Thursday, May 05, 2005

Hoops: No Surprise With Jack

No time, but no surprise with Jarrett Jack - story here.......... Here's more on Jack, including the fact that Coach Hewitt is the one who took the pressure off Jack by advising him to test the NBA waters (since he can do so without penalty). Hey, you cannot fault Coach Hewitt - he sticks up for his players as well as anyone in the country - PERIOD! Any kid would be blessed to play for coach like that.


Hewitt began planning in January for Jack's departure, figuring there was no way his star guard would be back for a fourth season. But Jack asked to meet with his coach after the season, and they got together about three weeks ago at a pizza restaurant near campus.


"He said he was not sure what he wanted to do," Hewitt recalled. "I was like, 'What?' Are you kidding me?'"


After hearing Jack out, the coach advised him to at least enter his name in the draft, giving himself a chance to talk with NBA teams before he makes a final decision.


Jack's mother, Louise, traveled from Maryland to attend her son's announcement at the school's campus arena. She praised Hewitt for advising Jarrett to give the NBA a look.


"Knowing how Jarrett feels about him, Coach Hewitt easily could have swayed him to come back to school," Louise Jack said. "But he's trying to do what's best for his players. That took a lot of the pressure off."


Now, interestingly, Zam Fredrick's decision to stay or go will likely hinge on the decisions made by Jack and incoming freshman Austin Jackson. So these decisions are not independent.