North Richmond Today

CONFIDENT JACKSON PROVIDES SPARK FOR VCU

VCU junior guard Zeb Jackson has found his confidence again, and it has shown on the floor, and for the Rams that means an injection of energy off the bench that has been key to VCU's five-game winning stretch and Saturday's Atlantic 10 opening victory over La Salle.
 
Jackson, who finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, showed that confidence during VCU's 80-67 victory over La Salle. His 3-pointer at the end of the first half put the Rams in front for good, and over the final 11 minutes his presence on both ends of the court powered VCU to a win in their Atlantic 10 Conference opener.
 
Jackson's 14 points were part of VCU's 27 points off the bench, a key piece to the Rams holding off La Salle for the Saturday afternoon victory.
 
"For me it's been about taking advantage of my time on the floor and getting into a rhythm," said Jackson. "I know that my teammates and coaches have confidence in me, I just needed to find it for myself again."
 
Jackson, who has come off the bench in eight of the Rams' 14 games this season, is averaging career highs in points (6.6 ppg) and minutes per game (18.8 mpg) in his first season as a Ram.
 
During VCU's five-game winning streak Jackson has come off the bench in four of the five games and averaged 7.4 points per game. In the past two contests, the Michigan transfer has dished out 10 assists, while shooting .588 (10-of-17) from the floor.
 
"He loves basketball, and he loves to work, and that's one of the reasons why we wanted him here," said VCU Head Coach Mike Rhoades. "The biggest thing is having belief in himself."
 
Against LaSalle, it went pretty much how it was drawn up.
 
Jackson announced himself to the Stuart C. Siegel Center as the first half came to an end. The Toledo, Ohio native snagged the inbounds pass the streaked up the right side of the floor before confidently pulling up for a deep 3-pointer from the wing. Jackson buried the triple to give the Rams a 38-36 halftime advantage. They would not trail again.
 
"I tell Zeb [Jackson] all the time to stay aggressive, and that it's all going to come to him," said VCU junior guard Ace Baldwin Jr. "As long as he keeps his confidence. He is a great player and we all trust what he can do on the floor."
 
Jackson's impact carried into the second half. Shortly after returning to the game, Jackson slammed home an arena-rocking dunk, then forced a La Salle timeout when he helped close out a trap at midcourt.
 
"I love coaching him, and I think he really loves basketball and being on the team," said Rhoades. "He really fits our style of play and with more confidence his game is really coming out."
 
At the 11-minute mark in the second half Jackson retook the floor and never sat back down. During that stretch the Rams pulled away from La Salle, and Jackson's impact was evident.
 
Baldwin jumped a pass midway through the second half, and with a bounce pass to Jackson the Rams were off and running. Coming behind him was redshirt sophomore forward Jamir Watkins, who took Jackson's behind-the-back pass in stride to lay it up and put VCU up 46-43.
 
"That play was me just hooping," said Jackson. "I do have to shoutout Watkins [Jamir] for running the floor and finishing the play, but it was really just playing basketball and having fun out there."
 
Jackson's final basket was a thing of beauty as well, fading away over a La Salle defender near the eight-minute mark. Jackson banged home the jumper to push VCU's lead to double digits at 63-53. A short time later, the Rams opened things up and were on their way to the 80-67 win.
 
"Maybe his basketball journey over the last few years has not gone the way he wanted," said Rhoades. "But that doesn't mean this year has to go that way."
 
So far, for Jackson, this year's journey has been pretty impactful.
  

Original source can be found here