Jackson hoping to have immediate impact as a freshman
The first time Andre Jackson was on UConn’s campus during his recruiting visit a little over a year ago, he met Ray Allen and Jim Calhoun and was completely sold on being a Husky.
When he finally returned to campus this summer, after a few months bouncing off the walls at his Albany, N.Y. home — restricted by COVID-19 precautions — and undergoing meniscus surgery, he couldn’t have been happier.
“I was excited to stay,” Jackson admitted. “I didn’t want to go home, honestly.”
Over the past couple of months, Jackson has sought guidance from veteran players as he gets acclimated to college life. One player he is constantly learning from is James Bouknight, the precocious sophomore talent.
“Every day I’m in contact with Bouknight, (to see) how his freshman year worked, different things to look for, things to do in practice that can help you,” Jackson reported during a Zoom call with reporters on Friday evening.
Bouknight is coming off a scintillating freshman season in which he averaged 13 points per game, earned AAC All-Rookie honors and emerged as one of the top freshmen in the nation. During one 10-game stretch from Feb. 1 to the Huskies’ penultimate game on March 5, Bouknight, a 6-foot-4 guard, averaged 18.7 points and played his way into the NBA Draft picture. He is a potential 2021 lottery pick.
There’s probably not a better player for Jackson to emulate.
“Everybody knows he’s a really good scorer,” Jackson said, “but I also like the way he can bring a team together. He helps everybody on the team. He’s reaching out to the bigs, reaching out to the guards. He wants to win. I saw that
as soon as I stepped on campus. Not everybody knows his personality, and what he brings to the table mentally. And he’s one of the most competitive people I’ve met. He takes the game really seriously, and goes about his business.”
One of the more intriguing questions heading into UConn’s 2020-21 season is whether Jackson can have a similar impact that Bouknight had as a freshman. They are different players. Jackson, a long, 6-6 wing, isn’t the shooter that Bouknight is. He’s more of a slasher, who is also known as a magical passer. Both players are dynamic athletes.
“I definitely feel like I can make a big impact as a freshman,” Jackson noted. “I’m not sure how many points I’ll be scoring, but I know I’ll make an impact — whether that’s on defense, rebounding, whatever I need to do. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t ... I know I’m gonna have an impact, it’s just a matter of where I can fit in and what things I can do to help the team win.”
Jackson, the No. 50 overall recruit in the Class of 2020, per 247 Sports, has been slowed by a meniscus injury that required minor surgery late last spring.
He’s spent a lot of time in the training room with UConn trainer James Doran, rehabbing his knee and getting his body into playing shape.
Jackson has returned to the floor recently, and while he’s still not participating in most basketball activities, he’s ready to amp things up.
“I’m really excited to getting back into things,” he said “I feel good, I’ll say that. I’m feeling good about it, not really feeling that much pain anymore, so I’m ready to get back into it.”
No doubt, he’s happy where he is.
“It’s electric being on campus, seeing the banners hung up on the wall, seeing the different players who came through here who really made and impact and left a legacy,” Jackson said. “I feel like the nostalgia here is just as good or better than any program in the country, especially with the (women’s) and (men’s) side being so good in the past. I feel like, every day, coming in here, all the nostalgia definitely creates a lot of motivation for me, and I’m sure for everybody else.”
RIM RATTLINGS
Jackson was part of a Zoom call with UConn’s two other incoming freshmen, 7-footer Javonte Brown and 6-9 forward Adama Sanogo, along with Tyrese Martin, a 6-6 junior wing who has transferred from Rhode Island and will be eligible to play right away.
Martin said he was never worried about receiving a waiver from the NCAA for immediate eligibility.
“I was extremely confident, knowing how many people were getting their waivers around the country in college basketball,” he said. “I had a feeling it was most likely going to go through. Now, it’s more of a relief type of thing. I’m just excited to get out and play again.”
1 Brown, a Toronto native, had trouble getting to UConn at one point this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was really worried,” he noted. “Our prime minister opened up the borders, so we thought we were gonna go earlier than expected. Then, COVID numbers went up in Canada, so they had to extend the period of opening the border.”
For a time, it looked like Brown was going to have trouble getting his I-20 form to be able to study in the U.S. as an international student. But that quickly changed, and he arrived at UConn in July.
UConn’s moving to the Big East played a big role in Brown’s decision to commit to the Huskies last November.
“With the Big East being close to Canada, my family would be able to come out and see games. Now, with COVID restrictions and border laws, that possiblity won’t be there (this season). But it’s close to home, and it’s a really good lead, so that helped me make my decision.”
Sanogo, a Mali native who now lives in New Jersey and committed to UConn in May, first became aware of the program through Kasoum Yakwe, a fellow Mali native who played for the Huskies in 2018-19. UConn associate head coach Kimani Young began recruiting Sanogo in 2018, and he says he began to learn a lot more about the program at that point.