Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990 TAG: 9003182494
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B12 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
"There's been speculation about my entering the NBA draft, and I've just decided I will enter the 1990 draft," said Jackson at a news conference after LSU lost to Georgia Tech 94-91.
"I just feel it's time for me to move on," Jackson said, confirming reports out of Baton Rouge, La., earlier this week that he had decided to forgo his final two years of college basketball eligibility.
LSU coach Dale Brown would not allow Jackson to field questions about his decision, but he paid tribute to the two-time All-American, who last year became only the second freshman chosen first-team All-America by The Associated Press. The other was Oklahoma's Wayman Tisdale.
"My memories will never be anything but the highest admiration," Brown said. "What he's done, I think is inspired, frankly, by God. Chris Jackson . . . is a far greater human being than he is a basketball player. He'll be in my prayers and thoughts."
Jackson, a 6-foot-1 guard from Gulfport, Miss., averaged 30.2 points as a freshman and scored 965 points, both NCAA records. He also had a 55-point game, an NCAA record for most points scored by a freshman in a game. This season, he averaged 28.7 points.
He is a two-time Southeastern Conference player of the year and was the only amateur athlete among the top 10 vote-getters for the AP's Athlete of the Year Award in 1989. He scored 30 or more points 28 times in his career, and scored 40 or more 11 times.
Some experts say Jackson isn't ready for the NBA. Among them is NBA scouting director Marty Blake, who was quoted in a Knoxville paper this week as saying Jackson couldn't compete against the guards now in the NBA because he wasn't a good defensive player and wasn't strong enough.
by CNB