Now Showing: The Ricky Jackson Show

King James Shooting Stars. File that name under “Must-watch AAU team this summer.” Ricky Jackson. File that name under “Must-watch class of 2006 prospect.” The 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward from Akron, Ohio is one of the many talented prospects for the LeBron James sponsored team. He emerged from regional stardom to a national recruit last weekend at the Spiece Run N Slam.

Jackson and his King James squad claimed the Juniors-to-be division ,perhaps the deepest division of the tournament, at the Spiece Run N Slam last weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind. Jackson turned a lot of heads with his high-flying act and non-stop energy. He believes that will be the eye-opener for a number of schools.

“This is my year, I really think it is,” Jackson said. “I think people are going to start to know who I am. My teammates, too. We just love to play.”

That shows when they step onto the court. The rosters boasts at least four high-major players, including Jackson, and boy, do they love to run the court. Jackson plays bigger than his 6-foot-6, and loves to mix it up inside on both ends of the court. He’s an aggressive defender, sometimes too aggressive, and knows he’s just beginning to find his game.

“I just try to learn something new every game,” Jackson said. “I used to dunk a lot at first. That’s all I did. Now I run the court and do a lot of different things but as long as I’m on the court, I’m going to try on dunk it if I have the chance. It gets the crowd excited. Everything I do is for my team.

“My coach keeps telling me to do whatever we need. That means rebound. That means get a screen. That means a lot of stuff. I’m trying to be more well-rounded.”

With a bright future ahead of him, several schools are trying to get into the picture early. Jackson said he’s hearing from Florida State, St. Joseph’s, Arizona, Syracuse and NC State although he said the Wolfpack aren’t nearly as involved as the others. His coach Chris Baum said Michigan and Cincinnati have also shown interest.

RivalsHoops.com will see Jackson and the King James Shooting Stars at the Nike Memorial Day Classic in New Orleans at the end of the month.