Rubin Jackson

Rubin Jackson

Personal information
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school	Melrose (Memphis, Tennessee)
College	Rogers State (1978–1979) Oklahoma City (1979–1982)
NBA draft	1982: 5th round, 99th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Position	Shooting guard
Career highlights and awards
MCC co-Player of the Year (1981) 3× First-team All-MCC (1980–1982)

Rubin Jackson is an American former basketball player, best known for his college career at Oklahoma City University, where in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season he was named the Midwestern City Conference (now the Horizon League) Co-Player of the Year.

Jackson, a 6'4" shooting guard from Melrose High School in Memphis, Tennessee, played collegiately at Claremore Junior College (now Rogers State University) and at Oklahoma City when the school was a member of the NCAA Division I. Along with Evansville's Brad Leaf, Jackson was the first three-time All-Conference pick in conference history (1980, 1981 and 1982).^[1]

His best year was his junior year of 1980–81, when Jackson averaged 24.8 points per game (ranking him sixth in the country in scoring).^[2] Jackson teamed with future NBA player Carl Henry to lead the Chiefs to a Midwestern City Conference tournament title. At the close of the season, Jackson was named the conference co-Player of the Year with Loyola's Darius Clemons.^[1]

After his college career, Jackson was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1982 NBA draft (fifth round, 99th pick overall).^[3] However, Jackson injured his ankle prior to the start of training camp and did not make the team.^[4]

In 2024, Melrose High retired Jackson's jersey. Jackson led Melrose to a 38–1 record and a state title in the 1977–78 season.^[5]

References

1. "2012-13 Horizon League men's basketball media guide, pages 47-57" (PDF). Horizon League. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
2. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game, page 875. Random House. 2009. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
3. "1982 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
4. Hersom, Bob (August 17, 1982). "Ankle injury cut short NBA career". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
5. Wilcox, Wynston (January 5, 2024). "'Melrose made me': Rubin Jackson to have basketball jersey retired Friday night". commercialappeal.com. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved January 11, 2024.