Getting to Know Jahii Carson
August 13, 2018 - National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Moncton Magic News Release
"Ever since I was five years old, I've been playing basketball. It was the first sport I picked up, I never played anything else, and I didn't want to play anything else."---Jahii Carson
Moncton Magic head coach Joe Salerno maintains friendships with players both current and past all over the world. So, a couple of months back, when he checked in on his former point guard with the Island Storm, recruiting him for his current team wasn't initially on his mind. "In late spring I wouldn't have imagined we would have had a shot at Jahii (Carson)," said Salerno over the phone this week. "He had a pretty successful year in Greece and he's probably still on some NBA radars. I was just touching base and seeing how things are going, which is something I tend to do that with a lot of my former players."
Carson acknowledges that a return to Canada may not have been on his mind at the outset, but it didn't take much effort from Salerno to at least open his mind to the possibility. "Coach and I have a very good relationship and we share a vision about how we can make a killing on the offensive end of the floor," said Carson from his offseason home in Arizona this week. "Joe and I felt like the first year on the island that we were close. Now, I feel like I'm a better player, and he feels like he's a better coach. I'm coming in to lead, and I feel like he's got a great feel for my game and for finding guys I can play off of and who can play off of me."
"As we talked," Salerno continues, "I think he remembered how much he enjoyed playing in this league and the level of competition. I think he just enjoys playing against other athletes and Division 1-level players similar to him, knowing he really has to bring his A-game."
Carson enjoyed his best season as a pro under Salerno's leadership as a member of the Island Storm two seasons ago. He was awarded the NBL Newcomer-Of-The-Year award and was a member of the All-NBL Second Team on the strength of a 20.7 scoring average, dishing out 6.7 assists a night, and collecting almost 4 boards a game. "One of the things that attracted me to come back and play for coach," says Carson, "was the opportunity to use the simple things to my advantage on the court.
There's ample opportunity to view Jahii Carson's game on YouTube, and no matter if you're watching him in the PAC-12 with Arizona State University, with the Island Storm or with pro teams in Australia, Turkey or Greece, "simple" is hardly the word that immediately comes to mind. With his eye-popping athleticism, ball-handling mastery, high-arcing jumper, and body-control in the lane, he's tailor-made for the NBL in general, and Salerno's preferred pace and style in particular.
Through my whole basketball career," observes Carson, "I've always been quick and explosive, but it's the simple things I use to my advantage, and one of those things is transition. In transition, I can get into the paint, make the right decisions, utilize my mid-range game and with the drag screen picking up more and more in basketball, I'm able to use that, along with the pick and roll in the half-court."
The drag screen is a ball screen set in transition or semi-transition by a big-man trailing the play and is one of the staples of any efficient offense in today's game. It's obvious that a quicker pace of play is on Salerno's mind going into next season. "I think Ja is going to allow us, almost force us, to play up-tempo next year," says the coach, "because we want to put the ball in his hands and we want to go. You gotta put the ball in his hands and be willing to accept the decisions he makes with the ball because nine times out of ten, those are the correct ones. I think he played with a lot of confidence when he played with us, and the coaching staff instilled that in him. We trusted him to make plays and I think he thrives in that atmosphere."
When the Magic's offense bogged down in their inaugural season, you could often point to struggles at the point of attack on the screen/roll. A defense that rotated well and played an active big who could both be aggressive with the ball-handler and recover to his own man caused the team fits at times. Adding an elite point like Carson who confidently attacks the big in that situation both addresses a weakness and enhances the effectiveness of a shooter like Corey Allmond, an effort guy like Denzell Taylor or a big man who can be effective in the roll or the pick-and-pop, such as new addition Walter Pitchford.
"In the half court," says Salerno, "so much of what we do is structured around the screen and roll, and he's as dangerous in that role as any point guard in the league. He's a score first guy but you know he'll make the right play and make the defense pay for any mistake. I think you saw the beginnings of what we can do with AA and (Juan) Pattillo late last season and into the playoffs. Jahii will keep things simple coming off the screen. If the big is high, he'll attack him and get downhill. If they want to sag back on him, he shot the 15-foot jumper at 60% when he played for the Storm. And if people choose to go under the screen, he'll nail the three."
