Casey at the Chat
 Jacobsen chatted live with Suns fans on July 24. |
Casey Jacobsen is feeling pretty lucky these days.
The Phoenix Suns guard completed a flurry of NBA pre-draft workouts last month. When all was said and done, he had completed 12 private workouts, including one in the Valley of the Sun on Memorial Day. But as the draft drew near, Jacobsen had pegged Phoenix as his destination of choice.
"If you would have told me to rank the teams based on opportunity, location, management and being comfortable, Phoenix would have been No. 1," the Stanford sharpshooter admitted after being snagged with the 22nd selection of the 2002 NBA Draft, a pick acquired from the Boston Celtics along with guards Joe Johnson, Milt Palacio and Randy Brown for veterans Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk.
Jacobsen's good fortunes continued when the 6-6 guard averaged 15.1 points in the Southern California Summer Pro League, including an incredible 35-point shooting display (7-10 FG, 5-6 3FG, 16-17 FT) on July 11 vs. the Warriors.
Now, playing in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City, Jacobsen has helped the Suns' summer league team get off to a blazing 3-0 start.
Early scouting reports from L.A. and Utah report that Jacobsen already has NBA three-point range and is a heady court player who should immediately help the Suns in 2002-03. Hmmm. Sort of sounds like a few former Suns players (Dan Majerle, Danny Ainge, Jeff Hornacek).
Casey and the "Summer Suns" will take on the Denver Nuggets this Thursday in a game that will air on ESPN 2. But first, the 21-year-old rookie participated in a chat session with fans on Suns.com on Wednesday, July 24.
Daniel from Mesa: Casey i'm only 14 but i've been watching you since your freshmen year in college and i was wondering what your most memorable moment in college was?
Casey Jacobsen: Probably hitting the game-winning shot against Duke my sophomore year, to that point, it was the biggest game of my career against the best team in the nation. To succeed on that kind of stage is what playing basketball is all about.
Mathew (Toronto): If there was one thing that you could do to improve the Suns what would it be?
Casey Jacobsen: I think the Suns drafted me because they need and want shooters. So I think that's the primary thing that I can add to their team. They have very talented playmakers already, so I don't need to be the guy that does everything on the offensive side. If I can make Penny and Stephon look better by knocking down my shots, I think I'll be a positive addition to the Suns.
Nick Rodgers (Phx, AZ): Yo Casey when did you begin to play basketball and where are you looking forward to play at (Arenas) in the NBA?
Casey Jacobsen: I've played basketball since I was eight years old. My older brother Adam was my very first basketball coach in my hometown of Glendora. I haven't played in very many NBA arenas, so I don't have any favorites or anything like that, but I think that every time I play in Los Angeles in the Staples Center, it will be a special game because most of my friends and family will be able to come see me there.
Nick Rodgers (Phx, AZ): What is your goal to achieve in the NBA while in your career?
Casey Jacobsen: I haven't set any goals for myself yet, the only thing I can ask for in the next few years is an opportunity to play some minutes and contribute to a team. Once I get that opportunity, then I think I'll start to really think of where I want my basketball career to go. It's so early now, I'm just trying to help the Suns win some games.
Penny Lover (Orlando): Have you already met any of the other Suns players like Penny Hardaway, Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion?
Casey Jacobsen: I've met Stephon before we came to play in the summer leagues, he worked out with some of the rookies one day in Phoenix. I met Anfernee in Long Beach. He and Bo Outlaw have a bunch of buddies out there and were watching some games. I met Tom Gugliotta, but didn't have much of a chance to talk to him. So I've met everybody, except for Shawn Marion.
Chicago: Casey, what number will you wear with the Suns? And does that number have any significance for you?
Casey Jacobsen: I'll be wearing #23, the same number I've worn the past seven years. I got it in high school, I actually didn't want #23, I wanted #33. But when you're a freshman on the varsity team in high school, you don't have a choice so I stuck with it and now I like it and wouldn't want to wear any other number.
Jon Williams (Arlington Heights): Do you have any shooting drills. I need some help with my shooting. Got any tips?
Casey Jacobsen: My favorite shooting drills are with either a partner or a teammate with a rebounder so you can get up more shots in a shorter amount of time. I usually start with medium-range jumpshots, about 15 feet away or so, then I'll move out to the college three and then to the NBA three. The way I do the drills, I just pick a number of shots I have to make, because I don't care how many I miss, so I'll pick 10 from the wing and shoot until I hit 10, and so on.
Brian (chandler): Hey Casey (Majerle Jr.), what's it like playing with Amare Stoudemire?
Casey Jacobsen: Amare is the most unbelievable athlete I've ever played with. He's fun to watch, he's a crowd favorite wherever we go. I like throwing alley-oops to him, he always seems to get to them, no matter how bad my passes are. Off the court, he's a real genuine individual, he really cares aout his teammates and he's very unselfish. I can only imagine how tough it is going straight from high school and he's done unbelievably well so I respect him a lot for that.
Andy (phx): What was it like when you heard your name called on Draft Day?
Casey Jacobsen: I wasn't planning on being at the draft, so to be there was a great surprise and looking back, it was one of the most enjoyable days of my life. To have my family there at the draft was real important to me and the feeling after they call your name is half relief and half excitement. I was nervous, but I wanted to be a NBA player so bad, when it finally happened, the emotions were almost overwhelming.
