When you’re the top-rated recruit in the entire country your game tends to be scrutinized at a whole different level.
Forget about the 26.9 points, 13.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists Kansas freshman Josh Jackson averaged during his senior season at Prolific Prep in Napa, California. One of the hottest pieces of news regarding Jackson when he first arrived on the KU campus this summer was the odd hitch in his jump shot.
Clearly the funky stroke that jumped out at people, both in person and watching on video, during this summer’s camp scrimmages did nothing to prevent Jackson from becoming one of the more dangerous and dynamic scorers in the 2016 class. But Kansas coach Bill Self, who acknowledged Jackson’s odd form this summer, addressed it again on Thursday night at the Coaches vs. Cancer tipoff event in Downtown Kansas City.
“I think it’s fair to say that he can tighten his stroke up,” Self said of the 6-foot-8 forward from Detroit. “I think it’s fair to say he can improve. It’s fair to say he’s not pure, by any stretch. But neither was (Andrew Wiggins), neither was Wayne (Selden), neither was (Kelly) Oubre.
“Ben (McLemore) was probably the closest thing we’ve seen to having somebody that could really shoot the ball with distance consistently as a freshman. But Ben also couldn’t do many, many other things that some of those other guys and Josh could do. So everybody has their own unique skill set.”
For Jackson, that repertoire includes everything from defense and rebounding to creating off the dribble and finishing at the rim. Because those elements of his game already are so polished, Self could not help but imagine how high Jackson’s ceiling could be if his jumper fell in line with those other strengths.
“If people are saying about Josh, ‘Man, he can really shoot,’ then we’re gonna have an unbelievable player,” Self said. “Because what he can do when the ball is not in his hands and what he can do to create shots for others and things like that is far superior than anybody we’ve had his size, by far.”
To that end, thanks to the hard work and effort he has seen Jackson already put into his shot, Self sounded confident about KU’s latest freshman phenom
“I think it’s OK for a guy to be maybe not the best at one skill set, (as long as) it’s one he’s in which he’s getting better and he’s improving,” Self said. “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t become a good shooter, but that’s gonna take a little bit of time.”