Jacobsen Hones Craft, Has Fun

For comparison’s sake, they’re not exactly Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

Yet, in the minds of some, Casey Jacobsen will be linked through the NBA years with Tayshaun Prince. Both were available when the Suns drafted at No. 22 in 2002.

After some internal debate, the Suns took Jacobsen. He went on to have a mildly disappointing rookie season, then a pretty decent second year.

By contrast, Prince has become a regular on a world title team.

Advantage, Prince.

Meanwhile, Jacobsen is plugging away and getting nice results.

Here, in the Suns’ summerleague activities, Jacobsen is having a ball. That’s because he gets to re-invent himself.

Instead of a role player coming off the bench, Jacobsen is a leader and even, at times, a star.

In three games in Las Vegas, he averaged a teamhigh 20.0 points. Overall, after eight summer-league games, he’s averaged 16.9 points while hitting 37 percent of his 3-pointers.

What’s more, "He’s shown more leadership," said Marc Iavaroni, the Suns’ assistant who is coaching the summerleague club.

"He’s been vocal at the right time. That’s something real positive that’s come out of this team."

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"I hope I get an opportunity in my regular NBA career to be a leader," he said. "I think that’s a characteristic that I have."

Even though he’s putting up big numbers for summer league, where few players get huge minutes, Jacobsen said this is the first summer where this hasn’t been a conscious goal. (This is his third, and, almost certainly, his final summer league, which is designed to develop young players).

"The past two summers, I felt like I had to put up numbers and prove myself," he said. "Now, I’m strictly trying to improve my game, whether that means scoring 19 or 10."

In the regular season, of course, he’s a complementary player.

"When you’re playing with all-stars, it’s different. You play your role," he said.

To become something more, Jacobsen tries to add a few wrinkles to his game each offseason. Perhaps more than anything, the Suns would like to see him become a more consistent mid-range shooter.

Jacobsen said he’s been working on "dribble pull-up" shots and on ways to score on drives in the lane other than layups. That means drawing fouls or shooting runners over big men.

And he’s committed to improving his defense.

He succeeded in this the other day in Utah, when he was matched up against Damien Wilkens, the leading scorer for Seattle’s team. Wilkens failed to score against Jacobsen.

As for Prince, Jacobsen pointed out they both grew up in the Los Angeles area and were both teammates and opponents on the amateur circuit.

No, he said he doesn’t think much about how they’re faring in relation to one another.

As with any draft, incoming players are adjusting to a whole new cast of teammates, he said. "You never know who’s going to work out in a certain situation."

He considers Prince a friend. "I’m happy for how well he’s doing," he said.

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