Where are they now - Jarrett Jack

So how's our boy Jarrett Jack doing these days? Not bad actually. However, he has developed an interesting relationship with his head coach Nate McMillan. Basically it's a "I'm going to be hard on you because you have so much potential" type of relationship.

As evidenced by this article, there is no doubt he's taking the challenges from his coach well, and as of course WE knew all along that Jack was going to be an eventual star and staple of this league.

"He said what he said and knew he could challenge me in front of the team, and I would take it man-to-man and move forward."

Or more succinctly, Jack took the message and applied it during the second half. He scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter to help erase 10 points off a 12-point deficit. The Blazers went on to win, with many of the players crediting Jack for how he responded to the criticism.

"Hey, I'm just playing basketball," Jack said afterward, trying to downplay McMillan's criticism. "If you grew up in any type of neighborhood, you had older dudes come at you the same way."

The Memphis game seems an example that McMillan's approach is working.

"I have been hard on him, really hard on him," McMillan said. "But he has responded each time, and I like that. I can get on him, and he doesn't take it personally. He doesn't go into his shell. It's almost like he says 'OK, I'll prove it to you.' "

However, the relationship seems deeper than just "being hard" on him:

The two spent hours in McMillan's hotel room in New Jersey going over the team's offense, the first time a player has done that in McMillan's coaching career. When McMillan needed a player to lean on in Toronto when the team was without leading scorer Zach Randolph, he turned to Jack. More than once, McMillan has counseled Jack after spotting him sitting alone and with his head down in the locker room after a poor performance.

Look, the bottom-line is this - Jarrett Jack is a winner and a leader. He wants to win, and he'll do what it takes...............................

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By the way, a new feature of the site is "labels". Each post will have labels so that you can "filter" on those labels and just see that stuff. For example this one will have labels for "Hoops" and "WATN" (which stands for Where Are They Now).