A Royal Prospect: Josh Jackson
By Tyler Watts
Strengths
Defense
Josh Jackson is the most NBA ready defender in this draft class to my eyes. He has good lateral quickness and can move his feet well in a squat position. I am impressed with his ability to guard one-on-one and play the passing lanes. Jackson is by no means a finished product, but the defensive ceiling is 30 feet.
The traditional defensive stats at Kansas last season showed Jackson could create turnovers and rebound effectively for a wing. The advanced metrics rated Jackson’s defensive box score plus/minus at positive 5.7 and his defensive win shares at positive 2.2. Clearly, Josh Jackson brings it on the defensive end of the floor.
Diverse Offensive Game
Josh Jackson can do a ton of things on the offensive end of the floor. That is not to say he is “elite’ at everything, but he shows the ability to do a plethora of things.
If you watched the highlight video, you know this young man can throw down a dunk. His explosiveness and ability to catch a lob at his height are impressive. Jackson is also quick at getting off the floor and dunking in traffic, two things that could create a lot of highlights in the league.
The more tape of Jackson you watch, the more you enjoy his diverse skill set. He can handle the ball (definitely not elite and is slightly turnover prone), pass, and shoot effectively. His most impressive attribute to my eye was his movement without the ball. Jackson was quick and sneaky cutting to the rim and laying in an easy bucket against NCAA competition. Jackson will have to find his niche in the NBA, but with the diversity his offensive game, he should be effective against the next level talent.