Welcome to a prospect profile! In these articles I'll do my best to paint a picture of who a player is as a prospect, so that you know who they are and what they do when their name is called on draft night, or maybe if you want to watch some of their pre-NBA ball. These profiles will get updated as the season moves along and my judgment of players evolved. These are generally going to be fairly positive and forward looking - my goal is to help you get excited for the best version of a player. Pistons fans can enjoy the final section, which will discuss how a prospect might work in DET and what might have to happen for them to end up in a Pistons uniform. Detroit vs Everybody! Physicals
The Offense Long, agile, and athletic, some of Jackson's easiest offense comes from how well he can move around the floor. Jaren is a fluid runner in transition, able to beat defenses to the rim and score off the outlet pass or lob. He's dangerous on the secondary break as well, knifing through half-set defenses as a trailer. He has a good motor for making those runs, and for changing gears into his half court responsibilities. In the half court Jackson displays a great aptitude for finding his spaces. He consistently makes good cuts to open space around drivers, and has good timing on various cuts and flashes around the lane and the basket. You'll hear announcers saying the old refrains about "Coach's Son" fairly routinely when talking about his savvy movement. Izzo uses Jackson as the central pivot when attacking zones, something MSU has faced multiple times this year, and Jaren has displayed good instincts for finding spaces to receive the ball and making reads to break down the defense. He's not a volume passer at this stage, but he's shown a good degree of comfort and patience when that kind of responsibility is foisted upon him. Of course, with his physical profile, Jackson's got plenty of value as a pick-and-roll big man. Jackson has shown a good capacity for finishing on the move, is not afraid to go up strong and dunk in traffic, and is capable of getting the ball on the rim and finishing through contact. He has solid hands, able to catch and finish, both tight pocket passes and when climbing the ladder for lobs, and he shows great body control when forced to finish at an angle. Jackson will occasionally roll or cut into post ups as well, where his quickness and size make him a threat. He has displayed good footwork drop stepping or spinning to the middle, and while this is not a volume part of Jackson's game, it's easy to see how dangerous a matured Jaren Jackson Jr. could be on the block. Jaren is also a somewhat sneakily versatile shooter, which helps open up his overall floor game. His form has drawn some criticism, since he short-arms his shot a bit (I believe Jay Bilas called it a "Knuckle Ball"). In spite of that, Jackson has drained 45% of his 3 point attempts this season, and is shooting 81% at the line, which indicates that, regardless of appearance, he's managed great consistency with his shot. Jackson isn't a slow footed big man either, shooting lead-footed set shots a-la Pau Gasol. He has good footwork moving into his shot, often hopping into his shot or tapping his feet to find his rhythm, and when coupled with his natural agility it gives him a great flexibility when picking his spots. He's able to move around to generate his own shot, maneuvering around screens of his own in 3 man pick and pop scenarios, or flashing out to the corners when his defender leaves him. The threat of his shot also opens the door for Jackson's driving game. Jackson is an explosive driver - he attacks close outs and poor defense, often finishing with powerful dunks over defenders who simply couldn't match his speed from a stand still. Jackson has flashed the footwork to make a move off the gather a couple times, spinning back into the middle to finish with comfortable jump hooks. Right now he seems most comfortable going to his left, is a bit limited as a passer, and he doesn't have many dribble combinations in the arsenal. Even so, these drives are a potent weapon, especially after he's hit from outside already in a game - a simple pump fake opens up all the space he needs to embarrass a slower defender. Of course, no big man's offensive profile is complete without mentioning offensive rebounding, especially when it's a Tom Izzo coached big man. Jackson is an aggressive offensive rebounder; he likes to attack gaps between box outs and use his length to rake in boards from outside his area, and he'll sky for put-back dunks and tips whenever possible. He has excellent second and third efforts with quick hops. His length allows him to be disrupted in a vast area around the rim, even if he's not securing boards himself, and he demands a body put on him at all times in rebounding situations. The Defense Nothing makes NBA coaches salivate like a big man who can move his feet, and scouts have to be salivating at what Jackson can bring to a modern NBA defense. The primary action in the NBA is the Pick and Roll, and how your big men can defend that changes what you do with the rest of your team. Jaren's agility and length allows him to be disruptive and active as a primary