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As Derrick Rose was being announced as the No. 1 pick in 2008, Tyreke Evans was out somewhere running suicides. As Mario Chalmers fell to the second round that same year, Sherron Collins was working on his jump shot.
And now as Tyrese Rice leaves Boston College, Reggie Jackson is preparing to lead the Eagles in 2010.
Two seasons ago when Rose and Chalmers were dominating college basketball on their way to the title game. Jackson was in Colorado Springs filling up stat sheets.
As a senior, he averaged nearly 30 points per game, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He was named the 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado along with Rocky Mountain News All-Colorado Player of the Year honors.
He was not only an ESPN Top 100 basketball player, but he was also considered one of the top football players in the state. He got scholarship offers for both sports, but chose basketball at Boston College.
As a freshman in Chestnut Hill, Jackson got early playing time for the Eagles thanks to his defense and his master athleticism. He is 6'3" with a 7' wingspan who flies up and down the court and if he really locks down on defense his man is not scoring. Guaranteed.
Reggie also averaged seven points, scoring 17 during a win at North Carolina and 15 in a win versus Duke. He attacks the basket and if he can develop a jump shot he could be an All-ACC type of player.
He is poised late in the game showing confidence just like the man who made the name famous, Mr. October.
With Rice graduating, Jackson will move into the starting five and will be handling the ball a lot more. Coming out of high school, there were questions about his handles and that showed up at times during the season when he tried to do things he just could not do.
Outside of Rice, coach Al Skinner had a very young team last season. They had four sophomores in the starting lineup and on the bench they had one junior and everyone else was a sophomore or a freshman.
They showed flashes of greatness as they beat North Carolina at Chapel Hill and beat Duke. Their youth also showed as they lost to Saint Louis and Harvard.
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