Notre Dame's Jack(ie) Of All Trades
Four of Notre Dame’s five starters in 2018-19 have earned first-team All-ACC honors from either the coaches or the Blue Ribbon panel.
Senior guard Arike Ogunbowale and fifth-year senior Brianna Turner headline the list, with Turner twice named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Senior guard Marina Mabrey and senior forward Jessica Shepard also have both been on a first team.
On the 10-person Preseason All-ACC team released this week, the entire quartet made it again on the first team, with Ogunbowale the Player of The Year.
And then there is junior guard Jackie Young — which provides insight to why Notre Dame is favored to repeat as national champions, ranking No. 1 in preseason outlets such as ESPN, Athlon, Lindy's and Sporting News. If there is such a thing as an "unsung star," Young is Exhibit A.
The league coaches did give the six-foot Young an “honorable mention” notice last season, but Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw and the rest of the team know that when it comes to versatility, Young has few peers in the nation.
She can defend anyone on the floor, possessing the strength to body up inside and the quickness to guard the perimeter, play in the blocks, help at point guard and beat you off the dribble.
The all-time leading scorer in the state of Indiana (boys or girls) was third on the team last year in scoring (14.5 points per game) while shooting 52.0 percent, but also was the defensive stopper who was second in rebounds (6.6 per game), assists (138) and steals (52).
Eleven-time national champion head coach Geno Auriemma in last year’s national semifinal concentrated on taking away Ogunbowale and Mabrey — and Young responded with a 32-point performance that saw her drain 10 of 15 field goals from the floor (2 of 4 beyond the arc) and 10 of 11 foul shots. For good measure, she hauled in 11 rebounds in the triumph against the UConn dynasty.
“Jackie Young really has the most complete game of anyone,” McGraw said. “She’s capable of having a big game offensively, but she’s also the one that’s going to get the big rebound, to make the big play, to get the big stop. She’ll be the one who takes a charge. … I really think she could be our best player.”
If there was one hole in her game it was some tentativeness to take the three-pointer, where she was 11 of 39 (28.2 percent) last year. Part of it was for a good portion of last year she wore a cumbersome mask to protect a broken nose. If the perimeter shooting blossoms next, she might be declared illegal.
“That’s a very obvious area to improve, and I think it’s just being comfortable with it,” Young said of the treys. “I can shoot the ball, but it’s just being comfortable and having the confidence to shoot it.”
Young’s drives and finishes to the basket open up the court for prolific three-point shooters Ogunbowale and Mabrey. The consummate team player, the soft-spoken, understated Young said her current concentration is on two levels. One is to become more vocal on the court.
“It’s mainly just trying to speak up more and just communicate more and be more of a leader,” Young said. “It’s not necessarily just things on the basketball court … whatever I thought I wasn’t doing well.”
The second is to become the “glue” figure that the graduated Kathryn Westbeld and Kristina “Koko” Nelson provided last season. Westbeld facilitated the overall flow on both ends of the court to bring out the best in everyone, while Nelson led the team in charges taken, several of them in crucial moments in the NCAA Tournament.
“We need someone to step in and do all the little things that Kat and Koko did,” Young said. “I like doing everything on the court, not just scoring. To be able to play here, you have to be able to play defense, get rebounds, do all the little things that sometimes people overlook.”
Even the all-league teams. For now, her role as the silent star remains a comfortable fit.
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