defender of PNR actions; he can play up on the screen and trap or hedge, and still maintain the ability to recover to his primary responsibilities. He still needs a lot of experience in this regard - he's been well coached already, but there's still plenty of subtleties for Jackson to learn. The college game isn't always the best place to learn true PNR defense (due to the nature of the floor spacing) but his sheer talent profile is exciting enough and NBA coaches will be extremely happy with a coach's son whose spent time under Tom Izzo: they know what they're getting. Versatile primary defense is one thing, but it's Jackson's help defense that is going to make him a highlight reel star. Jackson has good awareness of the floor around him on defense, and is eager to step through and smack the heck out of a shot attempt. Jackson boasts a 14.5% block%, a massive number (for comparison Mohammad Bamba, the biggest baddest rim protector in the draft, is just a touch higher at 15.4%)! The ability to roam the paint and attack the offense makes Jackson an impact player on this end, even as he learns to handle high level PNR defenses. Jackson is also well coached in some of the simple fundamentals of defense. He occasionally falls into foul trouble dealing with the unexpected: Rebounding fouls over shorter, beefier centers boxing him out, or not adjusting to higher level athletes quickly enough. For the most part, he does a lot of the little things right - Jaren moves his feet and maintains defensive position when guarding post ups and drives, he keeps his hands high and vertical, he makes block attempts with the correct hand (a lot of players, youngsters especially, reach for blocks with their primary hand regardless of position, often turning in midair, sacrificing position and timing.) Jackson shows many subtle signs that he'll be able to translate his efforts to the next level. Last up is the defensive rebounding. On this end of the floor boxing out is much more important, and Jackson does a solid job holding his ground. He's stronger than his frame indicates, and he puts work into his box outs (Izzo accepts nothing less. This is war.). His frame does leave him susceptible to people with better asses than him - he doesn't naturally have that low-center-of-gravity people-mover like an Andre Drummond or DeAndre Jordan or the O.G. Moses Malone. Just like on the offensive end, Jackson is great at attacking a space and using his length to disrupt and secure boards out of his area, and of course his quick second and third efforts are no less impactful on the defensive end. Hustle and FlowThere are certain programs where you always know what you're getting, certain coaches who consistently install the same principles in their players. Jaren Jackson Jr. is a Michigan State Spartan, coached by Tom Izzo, and that means something around the NBA, coaches know the fundamentals are coached well, the defense will be well drilled. As mentioned before, Jackson is a coach's son, as well as an NBA player's son (Father Jackson Sr. won a ring with the Spurs) and coaches will love that. In addition he joined a team with very solid leadership and role models, something important for one of the younger players in his class. Jackson had been critiqued at times in the past for being a little soft, but he's shown an increased drive and competitiveness at MSU. Draft DayConsidering Miles Bridges set a precedent of staying in school, who knows if Jackson even leaves this year. If he does he'll be a hot commodity, part of a tight grouping of big men at the front of the lottery. Teams are likely going to look at Ayton and Bamba, the bigger centers, first, and right now the hype for Bagley is higher than Jackson Jr. That said, it wouldn't be too surprising to see Jaren shoot up draft boards above one or two of them by the end of the year. Regardless, he's likely a top 10 pick, and a player that should be considered a potential franchise changer. Motor City MadnessI know plenty of Detroit sports fans would be excited to see a Michigan State prospect land in the D. You could convince me that there's a timeline where Detroit slips a little harder due to the Reggie Jackson injury, maybe even trades up a few spots, and they snag Jaren around the 10th spot in the draft. He'd have an interesting fit in the D as the first big man off the bench. He could space a bit next to Drummond, would make for a dynamic bench duo defensively next to Anthony Tolliver, and generally would give the team a lot of flexibility moving forwards with their big men spot (and an excuse to give up on Henry Ellenson if they so chose). Nevertheless, I hope as a Piston fan we don't fall so far, and as a Spartan fan that Jackson doesn't slide so far, as to make that a true potentiality.
Stay tuned to the blog to see a post on Miles Bridges soon. I hope to include short write ups on Josh Langford, Cassius Winston, Nick Ward, and Gavin Schilling (who may have an unheralded NBA future) for the local fans.
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Prospects
This is the spot for NBA draft coverage as I talk about guys who are much better at basketball than me. Archives
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