Before facing Miami in the Final Four of the NCAA men’s tournament, UConn’s Andre Jackson Jr. said something very surprising.
Jackson, who has played very well for the Huskies in the postseason, is one of the most intriguing NBA draft prospects who will play in the Final Four. He recently showed that he has an interesting perspective on the game and that he isn’t afraid to stray from the norm.
When he and other players in the Final Four were asked by Bleacher Report who they thought should win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, the 21-year-old junior confidently said L.A. Clippers guard Russell Westbrook.
@bleacherreport Final Four teams weigh in on NBA MVP debate 👀 #marchmadness #mbb #nba #basketball ♬ original sound – bleacherreport
Most of his teammates and opponents predicted frontrunners like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Other past winners like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant were mentioned as well.
Westbrook, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player in 2017, has missed three consecutive All-Star games. He had trouble finding his role in the rotation for the Lakers and his teammates reportedly looked at him as a “vampire” in the locker room.
He was often used as a scapegoat when the organization struggled, it seemed like he was a frustrating teammate for LeBron James, and he got in a heated exchange with Lakers coach Darvin Ham before he was eventually traded.
Westbrook’s fall from league MVP to NBA journeyman is sad to watch, but it makes sense why Jackson is a fan. At the peak of his powers, Westbrook was one of the most athletic players in the game and he is currently the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles.
It's not a @UConnMBB game without an Andre Jackson slam 🔨#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/SR37bmOSQW
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2023
UConn’s Dan Hurley has described Jackson as the “best athlete” he has ever coached. He has approached recording a triple-double in all four games that UConn has played during the tournament, notching 8 points with 9 rebounds and 10 assists in the Elite Eight.
Here is a fun stat to further illustrate the comparison: Jackson’s assist percentage (36.8), defensive rebound percentage (13.7), and true shooting percentage (53.4) in the tournament are all nearly identical to Westbrook’s assist percentage (39.1), defensive rebound percentage (13.7), and his true shooting percentage (55.2) on the Clippers.
Jackson is also averaging nearly as many assists in a transition offense (1.3) this season as Westbrook (1.5) in 2022-23, per Synergy. According to Hoop-Math, the UConn junior also assists on approximately as many 3-pointers per 40 minutes (2.7) as Westbrook (2.5) does as well.
Lots of comparisons between the Clippers adjustments to teams sagging off Russell Westbrook and Dan Hurley / UConn adjustments to teams sagging off Andre Jackson. Andre attacking the offensive glass with a full head of steam is a PROBLEM! #UConn https://t.co/3p9Nm4xqWV
— Paul Newman (@newman__paul) March 30, 2023
Defenders also guard Jackson relatively similarly to how they currently defend Westbrook, sagging off when both are on the perimeter. More than 60.0 percent of Jackson’s jump shots are uncontested, according to our AI-Powered statistics provided by Stats Perform.
Jackson, however, has maintained a low usage rate while in college which lowers the risk of his team getting hurt by his scoring inefficiency.
Maybe a low-usage version of Westbrook isn’t exactly an unfair player comparison for Jackson, and perhaps the choice isn’t so shocking after all.
