Ray Jackson
 Jackson in 1993 with the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team. | |
| Shooting guard / Small forward | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1973 |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) |
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Lyndon B. Johnson (Austin, Texas) |
| College | Michigan (1991–1995) |
| NBA draft | 1995 / Undrafted |
| Pro playing career | 1995–1996 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–1996 | Grand Rapids Hoops |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Ray Jackson (born November 13, 1973)[1] is a retired American college and professional basketball player. Jackson was part of the famed University of Michigan Wolverines Fab Five along with former NBA players Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Juwan Howard that reached the 1992 & 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship games as both Freshmen and Sophomores. Although the Fab Five final four appearances have been forfeited,[2] he was not among the players called before the grand jury (Robert Traylor, Webber, Rose, Maurice Taylor and Louis Bullock)[3] in the University of Michigan basketball scandal and was not found to have received large amounts of money.[4] Jackson and King were the only two members of the Fab Five to stay at Michigan for their full four years of eligibility; Webber left after his sophomore year and Rose and Howard after their junior years. Jackson's best season at Michigan came in his senior year, when he and King were the only members of the Fab Five remaining, as he averaged a team high of nearly 16 points per game.
Perhaps the least known of the Fab Five, Jackson was never drafted into nor played in the NBA. He was cut in preseason by the New York Knicks before the 1995–96 season and cut by the Detroit Pistons before the 1996–97 season. He was drafted in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) by the Grand Rapids Hoops #35 in the 3rd round in 1995.
While with the Hoops, he received the 1995–96 CBA Rookie of the Year Award.
In a February 10, 2007 article on Yahoo Sports, Jackson says that: "It took me a long time to get over the fact that I was the only one that didn't make it to the NBA from the Fab Five, but I'm over it because I'm back home and I'm happy with what I'm doing with my life."
Jackson now lives in Austin, Texas where he runs a moving company and Rise Up Inc., a not-for-profit organization that assists children socially, educationally and on the basketball court.
Notes
- ↑ U.S. Public Records Index Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
- ↑ 2007-08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 8.
- ↑ Larcom,Geoff (October 19, 2000). "Former U-M assistant testifies in Martin case: Also, prosecutors issue two indictments of Martin's associates". Ann Arbor News. Michigan Live LLC. Archived from the original on January 10, 2003.
- ↑ "Text of the indictment". Ann Arbor News. Michigan Live LLC. March 22, 2002. Archived from the original on February 24, 2003.