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Kansas' Darnell Jackson seeks just one shining moment
Friday, April 4th 2008, 9:48 PM
SAN ANTONIO - Russell Robinson thinks the college basketball-loving world has it wrong. The Kansas point guard knows a bigger and better story than Jayhawks coach Bill Self finally putting four Elite Eight disappointments behind him and reaching the Final Four. To see it, Robinson says, do what he does: look down to the low post.
This trip to the Alamodome is a true triumph over tragedy for senior power forward Darnell Jackson.
Pain and loss have haunted Jackson's personal life, while his basketball career has been filled with disappointment. Just over a year ago he felt his burdens were too great. He believed that misfortune was destined to follow him, and in the dead of night on Jan. 5, 2007, he left school to go home to Oklahoma City.
"A tough decision? Not at all," Jackson said. "Sometimes it feels like it's time for you to go and that was my time. I was pulling everything down."
Jackson has endured more than his fair share of pain and suffering. His estranged father was shot and killed by Oklahoma City police after allegedly attacking a jogger. His uncle was murdered, beaten to death with a hammer. Jackson's grandfather and grandmother died young; the former of natural causes, the latter after a car accident in which his mother also was maimed. The driver of the other car was drunk and high on cocaine.
In high school, Jackson found a classmate's murdered body. While Jackson was away at college, a close friend from home, Glen Davis, was shot in the head and killed by gang members.
"The guy keeps getting knocked down, but he keeps getting up," Robinson said. "Anyone who's gone through what he has deserves something like this - something great - to happen in his life."
Kansas (35-3) faces North Carolina (36-2) in a national semifinal Saturday night after Memphis (37-1) takes on UCLA (35-3).
"When I was going through all that, I thought my life was coming to an end," Jackson said. "I couldn't focus on anything."
Basketball wasn't helping, either. In Jackson's first two seasons, the Jayhawks - after thriving in the regular season - lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Bucknell and Bradley, respectively.
Self met with Jackson the day before he left and thought he had convinced him to stay. Instead Jackson went home to help support his mother, Shawn, whose arm was disfigured and whose ankle was crushed in the accident that claimed her mother's life. Upon learning that Jackson had left, Self and staffer Ronnie Chalmers flew to Oklahoma City. There, in front of Shawn's home, Jackson and Self had a heart-to-heart that changed the direction of the player's life and the coach's program.
"I told him, 'I think I should leave. Since I've been at KU, everything's going bad,'" Jackson said.
Self's reply: "These things aren't your fault."
Jackson began to weep, and Self embraced his player.
"When he hugged me, it changed the way I saw things," Jackson said. "I felt so safe and comfortable. It made me want to come back."
Shawn will be at the Alamodome tonight, and Jackson said he can't wait to see her face when he hits the court. Kansas' national-championship run is a dose of happiness that the family has needed.
"I think it's remarkable with what he's gone through to get to this point," Self said. "To have everything thrown at him, he's still kept his focus and had the discipline to go ahead and see it through."
Friday, April 4th 2008, 9:48 PM
SAN ANTONIO - Russell Robinson thinks the college basketball-loving world has it wrong. The Kansas point guard knows a bigger and better story than Jayhawks coach Bill Self finally putting four Elite Eight disappointments behind him and reaching the Final Four. To see it, Robinson says, do what he does: look down to the low post.
This trip to the Alamodome is a true triumph over tragedy for senior power forward Darnell Jackson.
Pain and loss have haunted Jackson's personal life, while his basketball career has been filled with disappointment. Just over a year ago he felt his burdens were too great. He believed that misfortune was destined to follow him, and in the dead of night on Jan. 5, 2007, he left school to go home to Oklahoma City.
"A tough decision? Not at all," Jackson said. "Sometimes it feels like it's time for you to go and that was my time. I was pulling everything down."
Jackson has endured more than his fair share of pain and suffering. His estranged father was shot and killed by Oklahoma City police after allegedly attacking a jogger. His uncle was murdered, beaten to death with a hammer. Jackson's grandfather and grandmother died young; the former of natural causes, the latter after a car accident in which his mother also was maimed. The driver of the other car was drunk and high on cocaine.
In high school, Jackson found a classmate's murdered body. While Jackson was away at college, a close friend from home, Glen Davis, was shot in the head and killed by gang members.
"The guy keeps getting knocked down, but he keeps getting up," Robinson said. "Anyone who's gone through what he has deserves something like this - something great - to happen in his life."
Kansas (35-3) faces North Carolina (36-2) in a national semifinal Saturday night after Memphis (37-1) takes on UCLA (35-3).
"When I was going through all that, I thought my life was coming to an end," Jackson said. "I couldn't focus on anything."
Basketball wasn't helping, either. In Jackson's first two seasons, the Jayhawks - after thriving in the regular season - lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Bucknell and Bradley, respectively.
Self met with Jackson the day before he left and thought he had convinced him to stay. Instead Jackson went home to help support his mother, Shawn, whose arm was disfigured and whose ankle was crushed in the accident that claimed her mother's life. Upon learning that Jackson had left, Self and staffer Ronnie Chalmers flew to Oklahoma City. There, in front of Shawn's home, Jackson and Self had a heart-to-heart that changed the direction of the player's life and the coach's program.
"I told him, 'I think I should leave. Since I've been at KU, everything's going bad,'" Jackson said.
Self's reply: "These things aren't your fault."
Jackson began to weep, and Self embraced his player.
"When he hugged me, it changed the way I saw things," Jackson said. "I felt so safe and comfortable. It made me want to come back."
Shawn will be at the Alamodome tonight, and Jackson said he can't wait to see her face when he hits the court. Kansas' national-championship run is a dose of happiness that the family has needed.
"I think it's remarkable with what he's gone through to get to this point," Self said. "To have everything thrown at him, he's still kept his focus and had the discipline to go ahead and see it through."