Summer Sessions: Jabari Craig
July 28, 2017 | Men's Basketball
SEASON RECAP
The emergence of Andre Washington in the post last season delayed his development, but he did have a positive impact on the Pirates in his limited minutes. He averaged 2.0 rebounds in an average of 8.3 minutes per game as he made the transition from junior college to Division I. He also showed the ability to be a physical defender in the paint and the psyche to be a shot blocker, averaging 0.5 blocks per game. Craig played in 25 contests, but only saw more than 10 minutes of action eight times.
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BY THE NUMBERS
22 – Combined rebounds in the first two games of the season against Grambling State and N.C. A&T. He pulled down 13 boards versus N.C. A&T, including a season-high eight offensive boards.
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13 – Blocked shots, fourth most on the team and second most of any player returning for the 2017-18 campaign (Barkley, 15).
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 COACH JEFF LEBO
On Craig's first season as a Pirate
I thought he was a physical defender. He's one of the most physical, athletic guys I've ever coached. Offensively he wasn't consistent, but he's never really been an offensive player in his career plus had the tendency to get in foul trouble. However, he did show signs. [The ability] is there we've just got to try to get it out of him consistently.
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On areas Craig worked on during the summer
The biggest thing for him was catching the ball first in the post and being able to go quickly to a move without putting in down multiple times. Sometimes he'll put it down and he'll lose the ball or bobble the ball or just have it taken away from him. We challenged him in that area. He also worked on his jump hook right, jump hook left and has improved both. I'd like to see him be a better offensive rebounder, better nose for the ball because he's such a physical, athletic guy.
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On expectations for him in 2017-18
"We've got high expectations for Jabari. He's going to have to play a lot of minutes for us this year. He's got a body and a physicality that fits at this level, but he's got to rebound the ball better, play at a faster pace, be smarter and he's got to be able to score for us. He doesn't have to be a big scorer for us, but he's got to give us six to eight points consistently a night whether its off an offensive rebound, jump hook or at the foul line. He's got to be able to stay in the game longer periods of time and stay out of foul trouble.
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The emergence of Andre Washington in the post last season delayed his development, but he did have a positive impact on the Pirates in his limited minutes. He averaged 2.0 rebounds in an average of 8.3 minutes per game as he made the transition from junior college to Division I. He also showed the ability to be a physical defender in the paint and the psyche to be a shot blocker, averaging 0.5 blocks per game. Craig played in 25 contests, but only saw more than 10 minutes of action eight times.
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BY THE NUMBERS
22 – Combined rebounds in the first two games of the season against Grambling State and N.C. A&T. He pulled down 13 boards versus N.C. A&T, including a season-high eight offensive boards.
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13 – Blocked shots, fourth most on the team and second most of any player returning for the 2017-18 campaign (Barkley, 15).
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 COACH JEFF LEBO
On Craig's first season as a Pirate
I thought he was a physical defender. He's one of the most physical, athletic guys I've ever coached. Offensively he wasn't consistent, but he's never really been an offensive player in his career plus had the tendency to get in foul trouble. However, he did show signs. [The ability] is there we've just got to try to get it out of him consistently.
Â
On areas Craig worked on during the summer
The biggest thing for him was catching the ball first in the post and being able to go quickly to a move without putting in down multiple times. Sometimes he'll put it down and he'll lose the ball or bobble the ball or just have it taken away from him. We challenged him in that area. He also worked on his jump hook right, jump hook left and has improved both. I'd like to see him be a better offensive rebounder, better nose for the ball because he's such a physical, athletic guy.
Â
On expectations for him in 2017-18
"We've got high expectations for Jabari. He's going to have to play a lot of minutes for us this year. He's got a body and a physicality that fits at this level, but he's got to rebound the ball better, play at a faster pace, be smarter and he's got to be able to score for us. He doesn't have to be a big scorer for us, but he's got to give us six to eight points consistently a night whether its off an offensive rebound, jump hook or at the foul line. He's got to be able to stay in the game longer periods of time and stay out of foul trouble.
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