‘The ultimate unifier:’ How Andre Jackson’s homecoming proved why he’s crucial to UConn’s Sweet 16 run

The day the UConn men’s basketball team arrived in Albany to begin its NCAA Tournament run, Andre Jackson took about a 10-minute ride home and had his hair braided. But other than that, the galvanizing junior didn’t stray far from the team hotel.

His family did make the short trip to hang out, but Jackson was home for five days with no plans to extend his visit.

“It does flush out,” Jackson said of the excitement of returning home. “Not even sadly, I’ll be back here in a few months.”

First, there is business to take care of.

Jackson felt like he was home. He saw all of the landmarks that remind him of home, signed all of the autographs and posed for all the pictures, but when it was time for basketball, he wasn’t going to let all of the excitement affect his game. After all, he has a propensity for trying to do too much and can take himself, and his team, out of rhythm . And, after the way he saw his last two seasons end, the co-captain just as valuable in the locker room as he is on the court wasn’t going to let any sort of distraction slither into his approach.

Once the weekend was over, Jackson packed up the 16 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists he accumulated over two games, threw out the four fouls, said his goodbyes and got back on the team bus for a pit stop in Storrs to hear from the legendary Jim Calhoun at practice and watch the women’s team earn its own Sweet 16 bid against Baylor.

Then he got ready for a trip to Las Vegas.

There is a reason why Jackson, alongside Adama Sanogo, was the first captain Dan Hurley ever named at UConn.

When they made that decision, Hurley and his staff were piecing together a team they thought could compete in March. They brought in Donovan Clingan and had to hit the transfer portal, convincing four “imports” to join the historic program with expectations to compete from June to April and new roles defined. When it came to getting the team to mesh, or getting the players used to the fire Hurley brings and the intensity of the practices, they had Jackson for that.

“We were very honest with the group about their roles and opportunities and maybe that’s why my teams have always been close, because I’ve always tried to play as many quality players as I can play,” Hurley said.

“Really I think the closeness of this team is a reflection of Andre Jackson. He’s the ultimate unifier of people.”

Jackson was a key reason for the 17-5 second half run that pushed UConn past Saint Mary’s on Sunday. He collected the ricochet from Clingan’s blocks and pushed the team down the court, directing the offense in transition. When he could’ve thrown up one of his floaters, Jackson had the wherewithal to look over his shoulder and pass back to get teammate Jordan Hawkins going.

Like the others, Jackson knows his role. And as the effervescent “glue guy,” he’s not hunting for his own numbers or any individual praise.

“I think everybody on this team is a leader. I think sometimes a leader’s got to be a follower. There’s things I don’t know that these guys teach me every day, stuff about myself and stuff about basketball,” Jackson said. “Anybody is a leader – they might say I’m the leader but like Alex (Karaban) is a leader, Adama is a leader, Hawk is a leader, Tristen (Newton) is a leader. All these guys are leaders. Even guys like Andrew Hurley are leaders – guys that will tell you when you’re messing up or guys that are gonna hold you accountable.

“And I think that’s what the culture is, is everybody being a leader. It’s accountability from everybody in this room that really makes a team.”

The culture starts with Hurley, who grew up watching his Hall of Fame father Bob Hurley Sr. build and develop a powerhouse high school program at St. Anthony’s and wants to represent him in the way his UConn program is run. And he tries to keep it simple.

“Being the hardest working program in the country,” Hurley said. “We start – summer workouts aren’t optional. We practice both summer sessions and we’re practicing in June and July like it’s November. Obviously we don’t have 20 hours a week, it’s shortened, but we pride ourselves on our work ethic, we pride ourselves on our professionalism, on how we carry ourselves up on campus in terms of being on time for everything, excelling in the classroom. Our players being coachable and conducting themselves on the court in a manner that, not only playing hard, but the class that we play with. When you watch us play it’s a ‘we’ thing, it’s not a ‘me’ thing – that’s the only type of organization that I want to be part of and that we recruit for.”

Jackson says he knew the team was capable of getting to a Sweet 16 before the season began and it was just about reaching their potential. Hurley says he knew after the team played Virginia “very competitively” without two starters injured (including Jackson) in an October closed scrimmage. Now, five months later, UConn is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years with a chance to go even further .

“Andre is probably the guy you’re most happy for,” Hurley said after reaching his first Sweet 16 as a coach. “Just to be able to come home, and sometimes the homecomings don’t go great but his certainly did. And to have his mom Trish here, and his entire family in the crowd, and for him to perform the way he did and win it’s just – what a great moment.”