Jackson's Jumpshot Next Year...

[BlueDogs]

Im surprised with all the down time they didn’t work on his shot. He needs more than reps. He needs a shooting coach.

 

[tennmike]

By all accounts he's a hard worker. This off season can literally mean millions in career earnings. He has the physical tools and he seems a well-grounded kid.

 

[Conndog]

With the depth and athletes we’ll have next year, there’s no excuse not to play at a faster tempo and capitalize on all the athleticism we have.

Very slow team, hardly any fast breaks- Gaffney can’t push the pace, hope Diggins will

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Jackson is a terrible shooter. He throws up bricks, fouls too much, poor passer. I don't know why Hurley thinks so highly of him. Sometimes I question whether he knows what he is doing, like keeping Martin in the starting line-up. Martin is a small market player, 0 points in BE semi-final (can't count tip in from opponent that he got credit for), 2 points last night. His attitude on the court suggests he is Gods gift. Can't make a lay up, crummy defense, all around useless player. Go back to the A10.

get a haircut, both of them this time. apparently, they're blocking ur vision.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Yes, why not? If he doesn’t put the work in this summer it’s on him. He should glue himself to the shooting coach.

that would make it pretty difficult to practice.

 

[Huskymagic]

AJacks needs a tough coach to toughen him up and wisen him up. Too many cheerleaders and not enough mean, gritty guys getting into AJacks. Too much hyping him up by Hurley and not enough teaching him.

Too much theatrics not enough substance. He is a great kid with a good head on his shoulders. He needs tough love.

Coaching with AJacks needs to be thoughtful and purposeful. Not chicken littles running around aimlessly to show they are sweating out there.

 

[Cheddie]

Raw or not, Jackson is simply not a natural shooter. I can't compare his court time to Sanogo, but Adama might be similarly termed "raw" and he has a wonderful touch. Andre can and should improve his shot by heaving thousands up each summer. More important, from my perspective, is that the game "slow down" for him, so he can play instinctually and not think about what he's doing every play. He's so athletic that he'll get his points and rebounds, and he is a natural passer.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I'd rather Jackson work on tightening up his handle for next year. I don't think he can improve his jump shot enough over the offseason to make it a weapon next year. Defenders will still slack off of him.

Tightening up his handle and learning how to hedge and change his pace will allow him to get penetration and separation for a shorter jump shot or to find teammates outside for jump shots or cuts for layups.

Give me the choice of what Jackson should be investing most of his time doing, dribbling and ballhandling would be my choice over shooting.

 

[SubbaBub]

Sure but I hope we’re not counting on Jackson hitting 3s. He does a lot of special things, but his stroke is one of the ugliest I’ve ever seen. I think he has amazing vision, unreal athleticism, and a knack for the ball. But if he shoots 15% from deep who would be surprised?

Special is the right word. Unfortunately it has more than one meaning and we've been getting both kinds with AJ.

 

[bendm]

Silver lining- there won’t be a dozen threads this time next year about whether aj is leaving for the nba too early

 

[UCfor3]

I didn't expect AJax to be able to shoot effectively this year. I have to admit though, I was a little surprised at how little he offered off the dribble driving to the basket. Im guessing not having a jumpshot that the defender has to respect makes it very difficult. Tough to get past a guy if he is always playing off you.

 

[ScuderiaDiU]

A lot of hot takes here. First off, yes, it is a good sign that he hits his FTs. That means he has good body awareness and can overcome his issues.

Second, he may have no mid-range game because his high school coach did not believe in it. Some coaches believe in either threes or dunks/layups. I have seen it with my own eyes. A good kid will do what his coach says, to a fault if the coach sucks. So, yes, absolutely he should work on mid-range jumpers, floaters and runners.

Lastly, rebuilding mechanics should start with seeing if he is cross-eye dominant. That was Lonzo Ball's issue. At UCLA, Lonzo shot the most comfortable way for a person like that. It isn't ideal but it can work to a limited extent. Kudos to his dad for not forcing a "correct" shooting form on him. For kids like this, who have body awareness, the solution is to literally do something between Lonzo's old shot and "correct" mechanics. The ball needs to stay right in the middle of the body from start to finish. Don't know if this is Andre's issue but it is wicked common. I have stories. Lots of stories.

 

[dennismenace]

It's been said that free through shooting is a good predictor of a players potential to develop a shot, Jackson has a decent stroke from the line so the potential is there. He should get in touch with Giffey for advice as he improved probably more than anyone over the course of his career, Kemba Walker is another player who lacked an outside shot his freshman year. Polley is another player who developed his shot over the course of his career.

Kemba developed his mid range shot in one summer between his sophomore and junior years.

 

[Mister P]

I'd rather Jackson work on tightening up his handle for next year. I don't think he can improve his jump shot enough over the offseason to make it a weapon next year. Defenders will still slack off of him.

