Garrett Jackson

Garrett Jackson (born October 27, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the NW Tasmania Thunder of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). The 6'7" forward played college basketball for USC and Saint Mary's before playing professionally in Australia.

High school career

Jackson attended Westview High School in the Portland, Oregon area where he was a two-time Metro League Player of the Year and a two-time first-team selection on The Oregonian Class 6A All-State Team. As a junior in 2008–09, he averaged 19.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.^[1]

In November 2009, Jackson signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of Southern California.^[2]

As a senior at Westview in 2009–10, Jackson averaged 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.7 steals and made 52.2 percent of his shots to lead his team to the championship game of the Oregon Class 6A division. He was selected as the Gatorade Oregon Boys Basketball Player of the Year and to the Long Beach Press Telegram's Best in the West second team. He was also a McDonald's All-American nominee for the 2009–10 season.^[1]

College career

USC

As a freshman at USC in 2010–11, Jackson came off the bench in 33 of the Trojans' 34 games and averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.^[1] On November 20, 2010, he scored a season-high 12 points against Bradley.^[3]

As a sophomore in 2011–12, Jackson appeared in all 32 games during the season and started 14, averaging 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per game. He earned the Bill Sharman Award as the team's top free throw shooter, hitting 68.2% of his free throws on the season (30-of-44).^[1] His best game as a Trojan came on January 28, 2012, when he scored 16 points against Utah.^[4]

Saint Mary's

In April 2012, Jackson transferred to Saint Mary's and subsequently redshirted the 2012–13 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.^[5] At Saint Mary's, he teamed up with childhood friend and high school rival Stephen Holt, as well as future NBA player Matthew Dellavedova.^[6]

As a junior playing for the Gaels in 2013–14, Jackson appeared in 24 games and started one, averaging 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He missed nine games from December 25 to January 30 with a knee injury.^[1] On February 20, he scored a season-high 13 points against San Francisco.^[7]

As a senior in 2014–15, Jackson appeared in all 31 games and started 20 during the season, averaging 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game. He registered 12 double-figure scoring games, and was third on the team in field goal percentage, making .521 of his attempts.^[1] On February 26, he scored a career-high 26 points against San Francisco, going 10-of-13 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range.^[8]

College statistics

Professional career

On June 4, 2015, Jackson signed with the NW Tasmania Thunder for the rest of the 2015 SEABL season.^[9] He had just one training session to get to know his teammates and coaching staff, suiting up for the Thunder on June 12 against the Brisbane Spartans.^[10] In his debut game, he recorded 10 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes of action, as the Thunder lost to the Spartans by nine points. He followed that up with a 24-point, 12-rebound performance against the Sandringham Sabres two days later.^[11] He was named Player of the Week for Round 10 after recording 30 points and 13 rebounds against Albury Wodonga on June 20.^[12] He was also named Player of the Week for Round 11 after recording a season-high 37 points and 12 rebounds against Canberra on June 27.^[13] In 16 games for the Thunder in 2015, he averaged 20.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.^[14]

In September 2015, following the conclusion of the Thunder's season, Jackson began training with Melbourne United of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).^[15] On October 29, 2015, he signed with United as a short-term injury replacement for Hakim Warrick,^[16] reuniting him with former Saint Mary's teammate Stephen Holt. He made his NBL debut later that night, scoring three points in just under eight minutes of action, as United defeated the Perth Wildcats 75–73.^[17] On November 5, he had a season-best game with 14 points and 5 rebounds in just under 18 minutes of action off the bench, helping United defeat the Sydney Kings 105–94 to start the season with an 8–0 win/loss record.^[18][19] The next day, he re-signed with the NW Tasmania Thunder for the 2016 SEABL season.^[20] Jackson's final game for United came on November 20, as Warrick returned from injury two days later.^[21] In six games for United, he averaged 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

On April 2, 2016, in the Thunder's season opener, Jackson recorded game highs of 33 points and 14 rebounds in an 83–73 win over the Sandringham Sabres.^[22][23][24] He subsequently earned SEABL Player of the Week honors for Round 1.^[25] On April 16, he recorded a career-high 40 points and 11 rebounds while playing in all 40 minutes of the Thunder's 101–100 win over the Albury Wodonga Bandits.^[26] On May 28, he had a 39-point, 16-rebound performance in a 94–88 win over the Brisbane Spartans.^[27] In 23 games for the Thunder in 2016, he averaged 22.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.^[14] He subsequently earned All-SEABL Team honors.^[28]

References

External links

• Saint Mary's player bio
• USC player bio
• College stats
• SEABL stats