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This time it's from your favorite... ASU!
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Jackson closing in on milestone
By Josh Moon
Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama State's Shameka Jackson, left, is two points away from the 2,000-point mark.
She has a chance to eclipse the milestone tonight against Texas Southern.
Shameka Jackson wasn't even on Alabama State's recruiting radar four years ago.
In fact, ASU assistant women's coach Clayton Harris stumbled across her while he was in Detroit on the way to Saginaw, Mich., to recruit another player.
He saw Jackson playing in an AAU game and promptly canceled his trip to Saginaw. Harris offered Jackson a scholarship and -- 1,998 points later -- the rest is history.
Or at least, it's about to be history.
Barring an injury in tonight's home game against Texas Southern, Jackson will become the first player in ASU history and the second female player in Southwestern Athletic Conference history to score 2,000 points in a career.
"It was just luck that I even saw her," Harris said. "When I saw her play, I knew she was the right fit for us. Coach (Freda Freeman-) Jackson had told me before I left, 'We've got to find someone like me,' and that's what Shameka was. Her intensity and desire and how hard she played was just like Coach Jackson's. I knew she was what we were looking for."
While Harris might have known, Jackson sure didn't.
Coming out of Arthur Hill High School, Jackson wasn't sure if she was even going to play basketball in college. Schools like the University of Detroit and Texas-El Paso had expressed interest and she visited their campuses, but she wasn't sold on either.
"I just didn't know if it was right for me," Jackson said. "I went on those visits but I just wasn't sure it was for me. To be honest, I wasn't sure that I wanted to play basketball in college."
When she made the visit to ASU, all of that changed.
"It was just like, 'This is where I'm supposed to be,'" Jackson said. "It just felt right from the minute I got here. When I went back home, I really just cut everybody else off. I knew where I was going."
Jackson said it was the mentality of the coaching staff and the opportunity to improve quickly that led to her decision.
"I had the opportunity to play my first year and really learn what I needed to do," Jackson said. "I don't think I would've had that opportunity anywhere else."
Jackson's timing was perfect. Freeman-Jackson was beginning her tenure as head coach. She took over a program without a high level of talent and was searching for young players to work into the rotation to build for the future.
Jackson was one of those.
"Shameka was the most talented player we got that first year," Freeman-Jackson said. "We didn't expect her to accomplish all that she has, but we knew she had the talent and could be a great player."
The plan has worked perfectly.
Every year, behind the ever-improving play of Jackson, ASU has climbed in the SWAC standings.
Three years ago, the Lady Hornets were third. Last year, they finished second to Southern. This year, they've rolled to a 14-1 SWAC record and are two games ahead of second-place Jackson State -- a team the Lady Hornets beat by 17 points earlier this year.
Obviously, it's not tough to find a correlation between ASU's success and Jackson's presence.
As a sophomore, Jackson was third in player-of-the-year voting. Last year, she was second. This year, she was the preseason selection for the honor and clearly has lived up to those expectations.
She's averaging 21.1 points per game -- more than three points better than any other SWAC player. She ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding and free throw percentage, sixth in blocked shots and seventh in field goal percentage. She's also recorded a SWAC-best 11 double-doubles this season.
It all seems unbelievable to Jackson.
"I'm the most unlikely person for this to happen to," she said. "Four years ago, if you would've told me that all this would've occurred, I would've laughed at you. I mean, I wasn't even sure I could play in college."
If she felt that way about college basketball then she certainly had no thoughts of ever playing professionally. But over the summer, a shot at the WNBA became a possibility.
"We've had some WNBA folks call and request some film of Shameka," said Freeman-Jackson. "As a matter of fact, we've gotten a few calls from WNBA people about Shameka."
For now, Jackson said she's not even thinking about it.
"I just want to win a SWAC championship right now," she said. "After that, I'll see what all the talk is about. The coaches have really done a good job keeping a lot of that from me. I found out about some things by accident, I think, but other than that I don't know much. And I don't want to know much. I just want to enjoy this time with my teammates."
That's exactly what she's been doing.
For all of her accomplishments -- the double-doubles, hitting 19-of-19 free throws in a game, being voted preseason player of the year -- Jackson said she'll remember one thing from her time at ASU more than anything else.
"I'll always remember how close we all were," she said. "Whenever you see one of us, you usually see at least one teammate. That's how we are. We're so close. The things I did with my teammates, that's what I'll always remember."
Notes: The ASU men need a victory to remain in the top four in the conference standings and avoid a SWAC tournament first-round home game. With a win, the ASU women would clinch at least a share of the regular season conference title
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SOURCE
This time it's from your favorite... ASU!
