It’s official: Jackson a Jayhawk

Photo Credit From: baltimoresun.com/: Maryland basketball still in running for top recruit Josh Jackson

KU men's basketball coach Bill Self announced Tuesday that the top-ranked recruit Josh Jackson has signed and will be a freshman at the University of Kansas in 2016-17,  Jackson verbally committed to KU in early April.

"Josh has been a guy that is so respected in all high school circles the last four years," Self said. "He is probably as highly thought of as any recent player to come out of high school because of his competitive nature."

"He left Detroit to finish his high school career at Prolific Prep in the Napa (California) area. He is very similar to Andrew Wiggins. He's a tall guard that can do a lot of everything. We feel his impact on our program next year will be as much as any freshman will have on any college program. He's extremely athletic but more importantly extremely competitive. We have a very competitive culture at Kansas but I think it just got improved with the signing of Josh. He's a guy that everybody enjoys playing with because he is so unselfish but also a guy that can take a game over." Bill Self added.

Photo Credit From: cbssports.com/: Josh Jackson, the No. 1 player in the class of 2016, commits to Kansas

The list of accolades is a plenty when talking about Jackson. He was named McDonald's All-America in 2016 where he earned co-Most Valuable Player honors of the McDonald's game after scoring 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting in leading the West team to a 114-107 victory. He also competed in the 2016 Nike Hoops Summit where the USA team defeated the World Team 101-67 on April 9 in Portland, Oregon.

Jackson has quite the resume when competing for USA Basketball. He has won three gold medals for USA at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Maldonado, Uruguay, the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship in Heraklion, Greece. 

"Josh has a great feel for basketball, in large part, because his mother, Apples Jones, who played college basketball at Allen County Community College in Kansas and UTEP," Self said. "His recruitment was fierce, and deservedly so. Coach (Kurtis) Townsend has done such a good job for a long period of time making sure Josh and Apples were both comfortable and educated on our situation and how Kansas could be a good fit for them."

Who Is Josh Jackson?

Photo Credit From: rockchalktalk.com/: Josh Jackson commits to Kansas over Michigan State and Arizona

Jackson grew up in Detroit and has played the past two seasons at Prolific Prep in Napa, California. He averaged 26.9 points, 13.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game at Prolific Prep in 2015-16 for head coach Billy McKnight. In his first season at Prolific Prep, Jackson averaged 31.2 points, 17.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals in 2014-15. Prior to going to Prolific Prep, Jackson led Detroit Consortium to the Class C state title his sophomore year in 2013-14. Jackson is described as an athletic wing who plays above the rim and is an ultimate competitor.

Jackson a 6-foot-8, 205 pounds is the second No. 1 rated player to sign with Kansas in the past three seasons. Jackson, No. 1 by Rivals.com and 247Sports, joins current Minnesota Timberwolves standout Andrew Wiggins who played at KU in 2013-14.

SOURCE:

kuathletics.com/: It’s Official: Josh Jackson a Jayhawk

Best Two Exercises for Increasing Vertical Jump

Photo credit from: leanitup.com/: Get UP! The Vertical Leap Workout Plan

A good vertical jump is a significant resource that probably all players have. For whatever sports vertical jump is used.

There are two main parts of exercise that could actually help to increase your vertical jump:

1. Increased force output

• Measures how much strength or energy can be applied to the ground

2. Increased rate of force development

• Measures how quickly force can be produced and applied

Since that our answer is in two parts, let’s take a look at both of these aspects separately.

Increased Force Output

Photo credit from: snoridgecrossfit.com/: Back Squat 4-4-4-4-4 & FT: Rows, Back Squats and Lateral Burpee (Over Barbell)

This sounds simple. It just means you should get stronger. But strength acquisition is a topic that can be overly complicated and drawn out all on its own. So we will look at the most simplified methods. Given our goal of increasing vertical jump height, we will focus specifically on lower body strength.

When developing lower body strength, the king of exercises is the back squat. Specifically, the back squat at a depth below parallel. Squatting below parallel with high loads has been shown to reap the most benefit in the vertical jump.

Rate of Force Development

Simply squatting deep does not help with increasing the rate at which force is developed. Deep squatting is primarily affecting the musculature, but in relation to power or rate of force development, we need to train the nervous system. This means we must focus on recruiting more of the high threshold units. These motor units are most easily recruited by increasing load while simultaneously trying to accelerate that load as quickly as possible.

Olympic lifts are commonly used to recruit these high threshold motor units. Since these lifts are more complex than many other exercises, a technique can limit the progress made. So focusing on a simplified derivative of the clean - the mid-thigh pull could be done. 

The mid-thigh pull starts in the same position as the hang clean and requires a triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips yet do not require the catch that a clean does. Since it is so simple, you can focus strictly on adding weight to the bar, accelerating it upward as quickly as possible, and then letting the weight fall.

Right now, we’ve found exactly the combo of movements we are looking for: the best method of increasing force output and the best method of increasing rate of force development.

These exercises can be done up to twice a week.They can also be done within any training program. The only requirement is that these exercises be done early in your workout since they require force and/or power and any fatigue will inhibit this program’s effectiveness.

SOURCE:

breakingmuscle.com/: The Two Best Exercises for Increasing Your Vertical Jump