There are some future hoop stars in Oregon's Class of 2010 - and they're not all named Terrence. After serving as a role player to the seniors at Westview High School during the high school season, Garrett Jackson has started to elevate his status on the AAU circuit. The versatile 6-foot-6, 185-pound forward has emerged as a leading man with the Team Jones 16U squad - enough to raise plenty of eyebrows and recently earn his first scholarship offer just as the summer evaluation period has started.
This past weekend, Jackson opened the month of July playing at the FinalScore.tv Invitational held in Vancouver. "I'm with Team Jones, but since we're not doing anything these first couple of weeks (in July) I'm helping out the Hoop Kings since they're short a few guys," Jackson said. "It's been going well - really well, actually. This last tournament went well for me individually. I was knocking down shots, getting rebounds, and getting a lot of baskets."
Jackson was absolutely dominant on the court at times. In his very first game, he tallied 32 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocked shots, and in one of the team's later games, he put together 27 points and ten rebounds. As a sophomore he played the four at Westview, but in AAU ball he's been playing at the three and the two, and as each tournament passes, Jackson has shown improved perimeter skills especially with his outside shot.
Several Division I college coaches were on hand at the tournament and Jackson's play really caught the eye of one of them. "Before the tournament, I'd been recruited by the University of Portland and I took a trip there a couple of weeks ago and it was really nice," Jackson said. "When I played in this tournament, (assistant) Coach (Mike) Wolf was there and the next thing I know,(Univ. of Portland) was offering me a scholarship."
Picking up his first D-I scholarship offer is something Jackson is definitely excited about - in particular from the Pilots program. "It's a really nice school and I was really impressed when I visited there," Jackson said. "I've never really visited a college campus before, and I like the small school feel."
While Jackson definitely likes Portland, it's still very early in the process and more schools may come calling. Programs such as Stanford, Rice, and Utah State have also sent correspondence and Jackson is feeling everything out for now. "I'm just trying to work hard and hopefully I'll have some decisions to make," Jackson said. "It's a little overwhelming, but it's a really exciting process. I want to see what some bigger schools are like and I'm waiting to see what my options are, but Portland is cool."
Jackson will play with Team Jones 16U squad in Las Vegas for the Main Event. His expectations are high. "I want to win in Vegas with Team Jones and I just want to try and get as many looks as possible," Jackson said. "I want to play well at the highest stage."
