Jaren Jackson Jr. doesn’t have the name recognition or the numbers of the other big men expected to be available at the top of the 2018 NBA draft. While Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III flirt with 20-10 seasons, Jackson is averaging a modest 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Jaren Jackson Jr. shows why he’s a top-5 NBA draft pick in 3 plays
The Michigan State freshman is the player your favorite NBA team should want to draft.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Watch closer, and it’s becoming apparent the stats do not do his talent level justice. There’s a case to be made that the Michigan State freshman is the most well-rounded one-and-done player in the draft.
Jackson has size (6’11, 242 pounds), length (7’4 wingspan), athleticism, shooting, and shot-blocking ability. He flashed it all against Illinois in a Big Ten game on Tuesday.
Watch Jackson put Illinois on a poster
Of note: Jackson is not a lefty, but he flushes this home with his left hand.
The blow-by ability, the spin move, the off-handed dunk ... just ferocious. Illinois could have started the buses right there.
Watch Jackson cover the entire court on defense
Most young big men can’t even process the rotations Jackson makes on this play. He’s switching screens, rotating to the paint, rotating back to the perimeter, hedging a screen, and recovering and closing out on a shooter all in the same sequence.
The instincts are display here are the type you cannot teach.
Watch Jackson smother an Illini guard and swat him
That’s 6’5 guard Mark Alstork trying to shake Jackson and just failing miserably. This is why Jackson is averaging 5.8 blocks per 40 minutes.
Oh: did we mention he’s shooting nearly 44 percent on 80 attempts from deep this season? The man does it all. He’s a lock to be a top-10 pick. He might end up in the top five or even top three before you know it.
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