ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997 TAG: 9702250045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
WHETHER CRASHING into a scorer's table or diving into the backcourt to prevent a violation, senior twins David and Jim Jackson have been a key to Virginia Tech's turnaround.
Press row at Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball games will be a much safer place next season.
The daredevil act of Virginia Tech's Flying Jacksons - twins Jim and David - will be over.
And no longer will media members covering Virginia Tech seriously consider requesting hazardous-duty pay or additional life insurance.
``No doubt about it, you folks should be able to rest a little easier in your seat without the Jacksons around,'' Tech coach Bill Foster said.
In Senior Day ceremonies before the Hokies meet Duquesne at 2 p.m. today at Cassell Coliseum, Tech fans will pay tribute to the Jacksons, Ace Custis, Keefe Matthews and Troy Manns.
Custis, the star, will be remembered for his points, rebounds and heart. Matthews, the enigmatic center, will be remembered for his flashes of brilliance. And Manns, the point guard from Roanoke, will be recalled for his ball-handling skills and assists.
The Jacksons? Forget points, rebounds or assists. They will be remembered for floor burns.
``I don't think anybody who has been a Virginia Tech fan the last five or six years will remember anything more than those two guys' feet going over press row and you guys ducking,'' Foster said. ``If they've done it once, they've done it six or eight times.''
Tech broadcaster Bill Roth swears the Jacksons have to be in double figures by now. In the past three weeks, each Jackson has visited press row once in pursuit of a loose ball.
Against La Salle at Philadelphia's Core-States Spectrum, Jim wiped out a row of eight end-zone folding chairs on a ball-rescue mission. Last season at George Washington's Smith Center, Jim knocked a Newport News writer silly. Five minutes later, after recovering his glasses, the reporter claimed to still be seeing stars.
Roth contended the Jacksons' most savage press-row attack occurred in December 1993, when David leveled longtime Tennessee broadcaster John Nash at Cassell.
``The guy got crushed,'' Roth said of Nash. ``I've been pretty lucky, knock on wood.
``When they signed, we had to institute the no-drink-on-the-table rule on press row.''
Reckless abandon. Pedal to the metal. Full bore. The Jackson boys know no other way.
``That's the way we've always played,'' said Jim, eldest of the twins by minutes. ``Some players do that, some don't. That's the one thing I want to be remembered for - a kid who always gave 100 percent when out there, a kid who would dive over tables, bleachers or whatever to get that loose ball.''
Different roads to Blacksburg
The identical 6-foot-5, 190-pound twins from Janesville, Wis., have played a significant role in Tech's basketball resurgence since prepping at Fork Union Military Academy, a popular Hokies haunt, during the 1991-92 season.
Jim started 27 games as a freshman in '92-93, averaging 8.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. He averaged 12.1 points and four rebounds in '93-94 before back problems ended his sophomore year and forced him to take '94-95 as an injury redshirt season. He averaged 4.6 points in 1995-96 as one of the first two players off the bench. This season, he has started 20 of 25 games, averaging 7.6 points.
Tech assistant Chris Ferguson saw Jim Jackson for the first time in 1991 at a summer all-star camp near Pittsburgh.
``They play outside on asphalt courts there,'' Ferguson said. ``There was a loose ball - this is asphalt now - and [Jim] was just running hard after the ball. I said to myself, `He's not going to get that ball.' Well, Jim laid out head-first on the asphalt. He just got up, skinned up, and ran back to the other end of court. I knew right then that this was a tough kid.''
David, meanwhile, didn't find Tech until 1993 and didn't play until '94. After attending Fork Union, he accepted a scholarship to North Carolina-Asheville, where he averaged 11.1 points and four rebounds as a freshman.
But he couldn't handle losing - UNC Asheville was 4-23 in his one season at the Big South Conference school - and he couldn't stand being separated from his brother.
So David transferred to Tech and sat out a season. Off the bench, he was an integral part of Tech's NIT championship squad in 1994-95, averaging 8.5 points and three rebounds. Last season, in much less time on a deep NCAA Tournament team, he averaged 3.1 points. This season, he's averaging 6.5 points off the bench.
Forget all those numbers, though. What the Jacksons bring to the table every game can't be measured in statistics.
``Those two have such a good work ethic,'' Foster said. ``There have been so many times when they've stepped up and got something done on nothing but pure effort and guts.
``I'm not saying they're not talented kids, but most of what they do that you remember is something that comes from some extraordinary effort.''
Foster never has to worry about jacking up the Jacksons. With these two hyper Type A's, the wrench goes the other way.
``They get out of control at times,'' Foster said, ``but it's hard to get on anybody who is working and hustling as hard as they are.''
Besides, guts and sheer effort can win a game. Take Tech's 45-43 victory over George Washington on Feb.4:
``Both of them laid out and gave up their bodies in the last minutes,'' Ferguson said. ``Jim dove across half-court [to prevent a backcourt violation] and got the timeout. Then, David gave up his body on a charge, then Ace hits the shot to win the game.
``Those Jacksons. They're amazing. We're going to miss 'em.''
Coaches on the floor
The twins, who turned 24 this month, are going to miss Tech, not to mention playing basketball. Both say they want to get into coaching at the collegiate level.
``I thank my lucky stars for the career I have had,'' David said. ``I've been blessed to be a part of all this.''
Jim echoed his brother's sentiments.
``One thing I can always say is I was in the class that turned things around here at Tech,'' he said. ``When I came in, we were terrible, hadn't had a good season in a long time and hadn't gone to postseason play forever. It's gratifying to be part of the turnaround.''
Ferguson, like Foster, said the Jacksons should be good coaches: ``You can believe one thing: Any kid who plays for them will play hard ... or else they'll be playing for somebody else.''
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM STAFF. 1. David Jackson (left) sacrifices hisby CNBbody once again as he battles for a rebound Jan.20 against La Salle.
2. Tech's Jim Jackson (3) wants to be remembered as ``a kid who
always gave 100 percent when out there.'' color.