A Grant Jackson interview from UC San Diego athletics

UC San Diego, as a team, is 'en fuego' this season -- 9-1 overall plus 4-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association -- and the Tritons are led on the court by Grant Jackson, a sophomore guard out of Monte Vista High. Below is an interview with him from 12/18:

"Quietly and steadily, sophomore point guard Grant Jackson has made himself an indispensable element of the UC San Diego men's basketball team's success over the last season and a third. The unassuming economics major may not dominate a postgame box score, but he can score (12 points against top-10 opponent Colorado School of Mines and Thursday at Cal State Dominguez Hills), distribute (third on the team in assists), and even hit the boards when needed (five or more rebounds five times in nine games this season). "Grant impacts the game in a lot of different ways, and not all show up on the stat sheet," says head coach Eric Olen. "For a quiet guy, he brings a lot of toughness and competitiveness every night. Plus, so importantly at his position, he takes care of the ball, and he's done that since day one." Heading into the winter holidays before the bulk of the 2015-16 conference schedule comes to pass, the Danville native and Monte Vista High School grad took time to talk about his team's great 8-1 start, adjusting to the college game, and the hottest player in the NBA today.

Q: Your favorite basketball player is the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry. Is there any part of your game that's comparable to his?
JACKSON: If anything, I'd say that we both want to make the best play for our team. Usually for me, that involves getting into the lane and finding the open man, while he (Curry) shoots a lot of threes and uses his ball handling to create. We do it in different ways, but at the end of the day, we both want to create the best result for the team.

Q: What part of his repertoire do you most wish you had?
JACKSON: Definitely his shooting. He can catch and shoot, shoot off the dribble, and has incredible range. Best shooter of all time.

Q: Coming off a solid year in 2014-15, this year's Triton team has had its best-ever start in Division II. What has been the catalyst for the great early-season performance?
JACKSON: I think this start has been building from the first day we arrived at school. Everybody came in on day one ready to work and get better. It also is a huge bonus when you have guys like Drew (Dyer), Zach (McMillan), Hunter (Walker), Aleks (Lipovic) and Adam (Klie) who have all been here for multiple years and know what it takes to be successful. They have all been great in being vocal leaders and leading by example.

Q: You've started every game so far this season, averaging 6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and just under two assists per outing. How would you describe your responsibilities on the floor, and what do you think is the most important thing you bring to this year's team?
JACKSON: On the floor, my job is to get us into offense and be a playmaker on both ends of the floor. I think the most important thing that I bring is my ability to get into the lane and make plays. I'd like to think that I'm pretty quick, so I use that to my advantage and make the defense react to me so we can get better shots.

Q: What are the three words that best describe you as a basketball player?
JACKSON: Hates to lose.

Q: As a high school senior, your Monte Vista (Danville) team won the Division I state championship. What do you remember most about that season, and how did it change you as a player?
JACKSON: I remember that we were one of the best teams in the area, so we would get our opponent's A-game every night. We had to be ready to go every time we took the floor, because teams were excited to play us. As a player, that helped me make sure I was focused and locked in no matter who the game was against.

I also remember that year that everyone on the team was really good friends with one another and genuinely liked each other. That chemistry played a big part in the success of that team, and it is something I sense that we have with this current UCSD team.

Q: You played your way into 12 starts as a freshman. What was the most difficult thing for you to work through during your first year of college basketball? Where do you feel you've improved the most between years one and two?
JACKSON: The most difficult thing was coming into a tough conference like the CCAA and playing in games on back-to-back nights. Physically, you usually don't feel 100 percent on the second night, so it can be somewhat of a grind. Between last year and this year, I got stronger so I would be able to be more effective through physical play and be able to feel fresh on the second night of a back-to-back.

Another thing that has really improved is that the game has slowed down much more for me. Having a full year of experience in college basketball has really helped because I just go out there and play, while last year I would sometimes overthink.

Q: Early in the season, two-year starter Hunter Walker went down with a knee injury. What's allowed the team to play through that loss and continue to be successful?
JACKSON: Obviously, losing Hunter was a huge blow for us, and what he does can't be replaced by just one person. It's been on the entire team to collectively step up and all do a little more. Everyone on this team is a good basketball player, and everyone has shown that they are capable of taking on a bigger role without him in the lineup.

Q: How would you label Eric Olen's style as a head coach? If you were making a movie about him, who would you pick to play the lead role?
JACKSON: He's really passionate, and he shows a lot of belief in us as players. That goes a long way because you always want to play hard for him no matter what happens throughout the game. Even if you miss five shots in a row, he has the confidence that the next shot you take is going down.

I'll pick (Leonardo) DiCaprio to play Coach in a movie. I don't know how he would do as a basketball coach, but he's one of the best actors of our generation, so I'm sure he'd do a good job of portraying Coach as both easygoing off the court, and serious on it.

Q: You're from Northern California, and both of your parents graduated from Stanford. How did you end up at UC San Diego?
JACKSON: With two parents who went to Stanford, I always knew that academics were very important and that I would be going to a good school. When it came down to picking which school I would go to, UCSD was by far the best choice. I really couldn't ask for more in terms of being at a great school, playing basketball, and being five minutes away from the beach.

Q: As an economics major, hoping to work in a field that combines sports and business, what could you see yourself doing, career-wise?
JACKSON: Ultimately, I'd like to stay around sports as long as possible, because I love sports. I want to feel excited about my job instead of loathing going to work. So I could see myself in marketing or managing or something else, ideally in a field that incorporates sports into the business aspect.

Q: You've listed golf as one of your favorite hobbies. How would you critique your game? What would you shoot if you played 18 at Torrey Pines South tomorrow? Who's the best golfer on the team?
JACKSON: Really inconsistent. Some days I can hit it straight, and other days I might lose 10 balls. I think I'm decent inside 100 yards, though.

If I played at Torrey Pines tomorrow, it wouldn't go very well because I haven't picked up a club since the summer, so I'd probably be in the triple digits. I don't know who the best golfer on the team is, but Kenny (Fraser), Jeff (Van Dyke) and I have talked about playing sometime in the future, so that should be fun.

Q: Finish these two sentences. The 2015-16 season will be a success if our team (blank). The 2015-16 season will be a success if I (blank).
JACKSON: The 2015-16 season will be a success if our team keeps getting better every day and is playing its best basketball at the end of the season. The 2015-16 season will be a success if I play to the best of my ability."