to defend the 3.

 

[Excalibur]

Not sure of the automatic "non athletic" vs defense


Sorry but a huge assumption Champs no? I mean there have been very successful people who weren't labeled as "athletic" who could both score and defend by using the ultimate gift, intelligence. With your stereotype of him he should have no shot of seeing major minutes at UConn ever?

And then the people who think he may not succeed because he didn't finish the first practice. Are you the same people who said if you suck at distance then you're not in shape? He came in 2nd to AB in the Husky Run FYI. I am guessing there are many of whom we didn't hear of over the years with JC, who thought they were ready for that 1st one or 1st week in general, and they also hit the corner 55GAL Rubbermaid container placed strategically for those a bit short of their own expectations.

Give him a chance people, he's a gifted kid and seemingly smart along with his most obvious of credentials, he can shoot it. He will be a key component at some point because he wants to be!

Nobody would call Neils Giffey athletic, but he was a fantastic defender, particularly on the high pick and roll, from day one. It's unfair to expect the same from Jackson, but I suppose it's possible. To my eye Jackson looks to be even a step slower than Neils, and like Champs I expect his freshman year to be a struggle unless he is one of those guys who just doesn't miss when open.

 

[CTBasketball]

Yet people LOVED him even then. Never understood that. Set a decent pick as a frosh I guess.

If Vance turns out like Niels I would sign up for that in a heart beat.

 

[mauconnfan]

Nobody would call Neils Giffey athletic, but he was a fantastic defender, particularly on the high pick and roll, from day one. It's unfair to expect the same from Jackson, but I suppose it's possible. To my eye Jackson looks to be even a step slower than Neils, and like Champs I expect his freshman year to be a struggle unless he is one of those guys who just doesn't miss when open.

Yeah well said but eventually we did see the hop and athleticism which Niels did have. I agree he looks to be a step slower maybe but he's a young kid 2-3-4 years down the road things change. If he can rebound and shoot there will be time if the line up he is in can "hide him" a little for short periods. And again, that's assuming he is a tad slow starting off.

 

[Yankees32123]

The kid is 6'9" and can stroke it from 3. He's going to play, but the defense is the question mark.

 

[husky429]

Yeah well said but eventually we did see the hop and athleticism which Niels did have. I agree he looks to be a step slower maybe but he's a young kid 2-3-4 years down the road things change. If he can rebound and shoot there will be time if the line up he is in can "hide him" a little for short periods. And again, that's assuming he is a tad slow starting off.

Maybe on the plus side is that he's probably playing the 4 for us. Against some of those less mobile 4s he could do damage.

 

[aceboon]

Nobody would call Neils Giffey athletic, but he was a fantastic defender, particularly on the high pick and roll, from day one. It's unfair to expect the same from Jackson, but I suppose it's possible. To my eye Jackson looks to be even a step slower than Neils, and like Champs I expect his freshman year to be a struggle unless he is one of those guys who just doesn't miss when open.

I would, he's obviously not Sticks or Rudy but Giffey was a good athlete, he wouldn't have been able to defend so many different positions during his career without being a good athlete.

DraftExpressProfile: Niels Giffey, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook

Measured a solid 6-7 ½ in shoes, with a 6-10 wingspan, Giffey has good size and length for a NBA small forward, even if he saw a good amount of minutes at power forward for UConn as well. He's a better athlete than you'd think, showing nice quickness in transition and impressive leaping ability on both ends of the floor at the PIT.

 

[jibsey]

I guess I don't understand the concern about Vance's conditioning because he is not being asked to play 20 straight minutes but to go full tilt for maybe 4-6 minutes at a clip. Now whether he's quick enough to guard who he is asked we'll see.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I imagine him to be alittle like Kyle Wiltjer.... Tall kid that is dubbed as a shooter, a little slow footed, needs to gain muscle (although I think Vance is stronger than Wiltjer was), and wants to prove he is more than a shooter. I look forward to seeing what he can do this year and more so what the future holds. You NEED good shooters on a title contending team. If he can be one of those guys, then i'm excited to see him on the floor.

 

[Ricker]

I first saw Vance Jackson play in person when he was a sophomore, with Hamilton playing center and he was playing power forward and no other tall players on the team. It was the game after they beat J. Oakafor's #1 team in Chicago with the same line up. Jackson was a proficient rebounder against a lineup with size, and physically wasn't a shadow of what he looks like now. Then he plays with a top player in the country last year and shoots 6 or more threes in 8 games. I just don't see the point in saying he can't or won't do something. He might not do it, that's the nature of being a freshman at a high D1 program, but he has played the 4 position against top players, the 3 position against top players, and shot the ball against everybody, why can't he do it against the same players in college?

I like the Rashad comparison with average athleticism and pure shooting without being a prototype position player, and as a designated shooting recruit, Jeremy Lamb was shooting 75% or some awesome stat from 3 in our post season run, regardless of what the full year stats might be. Calhoun had his best year as a freshman and sank big shots in that Georgetown game towards year end. John Gwynn didn't get called 'microwave' for his defense, and Brian Fair had 1 job - shooting beyond the arc. Vance Jackson has a place awaiting him as a designated spot up shooter, and by the way, I have seen him pass well and rebound.

Our problem for these kids is a front loaded schedule and game situations for the team as a group that are 'firsts' for them. There are only so many game situations that can be coached before these early important contests. Inbounds plays with 3 seconds on the shot clock, being pressured in the back court up by 2 with 20 seconds left, or bringing the pressure down by 2, fouling the right opponents, etc etc. Maybe a team has a player overpowering us in some way, the players will be addressing that game situation collectively and may have a 'Diaco' moment on the half yardline, that more experience will overcome.

 

[James]

vance is not the same athlete giffey was coming in the same age, for one you wont see jackson sprinting around the floor chasing guards around screens and denying the pass, he is more 3/4 combo than pure wing. on offense his game is more slight of hand + craft than it is speed or agility (neither was giffey but thats where VJ can be better than NG, he is indeed a more talented scorer).