At Friday’s Media Day at FedExForum, Casey Jacobsen was asked what his feelings were less than 24 hours from his first training camp as a Grizzly.
“It’s like butterflies in your stomach. I’m not nervous that things aren’t going to go well, but my body knows that it’s going to go through the ringer in the next week and it gets a little bit nervous,” he said.
If he was a little nervous on Friday, it’s hard to imagine how he felt at this time last year.
One year ago Casey Jacobsen was in training camp with the Houston Rockets on a free agent contract, fighting for a roster spot. The former first round pick of the Suns had spent three years in the NBA with the Suns and New Orleans Hornets before going to Spain for the 2004-05 season. He was looking to get back in the league last year on his tryout with the Rockets, but it was a fight he lost, as he ended up getting cut before the season started.
“I had never gone through that experience before in my career until last year in Houston, I’d always had a guaranteed contract whether I was playing in Europe or the NBA, and it was difficult. I thought I played well enough to make that team, but it didn’t work out, and I moved on,” he said.
Where he moved on to was Germany, where he played for the Brose Baskets.
“I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason, and I went to Germany last year and I am so grateful for that opportunity. I feel like I matured as a player and a person more there than I could have anywhere else,” he said.
He starred for his German team last season, averaging 16.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. More importantly, his team won the German championship, and Jacobsen was named Finals MVP.
“Germany isn’t one of the top two or three leagues in the entire world, but it’s up there. It was good competition and it was hard to win that championship. That was my first championship at the professional level and I cherish it as if it were an NBA title.”
His play caught the eye of new Grizzlies Head Coach Marc Iavaroni, who’d been an assistant with the Suns when Jacobsen played there. Thanks to his strong play over two seasons in Europe, Iavaroni and new General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Oeprations Chris Wallace signed Jacobsen to a free agent contract over the summer.
With his job status not an issue heading into camp this year, Jacobsen is relieved he can focus more on finding a role and earning minutes with the team. He knows he won’t be counted on to shoulder the scoring load like he was last season in Germany, but will more likely need to bring outside shooting off the bench. In his three seasons in the NBA from 2002 - 2005, he shot 31.5%, 41.7% and 37.3%, respectively, from three-point range, almost exclusively as a reserve.
“I’ve done that before, when I played with the Suns and the New Orleans Hornets that was my role. I’m one of those guys who understands that not everybody can be The Man and I have to be able to find my niche on this team and do that well in order to get playing time,” he said. “I’m not a guy who’s going to get 20 points a game, I’m not a guy who’s going to get 15 shots a game and I accept that, I’m OK with that. I just want to find what I can do on this team to get minutes and concentrate on doing that night in and night out.”
In addition to providing the Grizzlies with three-point shooting off the bench, Casey Jacobsen will be keeping a regular blog throughout the season for grizzlies.com. Keep an eye on grizzlies.com over the next week for his first installment.