Few players have as much versatility on and off the court as LSU junior guard Chloe Jackson.
She is leading LSU in points (21.2 per game), minutes (38.2 per game) and steals (12). She is second on the team in rebounds (4.6 per game) and blocks (4) on the team in conference games. She has led the Lady Tigers in points (16.9 per game) and steals (36) for the season.
“I am just doing what I need to be doing for my team,” she said. “I have just been shooting the ball pretty good. I am trying to stay in a rhythm, and trying to keep my confidence up.”
“She has played like a veteran,” said coach Nikki Fargas. “She has done a lot of great things for us offensively, but also on the defensive end. She has someone who has worked on her craft and it is paying off.”
For Jackson, her skills go much further than just being talented on the basketball court. She is quite active off the court.
She used to play both the piano and the drums, but has not played them as much with basketball being her priority.
“I don’t play them anymore,” she said. “I think I was better at the piano, but I liked drums more.”
Her ability to utilize her instrumental skills on the court this season has been impressive.
“She is very creative,” Fargas said. “She is able to stay in rhythm. As a drummer, her hand-eye coordination is impeccable. It does not surprise me one bit that she excelled in that area, too.”
Along with her skill as a musician and talent as a basketball player, Jackson has shown her skills in other sports.
Jackson loves to play soccer and used to play it in high school before ultimately choosing to play basketball in college.
“I had scholarship offers in soccer and in basketball,” she said. “But the high school that I chose was a basketball school, so I ended up leaning toward basketball when it was time to make my college decision.”
Like her musical skills, Jackson has been able to translate her talents on the soccer pitch to the basketball court.
“She comes from a soccer background, you can tell in her footwork,” Fargas said. “She has impeccable footwork. Her change of speed and direction is probably one of the reasons why she is so good at scoring the basketball. That soccer training she has had over the years is one of the reasons why she has been such a good basketball player.”
Her footwork has been on full display against SEC opponents this season. She has proven more than just difficult for opponents to defend.
Jackson has scored at least 20 points in four of LSU’s five conference games in the Lady Tigers’ three games against currently ranked teams.
While Jackson has been strong on the offensive end this season, her versatility has been on full display on LSU’s defense.
“I definitely wanted to improve my defense,” she said. “That was one of things I worked on in the summer – getting quicker footwork, getting in the passing lanes and intercepting passes.”
She has become an integral component for LSU, as she is averaging nearly 40 minutes per game for the Lady Tigers in conference.
Endurance has come easy for her.
“That has just come from working in the summer,” Jackson said. “Our strength coach Chris White did a pretty good job with making sure we were conditioned for four quarters. He just worked on that. Endurance also came from soccer, being able to run up and down the field like that.”
For LSU, her stamina will be important for the remainder of conference play. When Jackson is at her best, Fargas believes Jackson has no limits.
“When Chloe puts her mind to something, and she really focuses in on it, she can accomplish anything,” Fargas said.