On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Maryland/Ohio State game, Dan Dakich compared Justin Jackson to former Chicago Bulls small forward Scottie Pippen. Despite the gross hyperbole in likening the freshman to a six-time NBA Champion and Hall of Famer, the comparison makes sense. Jackson has become the ultimate sidekick for Melo Trimble.
In Jackson’s last two games, he has shot 75 percent from long range, including a stretch of eight consecutive three-point shots made that carried over from Saturday’s game against Minnesota, where he shot a perfect 5-for-5. The secret to Jackson’s success: He understands spacing on a pick-and-roll.
Jackson receives the pass from the ball handler before the play starts and gets cozy away from the ball. As Melo drives toward the hoop, three defenders close in to limit his ability to get into the lane, leaving Jackson wide open at the top of the key. Splash.
Now here is the same play run with Kevin Huerter as the ball handler and Damonte Dodd setting the screen. Jackson camps at the same spot as two defenders close on the ball handler and rotate for the roll man, leaving Jackson again wide open. Splash.
On this play, Jackson is not the primary scoring option, nor is he the secondary option. We see this play is run to try and allow Cowan, the ball handler in the pick-and-roll, to beat his defender or kick it to Melo at the top of the key. Minnesota did a good job of honoring Trimble’s scoring ability, but they allowed Jackson to sit wide open in the corner. This play also shows another facet of Jackson’s game: As a 6-foot-7 forward, he can pull up or drive to the hoop. Minnesota center Reggie Lynch rotates over but does not allow Jackson to beat him in the lane, so Jackson pulls up and with his quick release made the most of the space he was given. Splash. So it is clear Minnesota wanted to limit Trimble, and successfully did (he had only four points throughout most of the game). Yet Richard Pitino and the Gophers did not anticipate Trimble’s new go-to guy to be nearly as efficient as he was. Now here is the Ohio State game: Do these plays look familiar?
Hmm…..
Yup, those are the exact same plays that Maryland ran against Minnesota, and each time teams are late to rotate over to Jackson. It takes a special player to be able to catch and shoot as swiftly and efficiently as Jackson has; asking him to continue on this pace would be absurd. But since Jackson is not demanding the ball, but rather letting the play develop and staying patient, he is getting frequent open looks.
Jackson’s shooting from beyond the arc does not tell the complete story. His ability to drive to the lane has been improving all season, and he leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per contest. Jackson is a solid all-around player whose unselfishness and off-ball offense is allowing him to flourish. Because Jackson has played so well, expect Trimble to get better looks driving to the basket and improve on his own stats moving forward.
No. 17 Maryland will host No. 23 Purdue this Saturday at the Xfinity Center at 12 p.m.