Tightening up his handle and learning how to hedge and change his pace will allow him to get penetration and separation for a shorter jump shot or to find teammates outside for jump shots or cuts for layups.

Give me the choice of what Jackson should be investing most of his time doing, dribbling and ballhandling would be my choice over shooting.

This is the best take on this so far.

Jackson’s play and the teams success will not be dependent on him hitting a bunch of 3’s. I’m sure they will continue to work on his shooting and any improvement on that will be a plus. I agree with Chin and think he can make a tremendous jump offensively if he can make more of an effort taking it to the hoop. He has the speed and strength to score, dish or get to the line.

Hurley seems like he likes to start his freshmen off slowly early in the year and then play them more and add more responsibility on them as the season progresses. IMO, Jackson’s injuries and COVID stagnated his progression this year.

Let the staff do their thing and we should all see a dynamic player by the time he leaves Storrs.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I'd rather Jackson work on tightening up his handle for next year. I don't think he can improve his jump shot enough over the offseason to make it a weapon next year. Defenders will still slack off of him.

Tightening up his handle and learning how to hedge and change his pace will allow him to get penetration and separation for a shorter jump shot or to find teammates outside for jump shots or cuts for layups.

Give me the choice of what Jackson should be investing most of his time doing, dribbling and ballhandling would be my choice over shooting.

This isn’t really an either/or scenario. He can work on both. A mechanical change in his shooting stroke should make a huge amount of difference. He’s a very reliable FT shooter so it leads me to believe it’s his (sorry, Andre) horrendous mechanics that are largely to blame.

 

[ZenConn]

Handle and shooting. I think a majority of his points came off of the fast break or off rebounds. He had 43 points the entire year - 6 of them were from 3's.

In addition to his poor shooting, I wish he drove into the lane more. I personally wouldn't have cared if he ran over 3 defenders in the process. At least next time, the defense would think think twice about it. Without the drives and the shooting, he made the triple threat position into a single threat position.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Sure but I hope we’re not counting on Jackson hitting 3s. He does a lot of special things, but his stroke is one of the ugliest I’ve ever seen. I think he has amazing vision, unreal athleticism, and a knack for the ball. But if he shoots 15% from deep who would be surprised?

If he wants to be a pro for more than a cup of coffee he damn well better become a 40% 3 point shooter. He needs a shooting coach desperately.

 

[bendm]

If he wants to be a pro for more than a cup of coffee he damn well better become a 40% 3 point shooter. He needs a shooting coach desperately.

but bouk only shot 29% from 3 this year and he's borderline lottery. poor man's demar derozan i guess? that has a terrible A/TO ratio? idk. but if AJ is a nba PG he's not gonna need to shoot that well from 3 either

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

While I agree he should work to improve his J, we can’t recruit open floor talent like AJax and run one of the slowest offenses in college basketball. hopefully there is better alignment next yr

 

[Doctor Hoop]

but bouk only shot 29% from 3 this year and he's borderline lottery

The NBA will draft a great athlete with potential, but to see the floor you have to be able to shoot. Bouknight will need to improve several areas of his game in the pros. Jaylen Brown of the Celtics has improved his shooting and his handle steadily, but wasn’t a good shooter year 1. Both Bouknight and Jackson need to put in the work.

 

[bendm]

Jaylen Brown of the Celtics has improved his shooting and his handle steadily

true but jaylen was not drafted based on his offensive potential as bouk will be. brown went 4th overall because he can guard 1 through 3 and some 4s. he's been guarding other teams' best G/W scorers since day 1

 

[olehead]

Kemba developed his mid range shot in one summer between his sophomore and junior years.

That was the Chris Paul camp summer, he couldn't help but get better. He was going against the Wright kid out of Georgetown, Corey Fisher from Nova and other high level talent. That is how you improve over the summer, coupled with the individual work which should be an assumption.

 

[ZenConn]

That was the Chris Paul camp summer, he couldn't help but get better. He was going against the Wright kid out of Georgetown, Corey Fisher from Nova and other high level talent. That is how you improve over the summer, coupled with the individual work which should be an assumption.

Good point! Let's get Kemba, Bazz, Lamb, Drummond, Boat, Ray, RIP, Charlie V on campus if there's no camp!

 

[Jimdish255]

I'd rather Jackson work on tightening up his handle for next year. I don't think he can improve his jump shot enough over the offseason to make it a weapon next year. Defenders will still slack off of him.

Tightening up his handle and learning how to hedge and change his pace will allow him to get penetration and separation for a shorter jump shot or to find teammates outside for jump shots or cuts for layups.

Give me the choice of what Jackson should be investing most of his time doing, dribbling and ballhandling would be my choice over shooting.

It's called "return on investment". Having him not be a liability on defense, working more on driving, finishing, passing and kicking out. Improving where his natural abilities can make the most difference next season with shooting as a side project. If that takes off great, but he has the potential to make everyone better by taking advantage of his skillset. Use the right tool for the task.