===============================
Jackson closing in on milestone
By Josh Moon
Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama State's Shameka Jackson, left, is two points away from the 2,000-point mark.
She has a chance to eclipse the milestone tonight against Texas Southern.
Shameka Jackson wasn't even on Alabama State's recruiting radar four years ago.
In fact, ASU assistant women's coach Clayton Harris stumbled across her while he was in Detroit on the way to Saginaw, Mich., to recruit another player.
He saw Jackson playing in an AAU game and promptly canceled his trip to Saginaw. Harris offered Jackson a scholarship and -- 1,998 points later -- the rest is history.
Or at least, it's about to be history.
Barring an injury in tonight's home game against Texas Southern, Jackson will become the first player in ASU history and the second female player in Southwestern Athletic Conference history to score 2,000 points in a career.
"It was just luck that I even saw her," Harris said. "When I saw her play, I knew she was the right fit for us. Coach (Freda Freeman-) Jackson had told me before I left, 'We've got to find someone like me,' and that's what Shameka was. Her intensity and desire and how hard she played was just like Coach Jackson's. I knew she was what we were looking for."
While Harris might have known, Jackson sure didn't.
Coming out of Arthur Hill High School, Jackson wasn't sure if she was even going to play basketball in college. Schools like the University of Detroit and Texas-El Paso had expressed interest and she visited their campuses, but she wasn't sold on either.
"I just didn't know if it was right for me," Jackson said. "I went on those visits but I just wasn't sure it was for me. To be honest, I wasn't sure that I wanted to play basketball in college."
When she made the visit to ASU, all of that changed.
"It was just like, 'This is where I'm supposed to be,'" Jackson said. "It just felt right from the minute I got here. When I went back home, I really just cut everybody else off. I knew where I was going."
Jackson said it was the mentality of the coaching staff and the opportunity to improve quickly that led to her decision.
"I had the opportunity to play my first year and really learn what I needed to do," Jackson said. "I don't think I would've had that opportunity anywhere else."
Jackson's timing was perfect. Freeman-Jackson was beginning her tenure as head coach. She took over a program without a high level of talent and was searching for young players to work into the rotation to build for the future.
Jackson was one of those.
"Shameka was the most talented player we got that first year," Freeman-Jackson said. "We didn't expect her to accomplish all that she has, but we knew she had the talent and could be a great player."
The plan has worked perfectly.
Every year, behind the ever-improving play of Jackson, ASU has climbed in the SWAC standings.
Three years ago, the Lady Hornets were third. Last year, they finished second to Southern. This year, they've rolled to a 14-1 SWAC record and are two games ahead of second-place Jackson State -- a team the Lady Hornets beat by 17 points earlier this year.
Obviously, it's not tough to find a correlation between ASU's success and Jackson's presence.
As a sophomore, Jackson was third in player-of-the-year voting. Last year, she was second. This year, she was the preseason selection for the honor and clearly has lived up to those expectations.
She's averaging 21.1 points per game -- more than three points better than any other SWAC player. She ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding and free throw percentage, sixth in blocked shots and seventh in field goal percentage. She's also recorded a SWAC-best 11 double-doubles this season.
It all seems unbelievable to Jackson.
"I'm the most unlikely person for this to happen to," she said. "Four years ago, if you would've told me that all this would've occurred, I would've laughed at you. I mean, I wasn't even sure I could play in college."
If she felt that way about college basketball then she certainly had no thoughts of ever playing professionally. But over the summer, a shot at the WNBA became a possibility.
"We've had some WNBA folks call and request some film of Shameka," said Freeman-Jackson. "As a matter of fact, we've gotten a few calls from WNBA people about Shameka."
For now, Jackson said she's not even thinking about it.
"I just want to win a SWAC championship right now," she said. "After that, I'll see what all the talk is about. The coaches have really done a good job keeping a lot of that from me. I found out about some things by accident, I think, but other than that I don't know much. And I don't want to know much. I just want to enjoy this time with my teammates."
That's exactly what she's been doing.
For all of her accomplishments -- the double-doubles, hitting 19-of-19 free throws in a game, being voted preseason player of the year -- Jackson said she'll remember one thing from her time at ASU more than anything else.
"I'll always remember how close we all were," she said. "Whenever you see one of us, you usually see at least one teammate. That's how we are. We're so close. The things I did with my teammates, that's what I'll always remember."
Notes: The ASU men need a victory to remain in the top four in the conference standings and avoid a SWAC tournament first-round home game. With a win, the ASU women would clinch at least a share of the regular season conference title
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SOURCE