Gekko, Chicago: Casey: Have you spoken to the coaching staff as far as where you fit in the rotation? Thanks and good luck
Casey Jacobsen: I haven't spoken to the coaches about my rotation in the regular season yet because it's not that time and I still have to earn those minutes in a few months or so. For right now, the coaches are playing a lot and I'm really pleased with the opportunity they're giving me. But there are no guarantees for minutes, I'm going to have to earn every minute I get and that's fine with me.
will(tucson): since you left college early, do you plan on going back to get your degree and when do you plan to get it by?
Casey Jacobsen: I do plan on getting my degree, I have a lot of people around me, my mom and dad and girlfriend, who remind me a lot that I haven't graduated yet. They'll keep me in line. I'm going to get it within three years from now, by summer school, most likely not at Stanford, and I'm going to try to take maybe one class during the season so I can use the time on the road to complete my education.
Brian (chandler): Who is the toughest opponent you have guarded in the summer league?
Casey Jacobsen: Maybe Jamal Crawford from Chicago because he's so quick. He's really good practice for me because those are the kind of guys I want to be able to stop.
Brian (chandler): Thanks to Sir Charles in the 2002 draft, how much attention do you think your girlfriend will get during the 2002-2003 season?
Casey Jacobsen: I'm not sure how much attention she will get. But that doesn't bother me very much at all. My girlfriend is an important part of my life and any attention she gets is out of my control. I don't mind because she's a good person. I don't think she wants the attention or is looking for it, she's very sensitive about how I feel about people talking about us because both of us want our private lives to be private as much as we can. I think the fans of Phoenix will definitely respect all that and I don't think it will be a problem.
JoE HoRmEs( PhOeNiX, Az): Which NBA player are you looking foward to seeing on the court this year??? And would you ask him for his autograph??
Casey Jacobsen: I've never asked anybody for their autograph in my whole life, so I won't do that. I look forward to playing the Lakers, Shaq and Kobe, because I've been a Lakers fan. Also, Vince Carter and Ray Allen, those are two of my favorite players that I look forward to playing against.
marc (edison): what shoes will you be wearing to your first nba game?
Casey Jacobsen: I'm not sure about that right now. I'm trying to decide whether or not I'm going to sign a contract with And1 or Nike. Those are the two companies that are offering me contracts, I'll decide on that in the next few days. So I'm not sure about that yet, but I'm also not real worried about it.
Joyce (Seattle): Hi Casey,
Congratulations on all your successes! It's great that you'll bring in an earnest work-ethic attitude that will highlight your talents & re-freshen the game (for me anyway). My questions for you are fundamentally, what's been the biggest challenge in your transition from Stanford to the NBA? Also, as a fun question, what hair color have you decided on for your trading card debut? =) Thank you for your time!
Casey Jacobsen: The biggest transitition is definitely the talent level that every guy has. In college, there's some good players, in the NBA, they're all great players. It's harder to get to the basket, harder to get shots off, harder to defend, everyone is big, tall, fast and strong, more so than college. That is going to be something I have to get used to, the summer league has been helping me do that. As far as my hair color, I usually die it all blonde in the summer, but I'm not sure if my coaches are ready for that maneuver, so I might hold off on that for now.
Pete (NY): What type of season do you think Stanford will have this year? What do you think about the incoming freshman at Stanford?
Casey Jacobsen: I think Stanford will have a good season because a lot of people are going to expect them to lose a lot of people because myself and Curtis left early. But don't overestimate Coach Montgomery and his coaching skills and the talent still at Stanford. I don't know if they'll be ranked in the Top 10 all year, but I definitely think they'll be an above average team and compete for the Pac-10 championship again.
Jake (Sioux City): Who was your favorite player when growing up?
Casey Jacobsen: I can't pick one. My favorite players were definitely Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. I watched any games whenever I could, obviously Jordan played as I was growing up and Larry retired as I got older. But anytime I flip through ESPN Classic and Bird is on, I watch it because he was one of the most complete basketball players that the game has ever seen.
Gilbert: Did you always know that you were going to play college/NBA?
Casey Jacobsen: My goal when I was playing as a teenager was to get a college scholarship. Anything beyond that, the NBA was a dream. To me, getting a college scholarship was my driving force. However, when I got to college, the NBA became my driving force, the new challenge that I wanted to take on.
Reena Patel (Dixon, CA): If the NBA never worked out for you, what other career would you have chosen?
Casey Jacobsen: I have to work in sports, I don't ever just want to put on a suit and sit in an office, I'm too competitive for that. I would love to be a broadcaster and actually go to the games all over the country, whether it's college or NBA games and talk about them and comment and share whatever knowledge of basketball I have with an audience. I think that would be a real fun job.
Stephen (Rialto): Hey Casey, What are your goals for the 2002-2003 season?
Casey Jacobsen: I don't want to expect too much, because I don't know what kind of role the coaches want me to play. Because of that, I don't want to expect to score X amount of points if that's not what they want for me. I'm willing to accept whatever role the coaches give me. Once I know that role, I can set some goals as to how to take my game to the next level.
Casey Jacobsen: I appreciate your insightful questions. I always have fun doing these chats. I appreciate all the support, both individually, and from the Suns. I hope everybody has a great day and I'm going to take a nap.
