Mean Green Energizer Bunny

DENTON — When 5-foot-10 North Texas men's basketball sophomore guard Jalen Jackson left the gym after practice Tuesday morning, he put his arm —as best as he could at least — around 6-foot-10 freshman Abou Ousmane. With a smile on his face he gave Ousmane an encouraging message and advice on a previous moment in practice.

Now in his second season, the once "younger brother" of the team has become a leader who coaches have noticed an increased level of comfort that has come with experience.

Always thought of as an outstanding teammate by his coaches with a winning pedigree and championship work ethic, Jackson was a crucial piece to the team's league title run last season.

"He's the perfect type of player you want to build a championship culture around," said UNT associate head coach Ross Hodge. "He had an extremely difficult role last season as a guy who didn't know before the game how many minutes he was going to get but he was always locked in and when his number was called we could count on him even though it might have been for short bursts.

"He understands winning and makes sure everyone else understands winning," Hodge added.

Jalen Jackson

While his stats might not have jumped off the box score every night, Jackson made winning plays such as drawing charges and grabbing steals in key moments.

The lone freshman on last year's squad, Jackson was embraced right away by all his teammates for his pure passion for winning.

"J Jack is the real deal," said senior Javion Hamlet. "He works hard, is a great dude and wants us to win as a team and he knows how to make winning play even if they're hard. We can always count on him. He's our energizer bunny."

Jalen Jackson

Even though he was the only freshman on last season's team, from the very beginning Jackson showed no hesitation to playing at the DI level. But now a year older, the coaches have noticed how being more comfortable in the program has elevated his game.

"Already this year we can tell he's significantly even more comfortable out on the floor," Hodge said. "You can tell he's relaxed especially on the offensive side. He knows the expectations. He knows what needs to be done to have success."

Jalen Jackson