Freshman Vance Jackson Coming into His Own

As the days get colder in Storrs, freshman swingman Vance Jackson is starting to heat up. Jackson, a Los Angeles native, probably isn’t quite accustomed to New England winters yet—but his hot shooting in conference play is helping the UConn Huskies salt away a poor start to the season.

Jackson came to Connecticut touted as an elite outside shooter. His early performance left much to be desired but since the Huskies have started American Athletic Conference play, the 6-foot-8 forward has found his stroke. Jackson’s improved touch from long distance—and all over the floor—has played a key role in UConn’s recent turnaround.

Through the first 11 games of the year, Jackson was shooting a dismal .292 percent from the floor, including .265 percent from three. The freshman looked uncomfortable, hesitant to pull the trigger, other times electing to let it fly when there was a better shot in the flow of the offense.

On a team that has been decimated by injuries to key offensive contributors, UConn needed Jackson to grow up quickly. He showed flashes during the Maui Invitational, scoring 13 and 16 against Oklahoma State and Chaminade, respectively. But he followed up the strong performances by averaging 5.2 points per game on .216 percent shooting over the next six games.

Over the course of the first five AAC contests, however, Jackson has rounded into form—looking less like a raw freshman and more like the talented shooter he was billed as. In conference play, Jackson is averaging 10.2 points per game on .545 percent shooting, including .500 percent from beyond the arc. Jackson’s three-point shooting percentage is fourth-best in the ACC and his field-goal percentage is fifth highest—both tops for conference freshmen.

“It all comes back to [Jackson’s] practice habits. His practice habits have been great, he hasn’t been playing around, he’s been serious, serious about his defense. Habits are going to eat willpower for breakfast each and every day,” Kevin Ollie said. “You can have all the willpower you want, if you don’t have good habits you’re not going to be a good player.

"[Jackson] is starting to build the right habits and it is correlating to him playing better on the defensive end. I don’t really care about the offensive end. I want him out there making shots, but he and [Christian Vital] have to become better defenders for us to win games.”

In Connecticut’s final out-of-conference game against Georgetown on Saturday, No. 5 was dynamic in the first half, dropping 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 from three). He earned AAC Player of the Week honors on Monday.

“He is just playing confident. I think the game is slowing down for him a lot,” Rodney Purvis said. “He comes in and gets extra work, he listens, he is coachable. That will take him a long way with his game.”

It should be noted that Adams' recent surge in assists (AAC leader at 8.3 per game) has correlated with Jackson’s marksmanship. The struggles in the half court have been well documented and giving Adams another reliable target to find has helped the Huskies’ offensive efficiency.

“It gives me so many options off the pick-and-roll,” Adams said. “I have my shot; Amida for the lob; or I can get the skip pass to Vance for the open shot. It just helps us a lot and it stretches the defense. When I’m driving, the man guarding [Jackson] can’t leave him or it’s an easy jump shot.”

It isn’t just the jumper that Jackson has found, the rest of his offensive game is coming around too. Though he is not an overwhelming athlete, Jackson has shown the ability to attack a closeout as well as good footwork and patience in the post. As he continues to progress the potential to be a matchup nightmare is clear, pulling bigs away from the paint and punishing smaller defenders in the post.

Jackson’s game if far from a finished product. As he found out Saturday in Washington D.C. his hot shooting is going to draw the attention of opposing defenses who will look to neutralize him. He’ll need to find a consistent counter when game planned against.

“Like me my freshman year—it is all confidence. I don’t think he wasn’t capable of doing things, it is just mental,” said Adams. “I think he is just now figuring that out and he is just playing with confidence. Having fun, shooting shots he can make so when you get the mental part, you can dominate the college basketball part.”