The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Jackson to transfer, joins growing list of departures
Another day, another departure for the UConn program.
Vance Jackson, who made the American Conference’s allrookie team this past season, has decided to transfer. Jackson made the announcement via a Twitter post, and his father, Vance, Sr., explained the decision to the Register.
“We talked it over, and for him to pursue his dreams, this was best for him,” Jackson Sr. said. “We didn’t see things the same way, Vance, and me, and the coach, on how to utilize his skills. We wanted the best opportunity to utilize those skills, and it didn’t happen here.”
Jackson, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season for the Huskies. Billed as a long-range shooting threat coming in, he struggled with his shot at first but wound up hitting 50 of 126 3-pointers (39.7 percent) and was one of the top 3-point shooters in AAC play.
Jackson hails from Los Angeles and played his last season of prep ball at Prolific Prep in California. But his dad insisted that being so far from home had nothing to do with his son’s decision.
“He really loved UConn,” said Jackson, Sr. “Vance was fine, it was nothing at all about being closer to home. It was about being in a position that he could display his abilities and be in a position where he feels comfortable, and the coaches feel comfortable with what he can do.”
Jackson, Sr. said his son had no particular schools he was
FROM PAGE 1 interested in at this time.
Jackson Sr. didn’t want to get into how he felt his son could have been better utilized. Certainly, Jackson had to play out of position at times, due largely to injuries that decimated UConn’s depth. He also saw more playing time than he might have under normal circumstances, with season-ending injuries of Terry Larrier, Alterique Gilbert and Mamadou Diarra.
“Kevin Ollie was wonderful, everybody was wonderful,” Jackson Sr. said. “We just didn’t see eyeto-eye with how he can be used.”
Jackson joins a growing list of UConn departures. Freshman forward Steve Enoch announced he was leaving the program last week, and associate head coach Glen Miller was fired over the weekend.
However, the Huskies have found Miller’s replacement in Raphael Chillious. Chillious, 45, has been Lorenzo Romar’s assistant at Washington for seven of the past eight seasons, and last year was promoted to associate head coach. He was let go when Romar was fired earlier this month.
Chillious is known as a high-level recruiter. He also spent time on Villanova’s staff and was head coach at South Kent Prep. He and Ollie have known each other for more than 20 years.