Demetrius Jackson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Prospect Profile: Demetrius Jackson (Part One)

May 2nd, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Gruppuso / USA Today Sports Images

OVERVIEW: Demetrius Jackson took over as Notre Dame’s floor leader as a junior and emerged as a first-round prospect. Jackson led the Irish to the Elite Eight despite some struggles offensively during the latter stages of the season. He finished his college career with a 26-point performance against North Carolina and averaged 15.8 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the season. Jackson played steady minutes as a sophomore, though current Knicks point guard Jerian Grant was the team’s primary ballhandler. Jackson was also a rotation player as a freshman after being a highly touted prep star, ranking No. 33 overall in his class, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. At 6’1”, the 21-year-old Jackson is smaller than the prototypical NBA point guard.

STRENGTHS: Like most smaller point guards, Jackson relies on his quickness and athleticism. He’s got superior explosion, allowing him to get into the paint and create havoc. That will serve him well in a pick-and-roll reliant NBA scheme. It also works well in the transition game, where he’s nearly impossible to catch as he converts layups or finds trailers for dunks. ESPN Insider Chad Ford credits Jackson for his pass-first mentality, decision-making and a knack for making his teammates better. DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony notes that while Jackson is small, he’s powerfully built and can finish through contact. His outstanding leaping ability allows him to be on the receiving end of lobs. He also moves well without the ball and is a solid shooter off the catch, with Givony pointing out that he made 41% of his shots with his feet set. Turnovers were not a big issue for Jackson, as he averaged 2.2 as a junior while playing 36 minutes per game. Jackson has also impressed talent evaluators with his competitiveness, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge.

WEAKNESSES: Jackson’s 3-point shooting dropped off dramatically when tasked with running Notre Dame’s methodical offense this season. He made 33.1% of his long-range shots as a junior, compared to 42.9% in his sophomore year. Jackson’s lack of height could obviously be an issue when he’s guarding tall point guards, and he’ll be an even bigger liability when he’s forced to switch. Jackson can also be over-reliant on his quickness, rather than playing at a more controlled pace. As one NBA executive told Aldridge, “He always tries to blow by you. It’s like a pitcher that keeps throwing 100 miles an hour.” In contrast to Ford’s evaluation, Givony believes that Jackson has displayed average court vision and misses some easy reads. That’s due to Jackson still searching for the right balance between running the offense and finding his own shot.

For Part 2 of our Demetrius Jackson Prospect Profile, click here.

Draft Notes: Jackson, Sabonis, Zimmerman

April 19th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson, who declared for the draft last month, has signed with Priority Sports for his representation, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Projections are divided for the 21-year-old who ranks as the 11th-best prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress but comes in just 25th in the listings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles.

Plenty of other news about the draft has emerged with the June 23rd event barely more than two months away. Here’s the latest.

Gonzaga sophomore forward/center Domantas Sabonis has hired the Wasserman agency, reports Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link), with Greg Lawrence and Jason Ranne to represent him, according to Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal (Twitter link). That closes off the possibility that he’d withdraw from the draft and return to school. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the 15th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings and No. 19 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list.
Texas A&M senior combo guard Alex Caruso has signed with agent Greg Lawrence of the Wasserman agency, Mullen relays (on Twitter).
UNLV freshman center Stephen Zimmerman has also signed with the Wasserman Media Group, D’Bria Bradshaw of The Sports Agent Blog relays. Agent Darren ‘Mats’ Matsubara will represent Zimmerman, Bradshaw notes.
West Virginia junior power forward Devin Williams has signed with agent Aaron Turner of Verus Management, Goodman reports (Twitter link). The 6’9″ 21-year-old is the 94th-best prospect in Ford’s rankings, while Givony has him outside the top 100, simply listing him as the 35th-best junior.
Florida Gulf Coast University junior Marc-Eddy Norelia will enter the draft without hiring an agent, the school announced. He’s a long-shot prospect, falling outside Ford’s and Givony’s rankings. The 6’8″ forward can retain his college eligibility if he withdraws from the draft by May 25th and doesn’t sign with an agent.
Czech power forward Adam Pechacek is entering the draft, his representatives at SigmaSports announced (via Twitter). The 21-year-old averaged 13.1 points and 5.2 rebounds playing in Poland last season.
Greek center Georgios Papagiannis, Turkish power forward/center Ege Arar and Slovenian point guard Aleksej Nikolic will all enter the draft, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express relays in a series of tweets. Of the trio, Papagiannis is the most likely to be drafted, with the 7’2″ 18-year-old coming in at No. 48 overall according to Givony. Neither Arar or Nikolic are locks to be selected, with Arar ranked as the No. 36 overall international prospect in his class by Givony, who slots Nikolic at No. 50.

