JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Having a get better mentality is something that Tony Jasick has stressed to his team this season. The Jacksonville University Dolphins are young but talented. There are 16 players on the roster and nine of them are freshman or sophomores.
“We’ve got a really young team, but I think we have really good players,” said coach Jasick. “We have to make sure as we go through the rest of the season as well as the spring and summer is that our goal is both. Yes we’re trying to win games now but we have to keep in the back of our mind the goal of getting better. Getting better at the fundamentals, getting better at the details, getting better at seeing the game with our young guys.”
One player who’s been seeing the court with 20/20 vision lately is JD Noate. The sophomore guard had a triple double in last week’s win over Kennesaw State.
Last season he was the A-SUN Freshman of the year. As a sophomore one area he’s improved is getting his teammates involved more.
“I know I can get into the paint against pretty much anybody,” said Noate, who is averaging four assists per game. “I feel like that creates more for my teammates. If their defender helps I can just kick it out to them. I feel that’s the biggest step I’ve made so far this year.”
Conference play continues tomorrow night for @JAX_MBB against North Alabama @wjxt4 @Sports4Jax pic.twitter.com/v644VuLtJn
— Brian Jackson (@BrianJacksonTV) January 15, 2019
Playing with more efficiency was one of the goals that Jasick had for Noate this season. Three games into the start of conference play, Jasick can see the growth in his sophomore guard.
“He was forced into a really tough spot as a freshman,” said Jasick. “We had a ton of issues so he was our primary shot taker right out of the gate. He didn’t have a ton of leadership around him early. We just threw him into the fire and I thought he did a really good job, but he was inefficient at times. That was by necessity with the way our roster was constructed. This year he’s done a better job of being more efficient. You can really see that with his assist numbers.”
On Wednesday night Jacksonville (8-10, 1-2) welcomes North Alabama (5-13, 2-1) to Swisher Gym. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.