The Ostrobothnian team at the top of the Korisliiga after 10 games played would not have been a big surprise before the season. That, in turn, is that the team leading the series is the Lapuan Kobras and not the reigning champion Kauhajoki Karhu.
The Kobri’s flight in the early season has been built up by really successful foreign acquisitions and the fairly unchanged Finnish frame. His fourth season coaching in Lapua Ville Turjan the group has turned several difficult games into victories in the early season under the leadership of their Yankee reinforcements.
Kaelin “KJ” Jackson, Danny Pippen mixed Denzel Livingston is one of the toughest foreigner trios in the entire series. The explosively fast Jackson has scored 19.7 points and 5.9 assists per game as the number one guard. In addition, he has grabbed 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
– I’m really competitive. Sometimes the competitor in me tries to take over and I try to do everything on the field, but I try to restrain it, Jackson opened up about his character in an interview with Urheilu.
A versatile and important athlete for his team
Jackson is not, as is sometimes typical of foreign signings, a simple basket maker. He considers himself a versatile and team-oriented player.
– I am ready to do everything to win. Great teammates bring a lot to the game and I need them. The fact that I try to get them the ball and make them better makes the team difficult to beat, the defender analyzed.
Turja describes the back man as one of the best foreign reinforcements he has seen. The coach especially appreciates the man’s ability to defend.
– Jackson is so comprehensively involved in the entire game that he is one of the best players of my entire coaching career. For example, in the match against Lahti (11.11.), he took a few possessions with his own athleticism, which is why Lahti didn’t get decisive shots at the end.
Jackson is a really athletic and explosively fast player. On the offensive end, he skillfully finishes from close to the basket and from his own moves.
Coached Lahti Basketball in team meetings Pieti Poikola considers Jackson a quality player.
– He has excellent body and ball control. He reads well when the defender makes a mistake, takes advantage of it and attacks towards the basket, Poikola analysed.
Under Poikola, Lahti tried to prevent the back man’s drives to the basket, but Jackson was too difficult for the team to contain.
– We assumed that the man should not pass by. It is so difficult to defend him between the man and the basket, that we preferred to give space to long throws and try to take away the drive, Poikola opens up about his plan at the time.
– Against us, it happened that he threw all the long shots into the basket, which made the defense pretty disgusting. Then, when we got a little closer, a man started driving by from the right and left.
Jackson has averaged every third of his 3-pointers in the Basketball League so far, which is the second best rate of his career. The biggest problem has been the volatility of the throw.
He has played ten games, in three of which the man has not hit a single three-pointer. In addition, one match of five three-pointers can be included, in which Jackson succeeded once.
– If he can develop his long throw, he has the conditions to reach a very high level in Europe, Poikola told .
The Miljoonakaupungin grown-up thrives in Lapua and Finland
Jackson, who gives a relaxed and down-to-earth impression of himself, says he is enjoying his time in Lapua. The small size of the city does not bother the man.
– I can quickly get from one place to another and I can focus on basketball, describes the player who grew up in Houston, USA.
Head coach Turja praises his protégé’s personality profusely.
– Jackson’s work ethic is admirable and he is an incredible person.
The competitive defender wants to develop his game in Finland. He had already told his new team before the start of the season that he wanted to be the group’s leading scorer.
– I want to become more efficient and get my teammates to participate in the game better and offer them free throws.
For a 24-year-old player, Jackson has the traits of an experienced player. For example, he watches a lot of games and studies how his opponents play. According to their own words, even several hours to find small but decisive advantages in games.
– He leads in his own way and by example. He holds everything in a moment, a bit like grounding the guys so that no one floats, Turja says.
Suomen Korisliiga is especially praised by the defender for the players’ throwing skills. For example, compared to university basketball, the Finnish league has many more throwers, according to Jackson.
– It seems that in every game someone throws eight threes or similar, says the Yankee, who played in Romania before Finland after his university career.
The Cobras have not yet won a single SC medal in their history. In light of that, the flight at the beginning of the season has been exceptional. This week, the team has two tough tests ahead of them, when they first face BC Nokia and in Saturday’s local match Kauhajoen Karhu.
The back man, who averaged 15 points per game last season in Steaua Bucuresti of the Romanian league, has clear thoughts about the rest of the season.
– I want to experience the playoffs, they are the best that basketball can offer us. And of course I want to win the championship.