Michigan State Basketball: The time has come for Jaren Jackson Jr. to complete the puzzle
By Cory Linsner
At a crucial point in the season, Michigan State basketball needs its best players, including Jaren Jackson Jr., to complete the title puzzle.
As we head into the final week of the season, time is dwindling for teams to self evaluate, make adjustments and, most importantly, put on the finishing touches in order to make a push in March.
Must Read: MSU Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for February
Stemming from this, its on individual players to evaluate themselves and fine-tune their games to be the best they can in the closing stages of the season. Jaren Jackson Jr. needs to top this list for the Spartans.
We all have seen the pieces Jackson Jr. brings to the table, whether it’s a rim protector, averaging 3.3 blocks per game which is third in the nation, a scorer that can take over a game, as we saw in the 27 point night he had in Minneapolis a week ago, or we can just be perfectly honest in saying that he’s a nightmare for opposing players when he’s on defense. A mismatch on both ends of the court is a good way to describe him.
While the pieces to the puzzle are there, there’s just one thing is holding him back from completing it, and I think a tweet articulates just why perfectly:
Death. Taxes. 2 fouls for Jaren Jackson Jr. in the first half of a game.
— Jamal Spencer (@JamalSpencerTV) February 10, 2018
Jackson Jr. can’t keep his hands to himself and stay on the court for lengthy periods of time.
In 16 BIg Ten games this season, Jackson Jr. has logged three or more fouls 10 times. To make matters worse, he was whistled for four fouls in six of those 10, and has fouled out twice. So lets do the math — in 8-of-16 conference games this season, Jackson Jr. has had four or more fouls, thats 50 percent of the time. This is a trend that can not continue.
As we near the end of February, Jaren knows what the officials are going to whistle, and how they like to call games. The time has come for him to learn from his experience throughout the season, and better himself by it.
Therefore, he has two games left in the regular season, and the Big Ten Tournament to fix the kinks, and start putting the puzzle pieces together.
Next: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions for February
It’s obvious to anyone watching a Michigan State game that this team is substantially better on both ends of the court when Jackson Jr. is on the floor. The future top-five NBA draft pick needs to limit the fouls, stay on the court, and help lead this team to their maximum potential.