When you take a close look at Carson's numbers internationally and compare them with his college and/or NBL numbers, there's a striking contrast in efficiency, but there are several factors that account for that. International teams have tighter rules on how many imports can play, have strong motivations at times to play their domestic players big minutes, have different styles of play, and play under different rules than the NBL. The footage I watched from last season in Greece, while an admittedly small sample size, saw Carson playing off the ball a little more than he likely will with the Magic.
"I watched quite a bit from last year," says Salerno, "and there was a domestic guy from Greece that the coach wanted to play on the ball a lot. So, he tried playing Jahii off the ball a bit and that's not necessarily Ja's game, but I still thought Jahii had a great year."
Carson thinks his experience overseas has made him a much better player than the last time he suited up for Salerno. "The fact that I'm older, played in one of the top-5 leagues in the world, with one of the top teams in that league day-in and day-out, and was the leading scorer in that league, it gives me confidence. I just feel like experience-wise and competition-wise, it's going to help me to flourish anywhere that much more."
Whether you're watching him play or speaking with him, Carson can't keep that confidence from bubbling up. "I've always been that way," he says matter-of-factly. "My mother and father were always confident in what they did, but humbly. It's just a product of the hard work and dedication and the passion that they taught, and I bring. I like to back it up with my play on the court and bring my teammates along and give them confidence. If you feel like you're the best, you'll play your best, and if you fall short, you know you still gave that effort."
Carson hails from Phoenix, Arizona and from day one, his household was all about the roundball. "Ever since I was five years old, I've been playing basketball. It was the first sport I picked up, I never played anything else, and I didn't want to play anything else. My parents loved ball, were huge fans and got me into it early. I didn't actually play competitively until I was 12, but things took off from there."
He didn't always have that stocky frame that serves him so well in his pro career. "I actually was really small when I was a kid, didn't get the strength until later. I was about 5'6' for a long time before my growth spurt up to about 5'10', and then the weight and the strong stature came with it. I find my size works to my advantage actually, because I'm athletic and I have a strong burst of speed and strength that helps me. I think it's one of the main reasons that I flourish in the open court."
Carson was one of the most highly recruited players in the U.S. in 2011 coming off a senior season in which he averaged over 32 points and 6 assists per game. The summer before his freshman year at Arizona State, he was the only high school player on the U.S.A under-19 World Championship team. Their fifth-place showing was disappointing, but Carson's experience was a transformative one. "When you play with the USA," he remembers now, "it's prestigious and an honour and you also learn how to be a pro's pro. You learn how to walk the walk like a pro because the guys that work with those teams are the same guys that work with Lebron and Chris Paul and those types of guys. They treat you the same type of way. If you're walking around with the USA on your chest, you have to have a lot of character and honor and dignity. I think it gave me a real advantage going into college."
Qualifying factors kept him off the floor during his true freshmen season in Tempe, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm or confidence. "I still knew I was one of the best players in the nation going in," says Carson. "I redshirted a year for some academic things, but I worked super hard in practice and it was kind of like a (Philadelphia 76'ers star) Ben Simmons thing. He took a year and was able to adjust and get bigger, stronger and healthier. I knew I was going to be one of the better players in the conference right away because I'd gotten stronger, and also older and wiser. I knew I'd have success, maybe not as much as I had, but I knew I'd be good."
Carson played two years for Arizona State and was co-Freshman of the Year, 2-time all-conference and led the team to the NCAA tournament. He declared for the draft after his sophomore year and was one of 59 players invited to the NBA pre-draft combine, at which he posted the best vertical leap that year. It's a figure that holds up today as the 8th-highest ever registered at the combine, ahead of names such as John Wall, Tracy McGrady and....ummmmm....Vince Carter. Carson doesn't like to brag on it though. "I've always had an advantage being able to jump," he says sheepishly. "People who know my game know I can get up."
Of bigger concern was being chosen somewhere during the draft, but it wasn't meant to be. Carson though, regrets nothing. "It wasn't a surprise, it wasn't disappointing," he declares now. "I knew that I wanted to go pro before that (sophomore) season even started. It was an opportunity to help my family financially, and I was already three years in, I had done as much as I could do. I had already averaged almost 20 a game, was all-conference, freshman all-American, so I was like, what more could I do? I wanted to get drafted, but I had an excellent contract coming out of college, so it wasn't disappointing, I reached the goal of helping my family."
