Two stick out for Jackson

In the state of Ohio a familiar last name is making an impact on the basketball floor. Westerville (Ohio) South High School guard Traevon Jackson is attracting the eye of college recruits. The son of two time Mr. Basketball and long time NBA player Jim Jackson, Traevon is making his own name with his play.

It was a big year for Jackson. The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound guard averaged 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game during his junior season.

"I feel I played well, and we played well as a team," said Jackson. "Individually I did all of the things that I worked on in the summer time, and just had a good year."

Always someone who excelled at using his strength to attack the rim and score, Jackson spent much of the off-season working on his jumper.

"Mainly my pull-up," said Jackson of his focus. "That is what I focused on, that and my explosion to the rim. My shooting overall went up a lot, and that is where I really focused."

With that big year, numerous schools have been around Westerville South to recruit him. He currently holds six offers, but two of them standout.

"The same six schools have offered, and the schools coming real hard recently are Arizona State and Wisconsin," said Jackson of his recruitment. "I have heard from a few other schools, but they have been very active."

The Sun Devils were the first of the two to offer, and Jackson says he has formed a tight bond with the coaching staff.

"I have a good relationship with them," said Jackson. "I am really close with Coach (Scott) Pera their assistant coach. I talk to Coach (Herb) Sendek every so often because he is busy with the season. I talk to Coach Pera a lot, and I feel comfortable with them."

Also the Wisconsin Badgers have done a good job of building a relationship with Jackson.

"With Wisconsin I am really, really close with Coach (Greg) Gard," said Jackson. "I just spoke to him the other day and that went well. I also spoke with Coach (Bo) Ryan a bit during the season."

While with many kids being close to home is a big factor, Jackson says that isn't the case with him.

"It doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I honestly don't want to stay home," Jackson said of going to school far from home. "I don't know why, but I want to get out of Ohio. Location doesn't matter, it is about winning for me."

Winning is exactly what Jackson has done on the AAU circuit the past two years. His All-Ohio Red squad was the runner up at 15 and under nationals, and then won 16 and under nationals last season. Jackson expects more of the same this summer.

"I am expecting to win championships," said Jackson of the summer circuit. "We have three really good guards with myself, Stevie Taylor, and Trey Burke. We all can handle the ball, and all play point guard in high school. It is just a matter of us playing well together. We also have good bigs with Elijah Macon and George Fant coming in, so I expect us to win and play hard."