Jim Jackson, Ohio State’s seventh all-time leading scorer, was selected to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Jackson will be joined by six former players and two coaches in his class, including Maryland’s late Len Bias, UCLA’s David Greenwood, Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins, North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison, Kansas’ Paul Pierce and coaches Rick Byrd and Tom Penders to form the Class of 2021.
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is located inside The College Basketball Experience (CBE), which is a world-class experiential entertainment facility adjacent to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center. Jackson’s Class of 2021 will be induction class No. 16 in the Hall of Fame’s history.
Jackson compiled 1,785 points in just three seasons at Ohio State (1989-92). Jackson averaged 19.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 50.3 percent from the field across his Buckeye career. He led the Scarlet and Gray to Big Ten titles in 1991 and 1992 and was a two-time All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year. Ohio State retired his No. 22 jersey in February 2001.
A Toledo, Ohio native, Jackson attended Macomber High School and won a state championship as a senior while earning McDonald’s All-American honors. As a freshman at Ohio State in 1989-90, Jackson led the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence, averaging 16.1 points, 5.5 boards, and 3.7 assists per game.
As a sophomore, Jackson helped Ohio State earn a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region after winning a share of the Big Ten regular-season title in 1990-91. Jackson averaged 18.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game to earn consensus All-American honors.
Taking his game to the next level, Jackson was named UPI National Player of the Year after averaging 22.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game and leading the Buckeyes to another Big Ten title and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
After his junior season in 1991-92, he was selected No. 4 overall in the NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Jackson played 14 NBA seasons, tallying 12,690 points, 4,152 rebounds and 2,851 assists. During the 1994-95 campaign with Dallas, Jackson averaged a career-high 25.7 points per game.
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