Player: Jaeden Zackery
Class: Sophomore
Last Year’s Stats: 10.4 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals, shot 46.3 percent from the floor and 47.7 percent from three. Averaged 34.5 minutes per game and played in 33 games
College basketball will be here before you know it but, in all honesty, I can’t wait that long. That is why we are talking about it here in the summer. We are looking at players to really watch this upcoming season for programs, as we start in the ACC.
First up, sophomore Jaeden Zackery.
Zackery played at Chipola College, where he was named Third-Team NJCAA All-American. There, he averaged 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and shot 52 percent from the floor and 42 percent from three. Now, many may have not expected to see his production at Chipola College carry over so quickly to the Eagles, but that was just the case. Though one of the young prospects on the team, Zackery was inserted quickly into the starting line-up and never looked back as he had a strong first season and ended it well, scoring in double figures in six of his last eight games. He was able to gain a lot of knowledge as well, as the 6’2 guard averaged nearly 35 minutes of play.
But diving into the stats more, there were a few key ones that we found interesting. First, he played in 84.5 percent of BC’s minutes last season, which ranked him 12th in the ACC according to Kenpom. But he also was incredibly effective on the floor, as he ranked 25th in the conference (54.1) and also was highly effective on defense, having a 3.2 steal percentage which ranked 8th in the conference. Add on top of that how effective he was from outside, hitting 47.7 percent from three (52 total), Zackery had a strong start to his career. And with what he showed early on last year, if those numbers can increase just a little especially with the experience he earned and with more trust from the staff, he is one to keep an eye on in the ACC.