Andre Jackson knew it was time to step up.
In early April, the UConn men’s basketball team experienced a major roster shakeup. Eight players from the 2021-22 roster were no longer on the team. Former guards Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole turned pro, while forwards Isaiah Whaley and Tyler Polley exhausted their eligibility. Akok Akok, Jalen Gaffney, Rahsool Diggins, and Corey Floyd Jr. entered their names in the NCAA transfer portal.
At an April training session, Jackson looked at some of his remaining teammates — Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Alex Karaban — and knew the group needed a leader.
“Somebody’s got to step up to be that guy that’s going to lead the team,” he thought to himself. “I believe that’s me.”
The 6-foot-6 guard from Amsterdam, N.Y., is heading into his junior year, and he says he’s ready to face the challenges that come with leadership.
“I’ve been in the system longer than everybody in the program other than Adama,” Jackson said. “I have to kind of step into that role and lead guys. I have to make sure all the young guys coming in know what they are doing. Being a leader is one of the hardest things to do. It’s trying to help other people so that you as a collective group can be better.”
UConn doesn’t name captains, but Jackson has longed to be a prominent voice for the team since he arrived at Storrs. Still, he knew he had to pay his dues first.
In the 2021-22 season, he averaged 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting a career-high 36.1% from 3. His play and demeanor earned him respect from his older teammates.
“Andre wouldn’t have been scared to be a leader on that team as a freshman when I was there,” Martin said. “He’s just so confident in his own voice and body. He speaks his mind, but he’s so respectful of older players or people around him.
“He will hear out what they have to say and take it under consideration. That kid is going to be great just with his approach of wanting to be a leader so young. Now that he is finally in that role, I think he’s going to excel in it.”
As Jackson takes on a leadership role, he hopes to make his mark at UConn by winning both a Big East championship and national championship.
“UConn is a place where they win championships,” he said. “I want to be a part of that legacy. I want to be a part of that history. In order to be part of that, you have to win. My only goal coming here was to win.”
Makings of a leader
Jackson has had the makings of a leader since childhood.
He grew up with two younger siblings who are twins, Mianna and Marcus. They are only one year younger than him, but Andre always taught them different life lessons. These lessons included never quitting activities to handling life’s difficulties.
Not only is Jackson loyal to his family, but to his basketball teams as well. He had played on the same AAU team since he was 10. In high school, he had numerous offers to leave Albany Academy but turned them all down.
So, it’s no wonder Jackson felt strongly about players leaving UConn in an April media availability.
“A lot of guys left and I respect their decision of leaving, but I feel like the strongest people survive, in a sense,” he said. “It’s always good to know that everybody that is here wants to be here.”
When Albany Academy basketball coach Brian Fruscio heard the comments, he wasn’t surprised.
“We have some different things we do, but one of them is choosing teammates you would want in the foxhole with you,” Fruscio said. “Andre always drew high on that because he’s a stay and fight guy. No man left behind when he’s part of that.”
Jackson fit in seamlessly on the team as a freshman. He made sure to get everybody involved with his passing. He also paid his dues and respected the older players on the team.
As Jackson grew older, he became more comfortable in his own skin. He became a vocal leader on the team. Jackson was constantly putting in extra hours in the weight room and on the practice court. He demanded excellence out of his teammates.
“People would feel his vision, and people would feel his intensity,” Fruscio said. “If people understand Andre, they knew it was never personal. He wants people to give as much as he gives and is willing to give it.”
Fruscio says there were two versions of Jackson. First, there is Andre, the quiet, well-mannered kid with good grades. Then, on the court, there is ‘Dre. ‘Dre is a high-energy, loud and passionate player willing to do whatever it takes to win.
“For 22 hours a day, he’s pretty cool, pretty reserved and down to earth,” Fruscio said. “In the two hours he’s competing, he will go in the phone booth like Superman and come out a different personality.”
Always working to better himself
Jackson is constantly trying to improve as a player and leader by listening to podcasts and watching movies about leaders he admires. He alternates between watching the documentary “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” and clips of Tom Brady on YouTube to learn more about leadership.
“In order to be a great, I have to learn from the greats,” he said.
Jackson excels at building camaraderie with his teammates. He’s a vocal leader, but he knows he must find the right balance.
“I get on guys a lot,” he said. “I am pretty vocal and honest. It’s just about knowing when or how to address the guys, whether to address them aggressively or help pick them up.
“As a leader or player, you have to know where your guys are emotionally. If a guy is already down in the dumps, you can’t bring him down more. It’s about knowing your teammates and when guys need a tug to pull them forward and when you’ve got to push a guy to get something out of him.”
On the court, Jackson is working hard to improve his offensive skills. His biggest focus is improving his ability to attack the rim and hit his jump shot.
Jackson dramatically improved his shooting from 3 from 11.8% as a freshman to 36.1% last season, but he hopes to shoot more and lower his hesitancy to take shots. He’s since tightened up his shot mechanics to help with that.
On the defensive end, he knows he will have to take on a heightened role with the loss of Whaley and Martin. He knows expectations for him have risen.
“I think this year is going to be a lot of pressure on me defensively as a leader,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure in my offensive game as well. It’s not something I am shying away from. It’s something I am super excited for. I am excited to see my progression over the next couple of months leading up to the season.”
Hurley and Jackson are two peas in a pod
In many ways, coach Dan Hurley sees a version of himself in Jackson.
Like Hurley, Jackson is an intense competitor with a strong work ethic. They even come from similar family backgrounds. But, perhaps most important, they are obsessed with basketball.
“It’s rare in today’s game how much [Jackson] cares about his team and this program winning,” Hurley said. “You cherish it because you don’t know how much longer guys with that mentality are coming in.”
Hurley held exit meetings for everybody on the team at the end of last season to talk about what he expected out of players the following season. For Jackson, Hurley knew it was time to pass the proverbial torch of leadership from the seniors to Jackson.
Hurley and his staff had been prepping Jackson to take the leadership role since the start of his sophomore year.
“Every time, there was an uncomfortable silence in a team meeting where I have been waiting for somebody to say something,” Hurley said. “Usually, [Jackson] has been the first one to break the ice.
“After a bad game or loss, I’ll be having a tough video session and I will prompt the team to say what they are feeling. He has always been the type of guy to be the first to speak. It takes a lot of self-confidence to do that.”
Hurley expects some growing pains as Jackson deals with new situations.
“His leadership style is certainly going to be a lot more demanding than anybody on this team has experienced,” Hurley said. “He’s going to have not only a fastball but change-up and curveball, too, because not everybody is wired like him.
“His empathy and his compassion for a struggling team, he’s going to not only just have the hammer, but also pick people up, too. I think he’s got a good feel for it because he’s a good guy, but he’s a fierce, fierce competitor.”
Ultimately, Jackson feels that he will be a leader of a special group.
“We’ve all been through it together,” he said. “We’ve all been through the same stuff all the guys that have left have been through. It’s hard to get out on the court here, and it’s not easy. That’s why everybody that gets out on the court here is ready. We are all in. We are all in for each other.”
Shreyas Laddha can be reached at sladdha@courant.com or @shre98 on Twitter.
