Jackson 'the most confident I have been' heading into Year 2 with Illini
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 17—CHAMPAIGN — Destiny Jackson has an inherent sense of confidence.
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A level of belief in herself — and her game — that permeates wherever the Chicago native speaks about what she knows she can do on the basketball court.
That showed up for the Illinois women's basketball team this past season when 5-foot-6 point guard quickly understood opponents can't stop one particular aspect about her ability.
Jackson boldly proclaimed as much in the foyer at Ubben Basketball Complex last week when the former Whitney Young standout said she soon realized as a freshman that she could "get downhill pretty much any time I want."
That will always be in the bag for Jackson. The quickness, handles and skill to finish at the rim made the 2025 News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year an instant success as an Illini and a main reason why coach Shauna Green valued her so much on the recruiting trail.
Jackson was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after averaging 9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.4 minutes per game. She started all 34 games for a 22-win Illinois team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.
"It's a confidence," Jackson said. "I don't think a lot of people can match my speed and stay in front of me in general. ... I definitely always knew (that). But being here last year and Coach Green, us having a bunch of talks, it definitely grew over time. I am just the most confident I have been in probably my whole career."
Confident, yes.
But Jackson also isn't above acknowledging there are aspects of her game that need some work.
A clear area Illinois identified in the offseason that had to be addressed was Jackson's three-point shot.
Jackson shot just 28.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc with just 11 makes on only 39 attempts.
That's why it was no surprise to see a mid-April video on Calamity McEntire's Instagram feed of Jackson "in the lab" at Ubben Basketball Complex getting up shots with the Illini associate head coach.
All part of the process of Jackson becoming a more well-rounded college player entering her second season at Illinois.
"Just knowing the physicality at this level, her decision-making and continuing to be on her about her leadership," Green said of how a year of playing at the college level can help Jackson's overall development. "Her communication, especially being in the point guard position. Her strength to be able to get in there and finish and do the things we need her to do around the rim.
"Another key piece to her is getting that three-point shot consistent. That was one of the biggest things. Because a lot of teams played off of her, and we can't have them playing off of anyone because that eliminates all of our spacing. I have really been happy. I am on her all the time, 'If you're open, you have to shoot that.' She's put the work in. She's been in the gym since postseason and getting those reps up. I'm like, 'Trust your work.' She's hitting those threes consistently right now."
Jackson admits she's already seen that same progress. The sophomore guard spoke about how many of the same aspects she knew she needed to improve upon throughout the offseason "aligned" with what the Illinois coaching staff asked from her.
That made the idea of improving her three-point shot something that Jackson realized would help her game grow even further with the Illini currently in eight weeks of summer workouts.
And Jackson was completely on board with taking the time to make that happen.
"It's definitely looked very good," Jackson said of the progress she's witnessed with her three-point stroke. "As soon as the season ended, me and coach Mac hit it running and we were just getting up a bunch of shots. It's definitely going to spread out the court. ... That added layer of someone having to guard me that far out, it's going to make me harder to guard and make it easier for my teammates to score and for me to create for them."
That's not the only aspect Jackson has identified this summer as a growth point for her.
Jackson has also established a clear goal of being named to the All-Big Ten defensive team. Jackson's skill set as an on-ball defender became obvious from the start of her freshman year at Illinois. That came before Jackson's offensive game started to shine through in the second half of her freshman year — and particularly in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Jackson delivered 16 points on 5 of 15 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds, six assists and one steal in the seventh-seeded Illini's 66-57 victory against 10th-seeded Colorado in a first-round NCAA tournament game. That Jackson followed that up by finishing 0 of 7 from the floor (scoring her only two points at the free-throw line) during a season-ending 75-57 loss to second-seeded Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., was a tough way to end a promising season.
To be clear, Jackson wasn't alone in those struggles against the Commodores.
Through it all — and the ups and downs a freshman season can bring — Jackson still took enough away from her debut year to realize there were a few things that surprised her about how it went.
That gave her a jumping-off point as Jackson looked ahead to a seven-plus month offseason, building toward the start of her sophomore season in early November.
"Just being able to guard people that are older than me and have more experience than me," Jackson said. "Being able to stay in front of them and give them a challenge pretty much every night I played them. Obviously, as the season went on, just how effective I became at scoring.
"Just knowing that I am giving 100 percent every time I play a defensive possession because I want to be that engine that makes our team go on that side of the ball."