Penn's Jackson Donahue coming on strong
Penn's Jackson Donahue had to patiently wait his turn, but the 6-foot, 175-pound freshman is making the most of his recent increased playing time. And he appears to be among the up-and-coming three-point shooters in the Ivy League.
Penn's Jackson Donahue had to patiently wait his turn, but the 6-foot, 175-pound freshman is making the most of his recent increased playing time. And he appears to be among the up-and-coming three-point shooters in the Ivy League.
Donahue, who is no relation to Penn coach Steve Donahue, is 10th in the Ivy League in three-point field goals, averaging 1.9 per game.
He didn't play in two of the first seven games, and while he is averaging 6.8 points in 15.6 minutes, his numbers are drastically different in the last four games, all as a starter.
During those four games, he has averaged 17.5 points in 34.5 minutes and shot 19 of 42 (45.2 percent) from beyond the arc. He had a career-high 19 points during his most recent game, Wednesday's 75-60 loss to St. Joseph's at the Palestra.
"He is probably somebody whose fire and competitiveness I probably underestimated," Steve Donahue said in referring to the guard's limited early playing time. "I didn't know it translated this early into his career."
What the coach sees is a fearless player.
"The stage is never too big, and he really competes on both ends," Steve Donahue said.
Jackson Donahue's deep three-point range has been impressive lately.
His first start came in a 77-57 loss to Villanova, and Donahue hit 5 of 12 threes and scored 18 points.
Since then he has continued to improve and has formed a good chemistry with his freshman backcourt mate, Jake Silpe.
"I think our communication on and off the court is what is improving, and our chemistry is really clicking now," he said.
With increased minutes and scoring has also come extra defensive attention, something that Jackson Donahue has noticed since he has become a starter.
"I have really started to see it lately," he said.
That was definitely the case against St. Joseph's.
"The space I usually find off screens wasn't there, so I had to find other ways to get open," he said. "I had to keep running around."
He understands that the defensive attention will increase as his offense does the same.
"With the Ivy league schedule [now beginning in full force] I will have to work extra hard to get open," he said.
Donahue has 29 field goals this season, and 25 are from beyond the arc. He is 25 of 64 (39.1 percent) this season on three-pointers.
In his first Ivy League game, a 73-71 overtime loss to Princeton at the Palestra, Donahue had 16 points in 41 minutes, shooting 4 of 6 from three-point range.
Penn (6-9 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) gets into the heart of its Ivy schedule this week. Friday's game at Yale and Saturday's at Brown begin the first of six consecutive weekends of back-to-back Ivy League games. Jackson Donahue's emergence could go a long way in determining whether Penn will compete favorably.
"He is a very confident kid," Steve Donahue said. "Sometimes you can't judge a book by the cover, and he's a perfect example."
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