Buyer Beware Here
Jaren Jackson Jr. | PF/C | Michigan State
2 points, (0-for-4 FG), 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 0 blocks in 15 minutes in a loss to Syracuse
Jackson's season ended in highly disappointing fashion, as he played only 15 minutes and had to watch helplessly from the bench as his team squandered a late lead.
Jackson had some nice moments attacking the zone from the high post, covering ground defensively and crashing the glass on both ends of the floor, but didn't make the type of overall impact you'd expect from someone with his talent-level. (MSU was plus-6 with him in the game and minus-8 with him out.) He wasn't as physical or aggressive as he needed to be attacking the zone or Syracuse's undersized big men. Instead of Jackson, head coach Tom Izzo turned to 23-year old Ben Carter down the stretch instead; Carter had scored just 13 points all season.
Plenty of questions have been raised about the decisions Izzo made down the stretch, as this is the third straight season in which the Hall of Famer has been unable to advance out of the first weekend of the tournament. From an NBA standpoint, most of those questions revolve around the outdated lineup configurations and overall style of basketball the Spartans played all season. Izzo's insistence on having six different centers on the roster and playing all of them (two at a time) in virtually every contest -- despite the obvious toll that took on the team's spacing, ball movement, shooting and aesthetic appeal -- makes it difficult to draw too many conclusions on Jackson's NBA outlook.
At 6-11 and 240 pounds, with a 7-5 wingspan, it is unlikely that Jackson will see much time at the power forward spot in the NBA like he did all season, certainly not next to a non-shooting center who lacks relative athleticiscm. How much better would Jackson have looked playing in a more up-tempo system at his natural position when surrounded by more skilled teammates? NBA decision-makers will have to decipher that on their own.
Looking forward: It is important to remember that Jackson is the youngest prospect in this class and was clearly not being utilized to his full potential. He will still be drafted in the mid-to-high lottery, but there will be a significant amount of debate in teams' war rooms about how to rank him compared with the likes of Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. -- Givony