By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Yesterday, Edwin Jackson called out Hoopshype for not including him among upcoming “European basketball free-agent sleepers” that could possibly land an NBA contract on summer.
The sequence of messages began with the 27-year-old French shooting guard re-tweeting said video-list and writing “You are forgetting someone”. Obviously meaning himself.
It then went as follows…
As if looking to make a loud statement on the fact that he should be seriously considered as an upcoming free-agent that can attract heavy attention from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the arch-scorer of Liga Endesa had a monster performance in Fuenlabrada – Estudiantes, less than 24 hours after the above tweets.
Jackson scored a season-high 39 points on solid shooting (4/5 two-pointers, 7/12 from beyond the arc, 10/13 free throws) while dishing out 4 assists and winning 8 fouls. His team fell behind after an explosive 18 – 31 start (which happened thanks to his 14 points in the first quarter) and ultimately lost 103 – 97, despite his valiant efforts to prevent defeat with a late three-pointer for the 99 – 97 with 16 seconds to go.
This number is striking for more reasons than one. It’s not only a championship season-high but the fourth top offensive performance in the Spanish League over the last 10 years. Only Jacob Pullen (42 points in 2013/2014), Darius Adams (41 lin the previous season) and Gerald Fitch (41 in 2009 – 2010) have been more lucrative in a single game over the last decade.
Apart from a personal record in the current season, the 39 points constitute Jackson’s second most prolific production ever, surpassing the 34 he had scored in a French League game between Villeurbanne and Orleans in 2013. His highest remain the 44 points with which he finished Villeurbanne – Roanne in 2014.
This is Jackson’s third year in Liga Endesa. He first arrived in Spain after signing with Barcelona in 2014, spent the previous season with Unicaja Malaga and then joined Estudiantes to a one-year deal last summer.