It was hard not to watch Lewis Jackson closely during individual workouts Tuesday.

And it wasn't only his chiseled body -- I hear he has the lowest body fat on the team -- that was an eye-catcher.

Jackson made five consecutive three-pointers during one drill.

Yes, that Lewis Jackson. Purdue's diminutive, speedy junior point guard who has been known for getting to the rim and distributing to teammates. Not so much for a consistent jumper.

But Jackson knew he had to make strides on his shot. So he spent time during the summer on developing it, especially the mid-range, 15-footers.

"Honestly, I can't even count the hours," Jackson said. "I would come in here, in the morning, after class and then we'd play open gym and after the guys left, I'd come back in and shoot another 500. It was every day, at least two times a day, and even in open gyms, just shooting more jump shots instead of getting to the rim.

"I just put a lot of time into it."

And Jackson said he's seen results.

While playing overseas this summer -- we'll have more on that trip in the paper soon -- Jackson said he noticed when he was sinking more perimeter shots, it opened up the rest of his game.

He was able to use a pump-fake or a hesitation move to create layups for himself or teammates.

Jackson has gotten help from Purdue's new assistant coach Mike Jackson, who told the guard to try not to "dip" before a shot and instead trust his legs, extend the shot and trust his release.

Lewis Jackson said he'll continue to work on his shot during individual workouts and on his own.

"You don't want to get satisfied. Even though it's going down right now, you want to keep shooting it to where once the season starts, I feel a lot more confident in it," he said.

Johnson's summer

JaJuan Johnson didn't have much time to relax this summer.

Two trips -- one to Vegas, another to New York City -- with the U.S. Select Team to play against the U.S. National Team occupied a couple weeks.

He had classes all summer at Purdue, so he only has 12 hours this semester and will only need six in the spring to get his degree.

He managed to go home to Indianapolis for weekends sparodically and got off to Texas to visit family for two days before the fall semester started.

"I don't feel like I'm really refreshed," Johnson said on Tuesday. "It's been a busy (summer). But I'd rather be playing than just kind of sitting around anyway. It definitely is going to help me in the long run, all the stuff that I've been doing.

"I'm glad I did it."

Much time was spent, obviously, on basketball and changing his body. He added weight and said he's noticed a difference -- in an unexpected area.

"It's an adjustment from shooting. I have to make sure I shoot a lot more now, I guess," Johnson said. "I'm lifting and all that stuff, it kind of messes up my touch a little bit. So I've been working on a lot of shooting. But everything else is pretty much the same."

• Though Johnson and Jackson look chiseled and Rob Hummel has added bulk and muscles, Patrick Bade's body has undergone perhaps the most dramatic transformation of anyone on the team. He looks like an athletic, fit post player now as opposed to a burly big man. The latter body type didn't fit the style of his game anyway. Will have more from Bade next week, hopefully.
• Hummel said "wind-wise," he is a bit out of shape. But he expects that will return over the next six weeks of doing conditioning. "I'm sure after that, I'll feel pretty good about myself," he said.
• Hummel said he was challenged at points this summer to not to too much during rehab. Both athletic trainer Jeff Stein and Hummel's doctor had to pull him back. "I'm used to playing basketball year-round. It was a challenge, but I guess I added some video games to my life," Hummel said with a laugh.