Josh Jackson (basketball)

Early life

Jackson was born in San Diego, California while his mother, Apples Jones, was serving in the U.S. Navy and lived there until he was eight months old when she moved them to Michigan to be closer to her family. In the eighth grade, he was held back a grade due to his passion for basketball overtaking his grades, with Jackson going to Voyager Middle School for his repeated year before entering high school. He attended Consortium College Prep School in Detroit, Michigan his freshman and sophomore years, before moving to Napa, California to attend Justin-Siena High School.

High school career

As a freshman for the Consortium College Prep School, he averaged 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four blocks per game. As a sophomore, he led the school to their first state title. He averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists per game.

Prior to his junior year, Jackson and his family moved to California to attend Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California and play for Prolific Prep. As a Junior, he averaged 31.2 points per game and 5.4 assists. As a Senior, Jackson averaged 26.9 Points and 13.1 rebounds per game. Jackson played AAU basketball for 1Nation Elite, a program founded by his mother. In March 2016, Jackson, played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game and joint led the scoring with 19 points, whilst also recording four rebounds and three assists. He was named Co-MVP alongside Frank Jackson.

Jackson was a five-star recruit and is regarded as one of the top players in the 2016 class. He was ranked number one in the 2016 class by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, while ESPN ranked him at number two behind only Harry Giles. 247Sports.com ranked him both as the top rated player in the 2016 class along with giving him a 102 rating, the highest rating ever given to a recruit by the website.

College career

On April 11, 2016, Jackson tweeted that he would be attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas to play basketball, picking KU over Michigan State and Arizona. During his only season at Kansas, Jackson showcased his all-around play between scoring, rebounding, play-making, and defending. Although he started as a power forward for the Jayhawks, not Jackson's normal positions of both small forward or shooting guard, he still recorded 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game with the team in his freshman season. As a result of his efforts, he was named as an All-Big 12 First Team member, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, was named as a second-team All-American according to Sporting News, and was also considered a third-team All-American according to the Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches. On April 17, 2017, Jackson officially declared for the 2017 NBA Draft and hired former Chicago Bulls point guard B. J. Armstrong as his agent, officially forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Phoenix Suns (2017–present)

On June 22, 2017, Jackson was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, being their second straight selection at pick #4 after Dragan Bender. After he was drafted 4th by Phoenix, it was reported that Jackson had cancelled his workout with the Boston Celtics, who held the 3rd pick, just as the Celtics management and staff were midway to Sacramento to meet him, something that reportedly angered Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, although Ainge denied it factored into his decision to not draft Jackson. When questioned on it, Ryan McDonough, the general manager of the Suns, did not deny any collusion between the Suns and Jackson's representatives to dissuade the Celtics from drafting Jackson. However, Jackson attributed the situation to nothing more than poor timing and an inability to reschedule for a more proper date. Jackson would sign his rookie scale contract on July 3, 2017. During the 2017 NBA Summer League, Jackson recorded averages of 17.4 points, a team high 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game at 35.0 minutes per game in the five games (out of the team's six total) he played there, which earned him All-Summer League First Team honors alongside Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr., John Collins, and Caleb Swanigan.

Personal life

Jackson was raised by his mother Apple Jones and his stepfather Clarence Jones, who died in 2014 while Jackson was playing in a tournament in Las Vegas. Jackson's mother was a standout basketball player at the University of Texas at El Paso, transferring there after two years at Allen Community College in Kansas, but was only able to play for one season after being ruled academically ineligible for her senior year leading to her to leave UTEP and join the U.S. Navy as a parachute rigger. Following Jackson's birth, Jones was invited to participate in the Washington Mystics training camp but eventually decided against participating, instead choosing to raise Jackson in Michigan.

Jackson has cited chess and saxophone as his off the court passions, having started the chess club at Justin-Siena High School and having played the saxophone since he was in the seventh grade.

Endorsements

On June 21, the day before the 2017 NBA draft, Jackson signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Under Armour.

Vandalism case

On February 2, 2017 it was reported by the Kansas City Star that Jackson and Kansas teammate LaGerald Vick were persons of interest in a vandalism case that had occurred the previous December outside a bar in Lawrence. It was alleged that Jackson and Vick had damaged the car of McKenzie Calvert, a KU women's basketball player and Vick's ex-girlfriend. She told police that during the incident outside the bar, Jackson yelled "for her to get out of the car and that he would beat her ass” prior to damaging her car. Following the investigation by police, Jackson was charged with one count of misdemeanor criminal damage to property and was scheduled to be arraigned on April 12. Following the announcement of the charges, Jackson released a statement apologizing for his role in the incident and offered to pay for damages. Following Jackson's charges, KU basketball coach Bill Self stated that Jackson had been disciplined internally by the administration but would not be suspended for any games due to his actions in the incident.

After pleading not guilty to the vandalism charges, Jackson filed for a diversion agreement in Douglas County Court which would last 12 months. As a part of the agreement Jackson agreed to complete an anger management course, complete community service, abstain from alcohol and drug use during the diversion period, obtain substance abuse evaluation and write a letter of apology to the victims. He also agreed to pay $250 in restitution, $158 to the court, and $150 for the cost of diversion. Although Jackson originally plead guilty, as a part of the diversion agreement he signed a stipulation of facts matching witness accounts of his actions during the incident. Following the successful completion of the diversion program, Jackson's case would be dismissed by the Douglas County Court. When asked about his progress during an interview on June 13, Jackson told reporters that he was nearly finished with the anger management course and that he had learned from his mistake.