Birthdays don’t come a whole lot better than the one Andre Jackson Jr. had on Monday.
Not only did the former UConn men’s basketball star and Milwaukee Bucks rookie see 13 minutes in the team’s game against the Chicago Bulls, not only did he knock down his first career 3-pointer, score five points and grab three rebounds in a 118-109 win, he also received some really big rings.
Jackson, who turned 22 on Monday, received his NCAA championship rings ahead of the Bucks’ game on Monday night.
Andre Jackson is presented his 2023 championship ring in front of the @Bucks fans 💍 @UConnMBB
(via @Bucks) pic.twitter.com/ejB8TauInL
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 14, 2023
Jackson told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he wasn’t expecting the pregame ceremony.
“It was weird,” he said. “I didn’t expect it. I was a little bit shocked. I didn’t really get to have the excitement that I would’ve wished. Right before the game I was super locked in to what we were about to do and I was like, yeah, forget about it, we’re going to do that this year. It’s good now to look back at it and appreciate it and kind of have those memories of all those times I had with teammates at UConn and reflect on those experiences and try to recreate that here. It was definitely a great experience.”
The Milwaukee Bucks present rookie Andre Jackson Jr. with his NCAA Championship ring 💍🏀 #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/xQGK4pzDG8
— 620 WTMJ (@620wtmj) November 14, 2023
The former Huskies captain could be seeing some more game time in the future too, as he played a season-high 13 minutes with Bucks forward Jae Crowder out with adductor and abdominal injuries. Crowder will undergo surgery and will be sidelined for approximately eight weeks, the Bucks announced.
Jackson said he’s ready for his opportunity and pointed out some of the things he excels at, which are familiar for UConn fans.
“I think I can make an impact without scoring the basketball,” Jackson told the Journal-Sentinel. “Just screening, being in the spot to create the space for the guys that need the ball. On this team, if I’m on the court, I’m most likely, probably, the fifth option in scoring, so I’m just going to try to do everything in my power to get those other guys clean looks and follow up their misses if they do miss and try to find another guy.”
Jackson has played in six of the Bucks’ 10 games so far this season, averaging 8.4 minutes and 2.2 points per game.
He received his championship rings nearly a week after his Huskies teammate and New Orleans Pelicans rookie Jordan Hawkins received his. UConn women’s basketball legend Swin Cash, now the Pelicans’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and Team Development, presented the rings to Hawkins at practice.
Hawkins’ rings might have given him an extra boost of confidence as he went on to score a career-high 31 points against the Denver Nuggets the following night.
The current members of the Huskies received their rings in a ceremony at First Night on Oct. 13.