Josh Jackson driven to be the best
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sitting at a table court-side inside the Sprint Center on Tuesday afternoon, Kansas freshman Josh Jackson was one of the main attractions at Big 12 media day.
"It's been kind of fun," said Josh Jackson, the 6-foot-8, 200-pound shooting guard from Detroit, Mich., on Tuesday afternoon. "I've gotten to answer some pretty funny questions and, I don't know, it's kind of the same. I've been doing interviews for kind of a long time now, but it's been fun.
"It's just kind of part of the job," he added. "Oh, I'm definitely ready to play. I am looking forward to next week."
Jackson, the No. 1 ranked player in the 2016 class, arrived on campus, not surprisingly, with the highest of expectations. As a senior at Prolific Prep, Jackson averaged 26.9 points, 13.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.
As a junior, Jackson was good for 31.2 points, 17.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists per game and 2.3 steals per game. Before making the move to Prolific Prep, which is located in Napa, Calif., Jackson guided Detroit Consortium College Prep School to its first state title in 2014, averaging 28.0 points, 15 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.
As a freshman, Jackson led his team to a regional championship, the 2013 Michigan Class C quarterfinals and a 21-4 record. He started all 25 games and averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 3.0 blocks.
Jackson competed on the Consortium varsity team as an eighth-grader in 2011-12 and helped his squad advance to the state quarterfinals. Again, he started all 25 games and averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds. and 5.0 assists per game.
According to Jackson, he lists his best game as a 41-point, 11-rebound, seven-assist output versus Carolina Diamond AAU in 2012.
Last year, Kansas finished the season with an overall record of 33-5 and suffered a heartbreaking loss to eventual National Champion Villanova in the Elite Eight. The Jayhawks, with Frank Mason III, Lagerald Vick, Devonte' Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Carlton Bragg, Jr., and Landen Lucas back, along with newcomers Josh Jackson (freshman), Dwight Coleby (transfer), Udoka Azubuike (freshman), and Mitch Lightfoot (freshman) in-the-mix, are primed to finish what last year's squad started.
Kansas will enter the season with quite possibly the best backcourt in college basketball and a handful of returners that have the ability to play significant roles this year. Two players in particular, Carlton Bragg, Jr., and Lagerald Vick, have already received glowing remarks from head coach Bill Self.
Still, the biggest piece of the championship puzzle was put in place when Jackson signed on with Kansas. The five-star shooting guard from Detroit, Mich., is not only athletically gifted and extremely talented, but he just might be the most competitive player on the roster.
Jackson, despite being a freshman, isn't one to back down from any challenge and he isn't one to shy away from speaking his mind. To say that Jackson is cocky would be unfair and, in all honesty, untrue. However, to say that he is confident and has a certain swagger to his game would be, without question, on point.
Jackson, according to Self, is an alpha dog on the court. There's absolutely no doubt that Jackson is going to be a big-time difference maker for Kansas this season. He's long, athletic and, above all else, is driven to win.
"I've envisioned myself here before and I think it's really special that I find myself here, now," said Jackson. "I finally get the opportunity to be a college athlete and have my turn to play in a couple of big games.
"The toughness and mentality of the team is what I like," he added. "The experience that we have -- we just have pretty much everything that we need to win. We just need to bring it all together."
At the University of Kansas, basketball isn't just a game, but rather a way of life. For Jackson, it's the exact same. Long before he was tabbed the No. 1 ranked player in the 2016 class, Jackson was learning all about the game from his mother, Apples Jones.
Jones played at Allen County Community College in Iola, Kan., before transferring to UTEP, where she averaged 15.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection. It was UTEP's most successful season to that point, and Jones' scoring total that year still ranks fourth-highest in the program's history.
Growing up in Detroit, Mich., Jackson was forced to fight for everything and was given nothing. It was during those battles with his mother that Jackson learned if he wanted something in life, he would have to take it.
"I've just always been so competitive and I've always wanted to win," said Jackson. "I think my competitiveness came from playing against my mom in the backyard when I was a small kid. She would never let me win. She would always try her best against me, block my shot, take the ball and foul me sometimes.
"I would get mad," he added. "Oh, definitely ( I had to fend for myself). You, I had to do that on and off the court. I mean, on the court, playing against tough players all of the time. They foul you really hard and it's just not soft basketball. You've just got to be tough."