And-Ones: Brown, Van Gundy, Jackson

April 12th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets have gone 11-33 under interim coach Tony Brown, who understands that he is coaching for his job but asserts that he is unfazed by the pressure involved, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily relays. “I feel like the situation has been tough from the beginning,” Brown said. “I’ve tried to make the best of it, and I’m going to continue to do that the last two games and whatever happens, happens. I’m not worried about my fate with this organization. I’m just trying to give these guys a great opportunity to showcase their skills, and I’m going to continue to do that.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy won the trade market this season, with his deals for Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock and Tobias Harris being clear victories for the franchise, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. The scribe also points to the offseason signing of Aron Baynes, who has provided solid minutes as the backup center, as another strong roster move by Van Gundy.
Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson intends to hire Priority Sports to represent him, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets. Hiring an agent would eliminate the possibility of Jackson returning to school for his senior campaign. The 21-year-old is ranked No. 11 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings and 25th according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Dragan Bender is easily the most tantalizing among the international prospects who are entering the 2016 NBA Draft, opines Derek Bodner of USA Today. The big man’s combination of size, speed and mobility have NBA scouts excited for his potential, though he will need to add strength and bulk before he can hope to be a force in the NBA, Bodner adds. Bender is the No. 3 overall prospect according to both Ford and Givony.

Demetrius Jackson To Enter Draft

March 29th, 2016 at 9:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 9:22pm: Jackson intends to hire an agent, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets. If Jackson does indeed secure representation, it would eliminate his ability to return to Notre Dame next season.

MONDAY, 7:58am: Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson will enter his name in the draft but hold off on hiring an agent, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv confirms (Twitter link). Coach Mike Brey indicated as much after the Fighting Irish’s loss Sunday to North Carolina, though Jackson stopped short of stating his intentions, according to Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune (Twitter links). No final decision is due until May 25th, the deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the draft and retain their college eligibility.

Projections are split for the 21-year-old who ranks No. 11 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings but just 25th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. A shallow point guard crop and Jackson’s intriguing set of tools led to his high DraftExpress ranking, Givony tweets. Jackson no doubt helped himself Sunday when he scored 26 points against the top-seeded Tar Heels. He’s averaging 15.8 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 turnovers per game, but it’s his capabilities, including his explosiveness, strength, scoring ability, playmaking and defense, that make the case for him rather than production, according to Givony and DraftExpress colleague Mike Schmitz.

Jackson’s numbers nonetheless steadily improved throughout his college career. He averaged just 6.0 points per game as a freshman after entering college as the No. 33 prospect in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.

Draft Notes: New Rules, Jackson, Bryant

March 26th, 2016 at 2:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s new rule that allows prospects to gauge their draft stock until May 25th, which is the new the deadline for players to pull out of the draft if they want to remain eligible for college ball, could end up hurting college seniors, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes. The tremendous influx of players who will be attending the scouting combine could put a pinch on the number of seniors invited who are considered borderline prospects, Wasserman notes. The scribe points to T.J. McConnell, whose performance during last year’s combine earned him a spot on the Sixers, as a prime example of the type of player who could be adversely affected by the new rules.

“I think [the rule change is] great for the undergrads, probably unfortunate for seniors who won’t make the combine but don’t accept Portsmouth invites thinking they would get to the combine,” an NBA scout told Wasserman. “I wish Portsmouth was later now.” An NBA executive echoed the sentiment, telling Wasserman, “Seniors don’t get the same opportunity [this year]. Plus, we like upside of young players, as seniors are pretty much who they are. Seniors are always pushed to the back because of the ‘potential’ aspect.”

Here’s more regarding the 2016 NBA Draft:

The Sixers may give strong consideration to selecting Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson with one of their first round picks this year if Jackson declares for the draft, Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Jackson, who is currently ranked as the No. 11 overall prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, fits Philly’s clear need for a playmaker who can provide scoring with his outside shooting, Sielski adds. The junior is averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season for the Fighting Irish.
Indiana freshman Thomas Bryant is undecided on entering the 2016 NBA Draft, as he told Jeff Rabjohns of Rivals.com (Twitter link). It may be wise for the big man to return to school for his sophomore campaign as a number of scouts believe he still needs to mature physically prior to turning pro, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv writes. “Late first-round at best right now,” one NBA executive told Zagoria regarding Bryant. “Young, not physically ready.” Bryant averaged 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds for the campaign.
Despite some speculation that Duke’s Brandon Ingram could overtake him, LSU freshman Ben Simmons is still the current consensus No. 1 overall pick among NBA scouts, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times relays. “Whoever thinks he [Simmons] isn’t the best player in this draft is crazy,’’ one scout told Woelfel. “The only thing you can question about him is his shooting. But there have been some great players who weren’t good shooters coming into the draft and became good shooters. He’s a great player, period.’’

Demetrius Jackson Returning To Notre Dame

April 13th, 2015 at 4:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Notre Dame sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson is passing up a strong chance to become a late first-round pick this year, as he tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he’s returning to school for next season (Twitter link). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress lists Jackson as the 27th-best prospect, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him 29th.

The 6’1″ Jackson took on a more prominent role than he had as a freshman and averaged 12.4 points, 3.1 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 34.7 minutes per game for the Irish this season. He also chipped in 3.6 rebounds per contest, impressive considering his height, and he’s a 42.5% three-point shooter for his college career.

Jackson posted one of his four games of 20 points or more this season against Wichita State and its backcourt of pro prospects in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, nailing four of his five three-point attempts. He followed that up with just two points against Kentucky and its seven draft-bound players. Ford lists shooting as an area perhaps in need of improvement for Jackson, in spite of his strong numbers from behind the arc, and while he does have a nearly 6’5″ wingspan, he’d ideally have more size, Ford also writes in his profile.