Comfort level much higher for Jackson entering sophomore year with Illini
- Story byThe News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
- Comfort level much higher for Jackson entering sophomore year with Illini
Nov. 4—CHAMPAIGN — Destiny Jackson would describe herself as a pass-first point guard.
Those were the exact words the sophomore guard on the Illinois women's basketball team used on Tuesday morning from the lobby of Ubben Basketball Complex.
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Illini fifth-year coach Shauna Green respects that side of the former five-star recruit's game. But Green's system also demands more from a point guard. That Illinois wants to see the 5-foot-6 Chicago native develop into more of a scoring threat.
It's an area the Illini have worked on with Jackson during the last seven months of the offseason, as the 2025 News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year from Whitney Young High School seeks to take her play to another level.
A process that will start to take shape even further at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Illinois' 2026-27 regular-season opener against Detroit Mercy (1-0) at State Farm Center.
"So, I love getting my teammates involved," Jackson said. "Just knowing when I see opportunities to score, just taking those. Just honestly making the right play for my team when I need to. It's great. I always have someone to pass the ball to, no matter what. I know I have an outlet. I know I have a dump-down. I know I have a kick-out three. I know I have so many people around me that can shoot. I have somebody open. They can't guard all five of us. That's a big thing.
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"I mean it definitely makes my job easier just from a sense of everybody on the court can score at any given time. When I can score, I will. But for the most part, I like being a point guard. I like facilitating."
That idea of Jackson as both a scorer and facilitator is something that Green values equally. It's why the Illini coach has encouraged those abilities from her top guard.
Still, Illinois understands that the best version of its offense is with Jackson offering more of a three-point threat.
It's something the Illini saw last season when as opponents didn't guard Jackson as if she could consistently hit from beyond the three-point arc. The numbers justified that defensive strategy, as Jackson shot only 28.2 percent from deep with 11 made three-pointers on 39 attempts. Still, Jackson put up steady numbers as a freshman in averaging 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 31.4 minutes per game while starting all 34 games for Illinois.
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"That's the great thing about having so many scoring options and everyone on our roster can score," Green said. "We've always loved in our system scoring point guards. It's just what I know personally as a head coach, but also with the mindset to facilitate and make your teammates better and Destiny has that ... where (our point guards are) fully capable of making a play, but they're also fully capable and willing to facilitate and make their teammates better.
"I want them to do both. I don't want them to feel restrained or constrained in any way. I want them to be able to play their game and be free and confident in that. I think it's kind of a mixture of both."
That became the plan for Jackson in the offseason after Illinois' season ended with a 75-57 loss at Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA tournament in late March.
The Illini devised how to maximize Jackson's talent.
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Part of that came in the weight room with getting stronger while at the same time having Jackson work a lot with Illinois associate head coach Calamity McEntire in honing the Illini point guard's three-point shot. This on top of the fact Jackson already has the natural talent with a quick first step to blow by her defender and get to the basket with ease, which she put on full display in year one with the Illini.
"Last year, you probably seen me go to the basket and get knocked over a lot," Jackson said. "This year, I'm definitely more on balance. I have a sturdier base. It helps with that, and overall, I feel like I have a higher burst when I do certain things because of the work I put in in the weight room.
"In a sense just off the strength of me leaning into me taking an outside shot more but also just knowing that it was a step in the right direction that I needed to take to grow as a basketball player."
What that has resulted in is a more confident Jackson.
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A more comfortable Jackson in what her role will be ahead of her sophomore season with expectations high for this Illinois team after a successful offseason of retention, which has the Illini also ranked in the AP preseason Top 25 rankings.
That's helped, too, as Jackson has stepped into an added leadership role this upcoming season. It's been a significant development with Jackson still getting back to 100 percent after missing some practice time last month after what Green said was "that little tweak of her hamstring."
"It's definitely an area I wanted to grow in, just off the strength of being a point guard and playing for Coach Green," Jackson said. "I know how much she vocalizes wanting her point guards to step up into more of that leadership role. Just knowing that I have a year under my belt with so much experience as a freshman, I knew coming into my sophomore year my voice is something I wanted to use. So, I really leaned into that and got more comfortable in that role.
"I'm enjoying it so far. (I'm) more confident in just every role, everything that Coach Green asked me to take on. Just knowing that my teammates have my back and (to) not stress so much and worry about any mistakes. (Now, I'm) going out there and playing freely and trying to win every game."
