John-David William "J.D." Jackson (born February 27, 1969) is a Canadian-French former professional basketball player and coach. His playing accomplishments include being the Canadian university ("CIAU") player of the year twice;[1][2] a four-time CIAU All-Canadian;[3][4] one of the highest scorers in CIAU history;[1][5][6] and representing the Canadian national team in multiple international tournaments.[7] As a coach in France's professional leagues, he has led multiple teams to championships, including the Coupe de France,[8] the Leaders Cup[8] and France's Pro-A championship.[9][10][11]
Before playing for the University of British Columbia ("UBC"), Jackson played at the high school level for Vernon Secondary.[1] In his senior year, he was named as the MVP in five different tournaments in which Vernon participated.[1] He was a British Columbia Provincial Championship All-star, with his team finishing second in the high school provincial tournament.[1] As a senior, he was also named as Vernon Secondary's athlete of the year.[1]
Jackson played for UBC for 5 seasons (1986-87; 1987-1988; 1989-92). At UBC, Jackson realized some of the most selective achievements in Canadian university basketball history. Jackson was named the CIAU player of the year twice (1991, 1992).[3][12] Only seven other athletes have achieved this feat: David Coulthard (1979, 1981); Karl Tilleman (1982, 1983); Patrick Jebbison (1988, 1989); Eric Hinrichsen (1997, 1999); Osvaldo Jeanty (2006, 2007); Philip Scrubb (2012, 2013, 2014) and Kadre Gray (2018, 2019).[12][13]
Jackson ranks 9th in CIAU history for all-time career points in regular season games, with 2,044 points.[5] This record is notable because of the eight players ahead of Jackson, only two played fewer career regular season games than he did (Karl Tilleman and Richard Bohne).[5]
Jackson was also a four-time CIAU All-Canadian, once as a Second-team All-Canadian (1988) and three times as a First-team All-Canadian (1990, 1991, 1992).[2][3] Only 13 other athletes have been four-time All-Canadians and only 17 have been three-time First-Team All-Canadians.[4][14][15] These feats are even more selective than being the CIAU MVP, of which there have been 41 in CIAU history.[12][13]
Additionally, Jackson was named the BC University Athlete of the Year in 1991[1] and received UBC's Bobby Gaul Award as the university's graduating male athlete of the year in 1992.[1][3]
Jackson also received numerous awards at the conference level. He was named the Canada West Conference player of the year twice (1991, 1992)[3][16] and a First-team Canada West All-star four times (1988, 1990, 1991, 1992).[3][17]
In this, Jackson set many UBC records, including most career points; most points in a season; most points in a game (51); most career three-pointers made; most career free-throws made; most First-team All-Canadian recognitions (record shared with Ron Thorsen); and most First-team Canada West recognitions.[1][3][4][17]
UBC performed well under Jackson's leadership. In Jackson's 1986-87 freshman season, UBC finished second in the CIAU tournament, losing to Brandon University.[1][2] UBC defeated Victoria University in the conference championship to reach the CIAU tournament,[1] which is impressive given that in doing so, UBC ended Victoria's 7-year streak of consecutive CIAU championships under legendary coach Ken Shields.[18][19] In the last month of this season, Jackson led all UBC players in scoring, despite being a 17-year-old freshman.[1]
Furthermore, in the 1989-1990 season, UBC won the Canada West championship under Jackson's leadership.[2] In the 1990-1991 season, Jackson led UBC to a 3rd place finish in the CIAU tournament.[1][2] In this 1990-1991 season, Jackson was named a CIAU Tournament All-star.[2][20]
In the 1994 FIBA World Championship, Jackson was Canada's fourth overall scorer with 8.9 ppg.[21] He played particularly well against Puerto Rico, where he was Canada's leading scorer with 20 points and also led Canada in assists.[22] He also performed well against Argentina and Angola, where he was Canada's third-highest scorer in both games with 12 and 11 points, respectively.[23][24] In the 1990 FIBA World Championship, Jackson was Canada's sixth overall scorer with 7.3 ppg.[25]
In the 1987 FIBA World Championship for Junior Men, Jackson was Canada's fourth-leading scorer with 9.9 ppg.[26] He performed well against Italy, where he led all Canadians with 19 points in their one-point win;[27] in Canada's win over Puerto Rico, where Jackson scored 18 points;[28] and in Canada's win over Brazil, where Jackson led Canada with 17 points.[29]
Professional playing career
Jackson had a successful professional career, primarily competing in France's Pro A and Pro B leagues.[2][30][31]
He then moved to France and signed with the Pro-B team Poissy-Chatou for the 1994-1995 season.[2][30][31] In this season, Jackson averaged 22.1 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game.[30]
To begin the 1995-1996 season, Jackson signed with Prisse Basket in France's NM1 (3rd tier) league; later, Jackson moved to Hungary and played the rest of the season for the club Zalaegerszeg.[2][31]
Jackson moved back to France for the 1996-1997 season, signing again with the Pro B team Poissy Chatou.[2][30][31] In this season, Jackson averaged 23.5 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game, resulting in him finishing third in overall MVP votes in the Pro-B league.[1][30]
For the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 seasons, Jackson played for the club Olympique Antibes, which at the time was in the Pro-A league.[11][30][31] For the 1999-2000 season, Jackson signed with the Pro A team Le Mans, where he played until 2006.[2][30][31] In Pro A play, Jackson consistently averaged around 10 ppg per season.[30]
Jackson was head coach for the French Pro-A League Le Mans from 2008 to 2014, winning the Coupe de France (2009) and the Leaders Cup (2009, 2014).[8][32] Under Jackson, Le Mans also were finalists in the Pro A League in 2010 and 2012.[8]
Jackson was head coach of the Pro A League team ASVEL from 2014-2017.[32] Under Jackson, ASVEL won the French Pro A Title in 2016.[9][10][11] In early 2018, Tony Parker, president of ASVEL, dismissed Jackson as coach, despite ASVEL being ranked 8th at the time in the Pro A League with a 8-8 record.[33]
In 2021, Jackson was an assistant coach for the Canadian senior men's national team for the FIBA America 2021 Qualifiers.[34] Also in 2021, Jackson was hired as head coach for the Pro A League team BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque,[10][35] but was later dismissed in 2022 when the team had a 3-6 record and ranked 14th of 18 teams in the Pro A League.[36]
In 2023, Jackson was hired as head coach for the Pro B team Antibes Sharks, where he had played in the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.[11] He was tasked with "reviving" the Sharks after the previous coach was dismissed when the Sharks ranked 17th in the Pro B League with a 2-7 record.[11] Jackson has been head coach of the Sharks to the present.[37]
Post-career recognition
Jackson has been inducted in the UBC Sports Hall of Fame (1998)[1] and the BC Basketball Hall of Fame (2009).[6]
Personal life
Jackson was born in Burnaby, British Columbia on February 27, 1969.[1][7] He grew up in Vernon, British Columbia where his father taught him how to play basketball.[1]
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