Former KU wing Josh Jackson happy in NBA bubble; Chalmers pours in 50 points at Vegas
Josh Jackson has no complaints about accommodations in the NBA bubble at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
In fact, the former University of Kansas shooting guard/small forward has rather enjoyed the past two weeks he’s spent practicing for the July 30 resumption of the NBA season with his Memphis Grizzlies.
“It hasn’t felt like a training camp at all. It really reminds me of AAU ball,” the 6-foot-8, 23-year-old Detroit native said Tuesday on Chris Vernon’s grindcitymedia.com podcast. “It feels like I’m back in high school. It’s like a travel trip tournament with my teammates, how it was when I was 15, 16 going to these tournaments. You don’t have a car, you are just in the room.”
When he’s not practicing in the Wide World of Sports Disney complex — site of the NBA’s restart of the 2019-20 season consisting of 22 of the 30 teams — Jackson is either dining in his room at the Grand Floridian Hotel or walking around Disney World. He and some teammates took a ride on a pontoon boat just the other day, while other teammates are fishing, golfing and bowling.
“It’s been good. For the younger guys it wasn’t that long ago where we were playing AAU and didn’t have an option but to be in your room and go to the game. I can feel for the older guys. They’ve been out of that for years and years now. I can feel it. I can understand it a little bit,” Jackson said.
He gave podcast host Vernon an example of a full day in the NBA bubble. The Grizzlies arrived for duty on July 8.
“Most days since we’ve been here our practices have been around 9 or 10 in the morning. We get done at 12:30 or 1 (p.m.). You have the rest of the day to yourself. Go and hang out at the pool, grab something to eat, play video games, chill in the room,” Jackson explained.
“Today, practice is at 6 (p.m.),” he added Tuesday. “This morning we had a recovery workout as a group in the pool which was fun. Guys were splashing each other, jumping in the pool laughing at 10 in the morning.”
When practice is at 10 a.m. … “I take a nap when we get back from practice, wake up and play video games. The food has gotten a lot better. It’s gotten tremendously better. We’ve got a few restaurants we can order from — Del Frisco’s is one (and) Morton’s. We’re eating like we normally do. I play video games all day pretty much — a lot of Apex Legends. It (game) came out a little while after Fortnite. (It’s) another shooting game. I’ll sit there and play all day. I’ll look up and I’ve been on that thing four or five hours without even knowing,” Jackson stated.
As far as the resumption of the season … “I’m ready to get rolling,” Jackson said.
He’s had a rebirth of sorts this season with the Grizzlies after his first two seasons in the league with the Phoenix Suns in which he averaged 12.3 points a game (on 41.5% shooting; 29.4% from three) and 4.5 rebounds over 156 total games.
He was traded to the Grizzlies on July 7, 2019 and was immediately assigned to the G League’s Memphis Hustle where Jackson was told to re-start his career. He averaged 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game in 26 G League games and was named midseason all-NBA G League for the Western Conference.
After getting called up, Jackson averaged 10.4 points (on 43.9% shooting, 31.9% threes) and 3.2 rebounds in 18 games for the Grizzlies. He averaged 17 points a game in five games in March before the stoppage of the season because of COVID-19 coronavirus.
“It feels like a home. here (with Memphis),” said Jackson, who had some legal problems in Phoenix.
He was arrested at a concert in Miami, Florida for for allegedly attempting to enter the VIP entrance several times and allegedly trying to evade police while being arrested. “After the trade happened I sat down and talked with the guys in the (Memphis) front office. We were really honest with each other from the beginning.
“I think that’s one of the things that made this thing start rolling. It’s been nothing but that since I’ve been here. I’ve done everything I said I was going to do. They’ve done everything they said they were going to do.”
Of his time in Phoenix, the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft said: “You come in as a rookie. You play your first NBA game and after your second NBA game your head coach is fired. You get a new head coach,” he said, adding, “ it was a lot of things I dealt with on and off the court, things I brought on myself and things I couldn’t control. You take the good and bad and learn from it at end of the day and you try to make better decisions.”
He also had some legal problems during his one school year at KU. He averaged 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds as a Jayhawk in 2016-17.
“I made some mistakes when I was younger. I am not proud of everything I did, but it is what it is. I can’t go back and change anything. I can live from now and be who I am,” said Jackson, who said he has turned to Tony Allen, player development coach of the Memphis Hustle, for mentorship and guidance.
Jackson — he is a proud father of two young daughters (four months and 1 1/2 years old) — sounds like somebody who would like to continue on with the Grizzlies. He’s a free agent this offseason.
“I try not to think about it,” Jackson said of the upcoming offseason on the grindcitymedia.com podcast. “All I can really do is come out and perform. I just try to take it game by game, go out and help my team win. Everybody loves a winner. That’s what I want to be. I want to win.”
Folks in Memphis are certainly hopeful that Jackson will be an important part of the rotation the remainder of the season into next year.
“When the Memphis Grizzlies traded for Josh Jackson last June, there was little idea as to what to expect from such a uniquely talented, yet troubled, individual,” wrote Nathan Chester of SB Nation. “There were even several points over the course of this season where there were questions as to whether he would ever suit up as a member of the Grizzlies at all.
“But in the limited time that he had with the Grizzlies, before the unfortunate suspension of the season, he truly made the most of his opportunity and flashed improvement in key areas of his game. He made himself crucial to the Grizzlies’ mostly successful efforts to stay afloat in the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke. And hopefully, he will continue to be an impactful member of the Grizzlies rotation in Orlando and possibly after this season.”
Chalmers hit 50 in win
Former Kansas basketball combo guard Mario Chalmers, who has said he’d love to join an NBA team down the stretch as a backup point guard, is putting on quite a show in The 5 Tournament Pro Basketball Invitational at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Chalmers, 34, who played in Greece during a 2019-20 season cut short because of the pandemic, exploded for 50 point — yes, 50 points — in Miami’s 119-90 victory over Chicago Wednesday night.
Chalmers hit 15 threes in 29 attempts in Wednesday’s 3-on-3 halfcourt contest. Overall he hit 17 of 32 shots with seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.
In Game One of the tourney on Sunday, Chalmers scored 26 points on 5-of-16 shooting (13 of 13 from the line; 3 of 11 from three-point range) in Miami’s loss to Texas. And Tuesday, Chalmers scored 22 points on 7-of-20 shooting (5 of 14 on threes) with 11 rebounds and five assists in Miami’s win over New York.
Former Jayhawks Darnell Jackson and Julian Wright are also playing in the tourney in which the members of the winning team split $100,000. Former KU wing Brandon Rush initially signed up as a member of Sacramento’s team but is not competing in the event.
Playing for New York, Jackson scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and three steals in Tuesday’s loss to Miami. He had 17 points and 13 boards in Sunday’s loss to Chicago.
Wright, playing for Toronto, scored four points in a loss to Sacramento Sunday. Wright had five points and three steals in Tuesday’s loss to Texas.
“I’ve definitely got the itch to be back there playing and competing, being able to have some fun, to play basketball with these guys,” Chalmers said before the tourney started.
Chalmers, who won two NBA titles with the Miami Heat in his nine years in the NBA, has completely recovered from the Achilles tear that he suffered in 2016. He sat out the entire 2016-17 season before returning to the NBA with Memphis in 2017-18. He’s played overseas the past two seasons.
This Vegas tourney, which continues until July 29, is available on FITE pay-per-view. Details are available at the5tournament.com.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Former KU wing Josh Jackson happy in NBA bubble; Chalmers pours in 50 points at Vegas."
