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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sunday Biography: Reggie Jackson



Reggie Jackson (or as I like to call him “R Jack”) was born on April 16, 1990, in Pordenone, Italy. Reggie was the youngest of the three sons of Sharon and Saul Jackson. Despite being born in Northeast Italy, Reggie went to high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado at Palmer High School. Jackson lived in Italy, England, North Dakota, Georgia and Florida before settling in Colorado during his sixth grade year. Reggie Jackson currently plays point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Jackson played through his junior year at the University of Boston College, before declaring for the NBA draft in 2011. He was drafted as the 24th overall pick in the draft.

Reggie Jackson played for coach Jim Grantz at Palmer. Reggie served as the team captain for his last two seasons at Palmer. During Jackson’s senior season he was named Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year honors, The Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado Player of the Year, The Gazette's Big Schools Player of the Year and the Denver Post's Class 5A Player of the Year. Jackson was selected to the All-City first team twice during his career at Palmer. Reggie led all Class 5A scorers with a 29.6-point average in the 2007-08 season. He averaged 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. Jackson led his team to a 24-3 record and the 5A Metro title in 2007-08 season. The Palmer Terrors advanced to the 5A state semifinals before getting knocked out of the tournament.


When Jackson joined Boston College for the 2008–09 season, there were already stars on the team such as Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders. During Jackson’s freshman season Boston College made it to the NCAA tournament with Reggie coming off the bench as an explosive point guard. In his sophomore year Jackson became the starting point guard with Tyrese Rice leaving for the NBA. With Jackson being the starter, the eagles were not able to make it back to the NCAA tournament again. Reggie Jackson led the eagles in scoring during his junior season with 18.2 points per game. Jackson was named to the All-ACC First team for the 2010–11 season. The Eagles made it to the NIT (National Invitational Tournament) that season.

Jackson spent a small part of his rookie season playing in Tulsa for the Thunder’s D-League team. Reggie Jackson played in 45 games his rookie season averaging 11.1 minutes per game. Jackson averaged 3.1 points per game, but only shot 32%. When Reggie shot from beyond the arc his average dropped to 21%.

Reggie Jackson has seen tremendous improvement from last season. Jackson is shooting 45.8% on 5.0 points per game. His free throw percentage has dropped 5.1% from last year, but he is shooting a decent 82.9% for his entire career. Jackson’s assist per game has improved a little from last season as he averages 1.8 assist per game. Reggie Jackson has been able to give the Thunder some solid minutes off the bench at the point guard position this season. When Westbrook gets in foul trouble or needs a breather he has proven to have the ability to keep the same pace as Russell. Jackson is not as fast as Westbrook (is anyone?) but he keeps the same style of play going when he comes into the game. Reggie Jackson has quickly become one of my favorite players on the roster. This young point guard has a bright future in the NBA, hopefully with the Thunder!

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