As sophomore transfer Willie Jackson gets acclimated with the University of Toledo men’s basketball team after sitting out a year, he is embracing his role coming off the bench.

“My thing is just to come in with energy and toughness,” Jackson said. “I am the glue guy for the team. Everybody has what they do well, and I just feel like I have to be that glue guy. The biggest thing is keeping the team together and having a positive approach to everything.”

Jackson, who had to sit out the first semester of this season after a midseason transfer from Missouri a year ago, has solidified a nine-man rotation that has provided Toledo with quality minutes off the bench.

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The four reserve players — Jackson, sophomores Luke Knapke and Justin Roberts, and freshman Dylan Alderson — have earned the confidence of the coaching staff and the starting players in helping UT (14-6, 6-1) to a six-game winning streak in the Mid-American Conference.

“I think there is a confidence level that our starters have with our bench,” UT coach Tod Kowalczyk said. “They understand that they can come in and really produce, and that’s a valuable thing. Some coaches like to have a shorter rotation. I think it’s hard to play 10. If you play 10, your better players like Tre’Shaun [Fletcher] and Jaelan [Sanford] don’t get into the flow of the game and don’t get enough minutes.

“I think nine guys is good and I feel comfortable with nine guys this year. They’ve really accepted their roles well.”

Knapke is the leading scorer off the bench at 10.8 points per game along with 6.2 rebounds in averaging 24.1 minutes. He actually averages more minutes than starter Taylor Adway (14.6 minutes per game).

“When you bring a guy like Luke Knapke off the bench, he’s going to produce some numbers,” Kowalczyk said. “I don’t know how many times this year that when he’s first checked in, he’s gotten an assist really quickly. He can make plays at both ends.”

The biggest thing for Knapke is providing a high level of intensity when he is in the game.

“Coming off the bench, I just try to bring as much energy as I can into the game,” Knapke said. “It’s important that if we have a slow start to bring up the energy when we come in and when we have a great start we need to keep up the energy. We throw in a lot of different lineups in practice, so that really helps us get chemistry before we go into the game and then in the game it shows.”

Jackson averages 16.9 minutes per game and averages 6.6 points along with 4.7 rebounds. Alderson plays 10.4 minutes and scores 1.9 points per game, and Roberts adds 9.1 minutes and 1.8 points per game.

“Willie brings energy and he brings toughness,” Kowalczyk said. “Justin Roberts brings an experienced guy who makes open shots and doesn’t turn it over and is a very good on-ball defender. I think Dylan Alderson continues to get better.”

Roberts said the bench players each bring something unique when they come into the game, but what is important is there is no drop off when the reserves play.

“We always try to say the second group that comes in has to push even harder,” Roberts said. “We have to have more enthusiasm and more energy. As long as we bring energy off the bench, we should be able to move forward. Out of all the big men, Luke is probably the best shooter. I can really defend when I need to and I can move the ball and I’m an unselfish player. Dylan can attack the rim and shoot, and Willie is just an all-around athlete.

“We all bring something different and something special because it doesn’t really matter who is in the game, we can all contribute.”

With all the different lineups that have been used this season within the nine-man rotation, Jackson said the team is so close off the court that chemistry allows the different combinations to be successful. The key for Jackson and the subs is being ready to step in when called upon.

“It can go backwards real fast, because you can have guys coming off the bench that aren’t ready,” Jackson said. “I feel like everybody that is playing right now is playing at a high level with Justin coming in and controlling the game and hitting shots, with Dylan guarding as well as he is, and with Luke playing as well as he is now. The bench is really doing well, but so is the starting five. As they keep rolling, we keep them positive and when we come in, they keep us positive.”

Contact Brian Buckey at: bbuckey@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @BrianBuckey.

First Published January 25, 2018, 8:00 p.m.