If you step in to the social media realm or listen to local sports radio, chances are you know whom most fans least-favorite player is—Traevon Jackson. Over the past two years he’s been many a persons favorite scapegoat, but after what has gone down over the last few games, it’s time for those people to realize that Jackson is more help than hindrance to the Badgers.
Whether it’s hitting game-winning shots or being clutch from the free-throw line, Jackson has earned some respect over the past two years. However, in the last few weeks it appears the junior point guard has gone from talented, but too prone to dumb plays, to having the light bulb fully go off.
He certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, according to Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“I’d be on the free-throw line if I could every single day,” he said, “every single time.”
In the round-of-32 matchup against the Ducks there wasn’t a more important player to Wisconsin’s outburst in the last half of the 2nd half. Going 9-for-11 from the free throw line and adding eight rebounds to the cause as a point guard is about as clutch as it gets. Even more impressively, Jackson went 8-of-10 from the line when Wisconsin needed every point it could muster over the final 3-plus minutes against the Ducks.
The fact of the matter is, Jackson isn’t perfect and he’ll never be. Yet, the chatter on social media and around other outlets hasn’t affected Jackson’s game, or his teammates confidence in him. Sam Dekker had the following to say about Jackson in Potrykus’ article:
Trae loves the tough spot. He hits big shots and big free throws night in and night out. He may get a lot of grief but he doesn’t hear it. He doesn’t think about it. He just goes out and does what he does. Whenever he is at the free-throw line late in the game I don’t feel like I have to go for the rebound because I think they’re going in every time.
So, what has his teammates so confident in Jackson’s play? After all, he does have 76 turnovers (2.2 per game) and he is third amongst the starters with a free throw percentage of .767 on the season.
What he brings to the table is moxie and delivery in the biggest of situations. Coming through when the team needs you has a way of making your teammates trust you more. Given the fact that Jackson has had multiple game-winning shots and has come up big as of late more than makes up for the mistakes.
Of course, one could point to the three turnovers Jackson had against the Ducks or the fact that he’s only 8th in assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big Ten as proof he’s not as good as Wisconsin expects out of a point guard.
However, a closer examination of the season finds that Jackson wasn’t even close the worst in the Big Ten in turnovers. That honor belongs to Tim Frazier of Penn State, who mustered up 92 turnovers on the season. Jackson was only 5th in turnovers in the league. He also happenes to be 5th in the league in assists (3.9 per game) on the season so far.
Those are all fine numbers, but what proves Jackson has turned the corner has been his play over the last ten games. In that time, Jackson is averaging 11 points per game (slightly better than the 10.8ppg season average), 1.9 turnovers (down from average of 2.2 per game) and has shot 40 percent or better four times from the field.
Most importantly, Jackson has come up huge for the Badgers in the postseason. He’s scored in double figures in three of the four postseason contests so far, averaging 14.6 points per game in the last three contests (after being shut out in the B1G tournament opener against Minnesota).
What better time to show your best games of the season off than when the national spotlight is on you?
Whether you’ve loathed him or kept your frustrations to yourself, after the first weekend in the NCAA tournament Jackson has shut up a lot of his critics (myself included at times). Perhaps it’s time for those of us that were hard on him to realize that the good is beginning to outweigh the bad, and it’s happening at just the right time for Wisconsin.
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