In the offseason, he doesn't do much globe-hopping, he just returns to his roots. "I've done the same thing since high school, I've always trained differently than everybody else. I don't give anyone else a clue of how I'm playing unless I'm out there in the Drew League or with those true pros where I'm getting an exceptional run. If I'm not getting that, I pretty much just stay in the gym at ASU, with the trainer that I've had since I was 15 years old."
His offseason workout routine hasn't changed much either. "I just focus on skills. I don't try to target anything specifically, I just work on every aspect of my game. Whether it's threes, mid-range, floaters, left, right, I just do a consistent workout for every part of my game. I don't have a set number of shots I need to get up, but I have targets for things that I do. I'll just say I'm gonna strictly do left-hand floaters, strictly threes, but unless I've got one of those targets going, I just stick to skill blasts for about and hour and 30 minutes a day. It's the same thing I've been doing since ASU, and I just stick with the regimen that's been successful for me."
That success has taken him all over the world so far, and he's still got lofty goals left to reach. The reputation of the NBL and the Magic is becoming such that players of Carson's calibre are finding it more and more to be a place to test yourself while also being an ideal showcase for the G-league and the elite European leagues. "The rep of the NBL is high and getting more prestigious," says Carson. The fact that I've had that success in Europe, means I can come back and play in the NBL and still explore other options down the road. It's becoming bigger and bigger, so it's the best of both worlds for me. I can establish myself in NBL again and it keeps my options open for the future."
As for the rep of the franchise itself, Carson didn't need the hard sell on the advantages of joining the Magic. "I've been in touch with Joe since I left the Storm," he says. "I've been checking up on the team since he got the job, so I had my own knowledge of what was going on in Moncton. I heard from the commissioner that the Magic was becoming that prestigious organization, and I could see with my own eyes that it was on the rise and it's a respected team." And of course, he has his eye on the ultimate goal no matter the team and league he's choosing. "I'm coming to win a championship. I don't see any other reason to choose to come back to the league."
Salerno knows that mutual goal just became a lot more realistic with Carson's signing. "There are all levels of skill players in this league," he observes, "but every now and then a guy comes around who has a little bit of that next level. Royce White is a great example of that. Carl English is an example of that. I put Jahii in that same category. He has NBA-level talent and it's a lot of fun to watch and to work with. You can't teach his athleticism and he's still so young. He's 26, so he still has so much bounce left in him, he's an incredible athlete and he has the skill set to go along with that athleticism."
When you get players of Carson's calibre in the fold, there's no doubt it buoys the reputation of the organization. Is Salerno sensing that amongst players and agents out there? "No question," says the coach emphatically. "We name-dropped Ja to our new signings more than a few times. There aren't many players in his age group that don't know who he is, and they have a lot of respect for his game. Guys want to play with high level talent and I will certainly use his name many times to explain to guys the level of play we have in this league. Players feel that with him here, being the talent that he is, we absolutely have the chance to go to the championship and win. They want to be a part of that."
When Salerno talks about Carson he sounds every bit as much like a fan as he does his coach. "He plays with a lot of confidence in the system I like to coach, so I just enjoy watching him play that game. It's such an easy fit." Sounds like it coach.
Q&A
For you fans that thought I didn't ask Jahii Carson your questions.....NOPE, just saved the best for last!
PREGAME ROUTINES?
"I always have to get my pre-game music, get my stretches in and get my pregame workout in. Getting a full workout of threes, floaters, and screen/roll jump shots to get prepared is incredibly important. So, stretching, shooting and music are the things I need before every game, both home or away."
What's playing on his headphones pre-game?
"I make a playlist of new songs every year. A home playlist and a road playlist. For the road or the plane, those trips are long, so it might be something to fall asleep to, but for home, it's a little more amped up."
Favourite place to play other than Island the first time around?
"I enjoyed playing at London. It was such a great atmosphere, and they were the number one team, so it was my favourite place to play for sure."
What's he spoiling himself with on cheat day?
"I try really hard not to eat pork, but now and then I'll have a bacon cheeseburger or some pork chops, or cheese dogs or something like that. I try to eat those once a week as a cheat."
Story by: David Tingley
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from August 13, 2018
- Windsor Express Sign Anthony Ottley, Jr. - Windsor Express
- Getting to Know Jahii Carson - Moncton Magic
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