Over his three-plus years with the Arizona Wildcats, senior guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright has posted a 3-1 assist-turnover ratio, hit 42 percent of his 3-pointers and played in 95 wins already.
Also, this: developed a thicker skin.
Out of necessity.
βWildcats have two studs in Allonzo Trier and Deandre Ayton ... but point guard play still worrisome,β tweeted ESPNβs Jeff Goodman after UA beat ASU in the Pac-12 opener on Dec. 30.
Goodman later posted this: βName me last team to win it all with point guard situation like the one in Tucson right now. Need a high-level PG to win six straight.β
All that was what PJC referred to as βoutside noiseβ from media and fans alike.
βItβs everybody who has an opinion,β he said. βPeople are entitled to their opinions and criticism, good and bad. You gotta take it for what it is and just do what you do. We all have a job and if he feels that way thatβs fine, but heβs not the coach, heβs not on the team. Itβs best for me to listen to my teammates and my coaches.β
So he does. Even when that criticism may arrive via a more subtler, indirect way.
Jackson-Cartwright posted eight assists to only one turnover in Arizonaβs 80-77 loss at Colorado on Saturday, but was 0-for-6 from the field and ran a team that shot only 38.6 percent collectively.
Afterward, without prompting, UA coach Sean Miller praised Colorado point guard McKinley Wright three times.
A confident, aggressive freshman from Minnesota, Wright had 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting and 10 assists but also seven turnovers.
βHeβs made such a big difference in their team,β Miller said. βHeβs physically gifted, strong and he looks like heβs an upperclassman.β
Miller later said: βHeβs just that special player who can make his teammates better. Usually you say that about an older guy, but for such a young player thatβs a great characteristic.β
Asked about those words, and if he took them personally, Jackson-Cartwright did not flinch.
βYeah,β he said. βI mean, they were coming off the heels of a big win (against ASU) and I think they had a lot of confidence. McKinleyβs obviously a good player and he drives what they do and they just played better. Heβs a big part of the reason for that.
βI donβt think I matched their intensity and as a team we didnβt match their intensity. That showed up in the game.β
Speaking with characteristic calmness in the face of several scrutinizing media questions during Mondayβs news conference at McKale, PJC went on.
βAt times I let my guard down and when you do that anybodyβs capable of getting the best of you,β he said. βI donβt think I did a good job of setting the tone against Colorado. I do have passion. I do play with fire. I think people have seen that. But that day I didnβt have that and as a result my team didnβt benefit and we struggled.β
Then again, even when PJC does play with fire, itβs not the kind of fire his predecessor was known for.
Nor should it be, said Miller, a former point guard himself.
βAs a coach, as a leader, you have to be yourself and if Parker all of a sudden started slapping the floor and growling at the crowd like a T.J. McConnell would do, it wouldnβt look right. It wouldnβt feel right,β Miller said. βSo he has to lead within the framework of his personality, which heβs done.β
Miller has, in fact, has been often complementary of Jackson-Cartwright, the only one of his five starters who isnβt on any sort of preseason honors list.
After PJC had only five points but six assists to just one turnover in the UAβs win over ASU, Miller described him as an ideal point guard for a team with so many other offensive options.
Jackson-Cartwright hits 3-pointers at a 47.8 percent rate and does so with discipline, often only shooting when defenses leave him a decent look because they are focusing on somebody like Ayton, Trier or Rawle Alkins.
Thatβs a disciplined balance that Miller found even McConnell had trouble with early in his two-year Arizona career, before he jumped to the Philadelphia 76ers. Miller sometimes would complain that McConnell was so unselfish he wouldnβt shoot enough and thus didnβt keep defenses honest.
PJC can keep defenses honest, or at least make them think twice.
βWhat Parker does is what a lot of coaches would love their point guard to do,β Miller said on Jan. 2. βHe sits on a 3-1 assist-turnover ratio. Last game he was 6-1. And heβs shooting high percentage from 3. A lot like (Utahβs Justin) Bibbins, you canβt leave Parker alone.
βAnd as you decide what to do β trapping, double-teaming our post guys, or trying to crowd the court against Rawle or Allonzo, Parker is continuously in position to take 3s and make those. Heβs done a great job until now of doing that and I expect him to continue to shoot the ball well.β
Two days later, Jackson-Cartwright scored 19 points on 3-for-4 3-point shooting while getting to the line for 8-of-8 free-throw shooting at Utah. The Wildcats won, 94-82.
βParker, as our senior, he showed up,β Miller said after that game. βHe was ready to go.β
Those are the kind of words Jackson-Cartwright is listening to, and trying to elicit again.
βI think my job is to listen to my coach and try to do what heβs telling me to do,β Jackson-Cartwright said, βand play for my teammates.β
