Jackson's Jumpshot Next Year...

[cohenzone]

Before we even look at analytics, his form needs to change. It’s really bad.

Yup. For any old enough to remember Donny Marshall as a player, he developed a pretty reliable jumper over time because he always had very good form. Upper level athletes with the right form can shoot a basketball pretty well. Jackson is certainly very athletic. If he can develop better form and confidence, he’d be hard to stop. I’d love to jump on his bandwagon but i’m not there yet.

 

[husky429]

Why hasn't our coaching staff worked on this? Jackson seems to have the physical equipment in all regards.

They will this summer. We had no offseason and he was injured. You need months go rebuild a shot and they haven't had it. Kimani will help this summer.

 

[navery12]

At this point I'll take a player who misses his 3's in a way that we're able to rebound them next year. That'll be a start

 

[WhereistheDove?]

My guess is they blow it up and start from scratch with him. I get not doing that during the year but with a full off-season, this is the time to do it. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be a respectable shooter if they get his form fixed.

 

[Palatine]

Jackson needs to work on his shot. They could double the size of the basket and many of his shots would still miss. Until he is a confident shooter who needs to be guarded the lane will never open for him.

He has a good handle and it will get better. He should watch videos of Jason Kidd, a great passer with poor shot (he eventually developed a dependable three) who had an amazing career.

 

[UCSouth]

Why hasn't our coaching staff worked on this? Jackson seems to have the physical equipment in all regards.

Coaching staff only works on defense, obviously.

 

[coachn]

...is the key to this team's success. If Jackson can become even serviceable then this will be a tournament team. I am assuming Akok will be back, Gaffney improves, and Hawkins/Sool can contribute. (Let's not kid ourselves though: most freshmen will be inconsistent!)

My question for analytically-minded Boneyarders: what is the empirical evidence on jumpshot improvement among college players? Even anecdotal evidence would be useful. I am cautiously optimistic based on reports of Jackson's work ethic and continued improvement during high school. However, several posters have commented that his form looks reasonably good. Really?! His free throw form looks good, but his jump shot -- especially the 3 point shot -- is in need of complete overhaul.

Athleticism can only take you so far. Skilled shooting --from Jackson, Hawkins and hopefully a dead eye transfer -- will write Uconn's chapter next season. After all, it's a Hurley team; the defense, rebounding, and grit are givens. It's the offense that hangs in the balance.

NOT OFFENSE! DEFENSE

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Maybe the play is say forget the shooting just focus all his time on becoming mini ben simmons

 

[UCSouth]

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.

Wow, somebody pissed in your Cheerios

 

[freescooter]

It is kind of interesting how all these people who had us going to the Final Four and got mad when someone said we weren’t that good are now wanting to fire the coach, bench the players and anoint a kid who has more fouls than points as the guy to lead us back to championships. Some recent study concluded that college sports fans are the most unhappy people in the country. Might be true.

 

[tentoes4rings]

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.

He is absolutely NOT a poor passer, I’m not sure what games you’ve been watching. I can’t wait for this kid to prove you and so many others wrong about him next year.

 

[Jimdish255]

Counting on Jackson’s 3% shooting to go from 10% to 30%+ in one summer is banking on a miracle

This 100%. He needs to work hard on his shooting but if we want to take advantage of his skills next year he needs to improve his defense, driving, finishing, drawing players then dishing to Sanogo or a wing who is a natural shooter.

 

[tentoes4rings]

This 100%. He needs to work hard on his shooting but if we want to take advantage of his skills next year he needs to improve his defense, driving, finishing, drawing players then dishing to Sanogo or a wing who is a natural shooter.

Or maybe the coaching staff doesn’t let other teams dictate us playing half court offense that’s so reliant on the 3 next year. 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.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

hitting the rim once and awhile would be a big improvement, then maybe we can ignore the three fouls he gets in three minutes and the 100 mph passes he makes that just go out of bounds.

"once and awhile"
Nice

 

[jibsey]

Why hasn't our coaching staff worked on this? Jackson seems to have the physical equipment in all regards.

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.

 

[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.