Going from a starting role as a senior in college to sitting on the bench as a WNBA development player — waiting for an opportunity to arrive — isn’t an easy adjustment.
Connecticut Sun guard Ashlon Jackson knows that firsthand.
After hitting a dazzling, buzzer-beating 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to knock off No. 2 seed LSU in the Sweet 16 — sending No. 3 seed Duke to the 2026 Elite Eight — Jackson entered her rookie season with the Connecticut Sun in a much different role.
Jackson was signed at the beginning of the season to one of the team’s development contracts, a new roster-building mechanism as of this WNBA season. Earlier this month, her moment finally came when her contract was converted to a rest-of-season standard contract.
“Her game improved a lot, and she was playing with more confidence practice after practice,” Sun head coach Rachid Meziane told The IX Sports about Jackson’s development. “And based on what she has shown during our practices, she for me deserved to be on our roster, and she’s someone we also need — a big guard like her. We know her ability to shoot the ball. She’s also a great defender, so that’s something we needed, someone who can make some shots and defend.”
‘A whole different ball game’
This season, former WNBA player and Connecticut’s manager of basketball development, Shavonte Zellous, was assigned to help Jackson evolve her game. Zellous’ approach may be different from others because she helps players by going back to the basics. The work they have put in this season has involved pick-and-roll reads against different defensive coverages while keeping shooting sharp.
“I’ve always been a player that went by the statement of, ‘If you know how to do the basics of a one-two, driblbe pull-up, it just gives us a single-leg layup.’ Everything else becomes natural … ” Zellous told The IX Sports. “[Jackson] was always known to be a good shooter, even coming out of Duke so just keeping her shot consistent [is a priority].”
Zellous has also taken the initiative to help Jackson with the challenges that come with adjusting from the college game to the WNBA, with an increased level of speed and physicality. The new era of name, image and likeness (NIL) in college athletics also comes with its own challenges that Zellous says have partially made the transition harder. Like Jackson, many players were the star or go-to player on their team.
“But when you come to the WNBA, it’s a whole different ball game,” Zellous said. “And I think for me, with Ashlon, I think she had to recognize there’s different levels to the game, but just reminding her who she is as a player. Listen, you’re a good defensive player. You was always locking down people in college — continue to do that because now in the league we need more defenders. We got a lot of scorers, but if you can bring something different to the game, it helps.
“So … I just tell her to stay confident in yourself, push yourself. You’re gonna get in the gym and work hard because you never know when your opportunity is gonna come. And I’d be damned, excuse my language, if that opportunity comes and you ain’t ready because I ain’t put you to be ready. So for me, it’s just like still embodying that confidence that she had coming out of Duke.”
Scores are only part of the story.
Unlock full access.
With the constant reassurance and patience from Zellous, Jackson has been able to face the challenges of adjusting to a smaller role and getting less playing time than in college.
“Whether you think that people are watching or not, they literally are,” Jackson said. “So just being able to get that done — I’d say that was just the biggest challenge for me coming from college to the pros. But honestly, I’ve learned how to just thrive in it and live in it because these are moments you can’t take for granted because it’s one thousand other people that’s wanting to be in your spot.
“So just being able to work hard every single day, whether I was playing one day or not playing one day, just being able to stay consistent within that. That’s really all I cared about, and it helped me get through this challenge for sure.”
When Jackson’s contract was converted, Zellous was filled with joy and excitement for the rookie who would now get more of a chance to show what she could do.
“It makes me extremely happy because with these player development contracts, you can actually see if a player is worthy of a contract or if they can last long in the league, and I think us giving Ashlon a contract, it was a blessing for me, a blessing for her, and I was ultimately happy for her because it takes a lot to get in this league, and one contract can lead to two, two can lead to four, you know. So I just think her getting her first one, I was extremely happy, and I told her [you’re] blessed because not a lot of people can be in your position right now,” Zellous said.
From rivalry to friendship
The rivalry between Duke and NC State is one of the biggest in all of college sports. Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers attended Jackson’s rival school, NC State, where the two battled against one another. Now as teammates, they’ve become friends on and off the court.
“Obviously, she’s a great person. I played against her a couple of times, obviously, when the NC State-Duke battle went on,” Rivers told The IX Sports. “But she’s a great person. I love her game. I’m a big fan … I feel like she plays like a dog at practice, but I’m waiting for it to really come out in a game. And I think I saw little spurts of it yesterday, so I’m hoping that continues the rest of the season.”
Rivers has enjoyed having Jackson on the team and not having to face off against her anymore.
“That’s my dog. Like we cut up a lot, laugh a lot, but no, she’s just a down-to-earth person. We go on rides sometimes, just talking. I love that she’s talking about her and her relationship, how they are about to have a house, and really just start their life. So her talking about her relationship and seeing how happy that makes her, it honestly just makes me love her as a person even more,” Rivers said.
Defensive prowess
Ashlon Jackson didn’t necessarily always have the defensive prowess that she is known for today. She credited her former college coach and current United States women’s national basketball team head coach, Kara Lawson, for helping develop that part of her game.
“Well, I’ll say this: if you go to Duke, [defense is] going to be in your DNA,” Jackson said. “Coach Kara Lawson, obviously, she challenged me from the time that I walked in, from the time that I walked out, and she values that because okay, cool, you want to play offense? Great. You want to be a great offensive player? Great.
“But there are not too many two-way players, and she just instilled that within me every single day … We weren’t going to finish [a defensive rep] until I got it right. But just taking pride in that and just being able to have that installed in me. I mean anything I can do to help our team win or give our team a chance, I know it starts on the defensive side.”
Zellous broke down why she thinks Jackson is such a great defender.
“I think she’s a great positional defensive player,” Zellous said. “She re-angles pretty well. She knows how to beat the player, offensive player, to the spot. And her pick-up points, pressuring the ball handler when they coming up court, I think is her big keys, and I think that’s what we emphasize with our team of picking up the ball early, being aggressive, being in your person, walling up, don’t foul. And I think over these last couple games, she’s done a great job of doing that.”
The Sun are nearing the final stretch of the season, but Jackson’s rookie campaign isn’t done yet. Meziane has high expectations for her, including assigning her to guard the best opponent on other teams.
“She’s also someone who brings a lot of energy, a lot of freshness,” Meziane said. “So I want her to come off the bench, not to change the game or to change the dynamic, but just make sure that she will be the one to bring this intensity and this toughness because she’s playing hard.”
Despite all the challenges that have come with being a rookie, Jackson feels more prepared because of what she learned in college at Duke and as a development player in Connecticut.
“I just try my best every single day to live up to that [Duke standard] and know that there’s … more people coming from Duke, or just in general, looking up to me and trying to be the epitome of an athlete. That’s just all. That’s all I’m trying to be,” Jackson said.
After spending the beginning of her rookie season waiting for her opportunity, Jackson finally has it. Now, she’s focused on making the most of it.
