Entering the season, Reggie Jackson projected to be the best of Boston College’s three freshmen. He looked the part early on, as it’s clear he’s a terrific athlete and has some offensive skills that should get better. But you could also tell early on that he was a freshman, and with the way Boston College plays, the learning curve that comes with playing college basketball isn’t always expedited.
“It’s a great deal. It’s pretty tough,” the freshman guard said of learning the team’s system. “I’ve never run offense in my life, it was mostly run four-out, with athletic kids, penetrating and kicking to the next guy, then keep going.”
Jackson, who took home ACC Rookie of the Week honors last week, was certainly going to play and get chances to grow with mistakes. The Eagles have just two upperclassmen on the roster, so it was a given that he would figure into the equation despite being the youngest player on the team. The only question was how much.
Early on, he had good value at the defensive end. His athleticism, along with his willingness to guard a top perimeter player, helped go a long way. That helped offset the growing pains on offense, which were evident at first but have lessened as the season has gone along.
But the biggest things with a freshman are always intangibles, and that’s the case with Jackson as with any other. His willingness to guard a top perimeter player means as much as his ability there. And while he’s shown signs of being a force in the future for this team offensively, the biggest things have been keeping confident in what the team is trying to do, working within a unit and being comfortable with what they’re running. Those have been the things his coach and captain have been on him the most about.
It seems to be working. In the past week, he’s had times of growing up and times where he’s looked like he’s really getting comfortable and has all the confidence in the world. It started earlier in the week, when the Eagles scored a big road win at Georgia Tech. Things weren’t going well as the Yellow Jackets were rallying in the second half, and that’s when things started to change for the 6’3″ guard.
“I put all the blame on my shoulders, and I just started rushing and not thinking the game, but just trying to play,” Jackson recalls. “It was putting us in bad spots, so Tyrese (Rice) had to take me aside for a minute in the next timeout and calm me down, and let me know what I had to do.”
Jackson scored eight points in the win and added a career-high nine rebounds. Then on Saturday, he helped the Eagles score a 79-68 win over North Carolina State with 10 points, three assists and one turnover. The highlight was a fast break dunk about nine minutes in, but the thing to notice was after it. Jackson got back on defense and had a smile for a moment, and looked like he was as into the game as he’s been all season.
“Anytime you score a basket, you get confidence and you feel more calmed down,” Jackson reflected.
It’s clear that Rice has done a good deal of work with Jackson to help him along. Jackson said as much, and Rice has talked about how he’s tried to help him and the other young players come along. Some of it has been confidence, some of it has been learning the team’s system, and some of it has been learning to play according to the situation. Rice talked about how he tried to pull Jackson back on the final possession of the first half in a recent game, knowing what would happen otherwise.
“I just try to keep some of our players out of bad situations,” the senior guard said. “I know if he comes down and puts up a shot and doesn’t make it, I know what it’s going to be in the locker room. I just try to keep them away from that.”
The effect Rice has had on Jackson is even noticeable to one of their recent opponents. Alluding to Rice, North Carolina State guard Farnold Degand said, “Reggie Jackson has taken some of his tips and definitely utilized them well.”
Jackson says he spends a good deal of time watching film with the coaching staff as well as Rice. It’s helped him to buy into the offense and stay confident both in what the team is trying to do and in what he can do as part of it. As that has continued to happen, he has continued to improve, and it only helps the young Eagles get better this season.
