2017 Orlando Magic Draft Preview: Who is Frank Jackson?

The Bad

Frank Jackson has a lot of tools at his disposal, but he still got lost in the shuffle at Duke. Some of that might have to do with the fact he is not a true point guard. Putting the ball in his hands likely means he is trying to create for himself.

Jackson averaged a lowly 1.7 assists per game. He did not drive to create for others. And that raises a lot of questions about his ability to play point guard at the next level. It might have been better for him to stay at Duke and play as the point guard with Luke Kennard gone. Jackson could have taken on a bigger scoring load.

This will be the biggest criticism of Jackson throughout this draft process. And probably the one thing he could have disproven some in workouts as coaches worked out with him and instructed him some. It would have at least helped them learn if he can turn into a point guard.

It might have been better for him to stay at Duke and play as the point guard with Luke Kennard gone. Jackson could have taken on a bigger scoring load and develop these skills.

Jackson just is not a natural passer. He can aggressively attack the basket and score, but he is not looking to set others up.

It just is not something that seems to come naturally to him.

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And with his meager stats, it is hard to figure out exactly how much he can bring to a team.

Duke did not use him much — he had a 21.1 percent usage rate. That hurt his statistics. His 10.9 points per game are not super impressive. There is something lacking with him on that front.

Perhaps it was him fitting in with his team and his role. Perhaps it was something else.

Then again, Jackson recorded eight of his 20 games with 10 or more points in the first eight games. He tapered off as the season went on. He could not sustain his fast start.

There is just a big question of what Jackson can do when he does not have the ball in his hands. And then especially when he is not trying to score.

And Jackson does not have good defense to fall back on.

Part of his problems at Duke came from his poor defense. He had a lowly 0.2 defensive box plus-minus, according to Sports-Reference. Typically many of the top prospects are better than 1.0. Jackson will have to work really hard on the defensive end to make his mark.

At this point, Jackson is an athletic shotmaker but does not have much else to add to his game.