Posted: May 27, 2002

One of college basketball’s best long distance bombers, Casey Jacobsen of Stanford, showed off his sharp shooting skills at Monday’s pre-draft workout. The 6-6, 210-pound shooting guard averaged 21.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists during his recently completed junior season.

Following the two-hour session, Jacobsen spoke with Suns.com about his game and the upcoming NBA Draft.

Suns.com: How was your workout today?

Jacobsen: It went really well. It was a good workout. This is the fun part. For me, this is what I look forward to. This is what I do everyday. The other stuff that comes with this process – the traveling and going on very little rest – that’s the hard part. This is what I do.

Suns.com: Speaking of traveling, what NBA teams have you already visited?

Jacobsen: Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto. This is my fourth workout and after this I have Memphis, Detroit and the L.A. Clippers.

Suns.com: Could you talk about your decision not to sign with an agent, leaving open the possibility that you could return to Stanford for your senior year?

Jacobsen: It’s a really tough process, but I feel like I have to do it because if I have the chance to be safe, I might as well take it. You never know if I’ll get injured or something bizarre happened, I’ll be able to fall back on that, but I want to be a pro. I feel like that I’m ready to make this next step in my basketball career and I’m giving it everything I have. If teams see what they like in me – that’s great. If they don’t like me, I’m OK with that too. I have limitations and so does everybody else. I hope what I have to offer to teams is a lot more positive things than negative things. Enough that they will pick me.

Suns.com: Could you describe your game? I’ve heard some comparisons to Dan Majerle because of your long-range shooting.

Jacobsen: If I have half the career Dan Majerle had, then I would have a great NBA career. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to. I’ve patterned my game after him. He’s tough both defensively and offensively. He’s athletic, but he is not the quickest, fastest guy on the court. He gets the job done and that’s the kind of player I want to be. I want to be an unselfish teammate. I want to be a guy you can count on to give it all. As far as skills, I feel I am a smart player, but I feel weird talking about my own game. It’s really uncomfortable, but I’m hoping the coaches see something in my game. I would love to play in Phoenix. I love warm weather. It would be nice.

Suns.com: What have NBA coaches and scouts told you that you need to work on at the next level?

Jacobsen: There are a lot of little things – the pick-and-rolls and a lot of one-on-one things. All the little games within the games that NBA vets know that people like me don’t. That’s what I’m trying to learn. But as far as weaknesses, I need to be able to guard quicker guys and bigger guys. The more versatile I can be the better off I will be and the more playing time I will get. I think if I was to be on an NBA roster I would work my butt off to improve and some of the weaknesses I have wouldn’t be as weak within a year.

Suns.com: You’ve been known as a long distance shooter in college. Are you comfortable shooting the NBA three?

Jacobsen: Oh yeah. I’ve shot NBA threes since high school. I’m very comfortable out there. It depends on the game. If I’m feeling hot, I really feel like I can shoot beyond the NBA three-point line, but I won’t do that unless it’s necessary. Some games are hotter than others. I feel like my strength is outside shooting, but I also feel like I’m a well-rounded scorer even if I’m not shooting threes well. I can get to the free throw line, I can shoot mid-range jumpers and I can create for my teammates so I’m not a one-dimensional player. I don’t think I’ll be as good an NBA player if I’m only am a shooter. I need to do more things than shooting to play.

Suns.com: What was it like to play with fellow Cardinal center Curtis Borchardt, who is a projected lottery pick in the draft?

Jacobsen: He is a 7-1 guy with as much fundamentals and shooting touch as you’ll see and that’s why he will be in the top 10 in the draft. He can shoot NBA threes, but that’s probably not the best part of his game. He’s really deadly from 19 feet and in. He has a great jump hook. He probably has a 7-3, 7-4 reach. He’s really aggressive and he’s been gaining weight. People say he’s weak and that he is not ready yet, but give that guy a year and he’ll be ready.

The interesting thing is, no matter if you are a lottery pick or if you’re in my position late first round/possible second round, they always tell you what you can’t do. There’s always something wrong with the person. As long as a player is comfortable with what they can do. They will be fine as long as he doesn’t try to prove everybody that he’s something he’s not. I know I can’t do everything, but I’m just going to try what I can do.

Suns.com: You scored a career-high 49 points against the Arizona State Sun Devils this season. What do you remember of that game?

Jacobsen: Every time we played the Sun Devils I looked forward to that game. That 49-point one was a nice game. That’s when the rim feels as big as the ocean and my teammates were getting me the ball more than any other game. I got up 20-some shots. The game was in Stanford and the home crowd was behind me too. If I did that at ASU, I don’t know, that probably would have been even better. They might have thrown some bottles at me.