Heritage Round – The Jackson Family

Seeing his sons playing is a source of great joy for CJ Jackson but it's also a wow factor and a sign of what a remarkable 35-year journey it's been to see the children of Ricky Grace, Dan Hunt, James Fitch, Vince Kelley and Ian Satie playing in NBL1 West as well.

It's hard to imagine a greater success story in the history of the SBL, the NBL1 West and Basketball WA in general than Jackson.

He came out from California to join the Perth Redbacks in 1990 knowing precious little about the country, but now it's his home 35 years later and there's nowhere else in the world he'd want to be.

Along the way, Jackson played a role remarkably similar to his idol Magic Johnson across a 260-game playing career, but it's his contributions the 25 years since that have cemented his legacy.

That's included coaching stints with the Mandurah Magic, Cockburn Cougars, East Perth Eagles, Swan City Mustangs, Perry Lakes Hawks and back at the Redbacks while also working in administration roles for the league in general and at Cockburn.

On top of that, his work with the young basketballers in the state means his expertise continues to be passed on whether at Scotch College or Mater Dei College where he's currently working, or through his own SkyPlay Basketball academy.

To add in the fact that both of Jackson's sons, Tevin and Denzel, are currently playing at the Perth Redbacks and attempting to replicate what he did by winning a championship in 1990, and it is quite the remarkable story for someone who came from California to Perth on a wing and a prayer.

What gives you the wow factor

For the NBL1 Heritage Round this week, it provides Jackson with the chance to reflect and it's not just his and his family's story and history that comes to mind, but the big picture.

Jackson looks across the competition at some former teammates and opponents who have similar stories to his where they came out to play in the then SBL competition as imports, and have built their life ever since in WA.

It's Vince Kelley, James Fitch, Dan Hunt and Ricky Grace (NBL) who immediately spring to mind because when Jackson now looks across the NBL1 West of 2024, he sees Desiree Kelley leading Willetton Tigers, Javene Fitch emerging at South West, Liam Hunt an inspiration at Geraldton, and Jerami Grace shining at East Perth.

There's even his old teammate Ian Satie's daughter, Mia, thriving at Perry Lakes, and that's what really makes the journey over the last 35 years hit home more than anything for Jackson.

"The journey has been absolutely mind blowing to be honest and I can speak for guys with a similar story to mine like Vince Kelley, Fitch, Dan and even Ricky, and for us to have all played in the comp, and now have kids be playing as well, it's just wow," Jackson said.

"That's not something we ever could have imagined happening when any of us first came out here to play, but it's become our home and now you can see what our kids are doing.

"You can throw Jerami in there as well and the beauty of the whole thing is that we all saw each other's kids when they were basically. To see where they are now it's just wow, that is a wow factor like nothing else.

"That's what my wow factor is where I'm able to say this has been a great journey, and I've been able to give back but I've been able to witness the growth of some of these players who I played with or again, and now seeing their kids grow up to become names in the comp that we helped build. That's a pretty dynamic thing, it's fantastic to see."

Reflecting on the last 35 years

When Jackson does take a second to reflect, to think that he had no idea what he was getting into when joining a Redbacks team in 1990 that would go on to win a championship featuring Andrew Vlahov and Luc Longley to have now made his home here, and it all almost defies imagination.

He thought it might initially just be a quick stop in his career for a couple of months but in the end the leap to move to the other side of the world meant he had to grow up quickly, and he's never looked back.

"It's turned out to be everything I could have ever imagined, and more to be perfectly honest," Jackson said.

"A mate of mine from my hometown was driving me to some tournament, and we got in a deep conversation about basketball and he said I should think about playing in Australia.

"All I could think about was that it was the country with kangaroos and koalas, and what the heck would they know about basketball. But he started telling me about all the beautiful cities and he had been based at Hobart and his coach was Tom Maher.

"It started to sound pretty good to me and then a month later, I arrived to start playing at Redbacks so it's turned out to be everything and more I could have hoped.

"I loved basketball, but I also was a pretty good baseball player so for me to come over here for basketball from a military father and my mum being a school teacher, it really meant that it was the start of my journey as a man."

Seeing sons play 35 years after starting

The playing journey of Jackson started on that championship team at the Redbacks in 1990 and now to fast forward to 2024 and to see both his sons Tevin and Denzel playing in that same uniform on the same floor at Belmont Oasis is remarkable.

It's only natural that he wishes he was still coaching them like he was as recently as this time two years ago, but in the bigger picture, to see things come full circle and for his sons to be doing what they are is a great source of pride for him.

"It's been an amazing journey for me. When I first came I had no idea what to expect coming to the Redbacks and didn’t have any idea I'd come in and play alongside Luc Longley and Andrew Vlahov," Jackson said.

"A lot of people still think that might be the greatest SBL team of all-time and then to fast forward now, my sons have a chance to be involved in that same club so that's pretty special.

"I'm excited for them to be playing and they do still have a long journey still ahead of them, and they both have years of playing still to go. I'd like to see them do really well and get to enjoy some of the success that I did."

Watching Tevin show all-round talents

Tevin is a remarkably talented basketball player with great physical gifts at 6'8 who can legitimately play every position on the floor – he has all the tools to run the point, he's big enough to hold his own against the bigs and more than athletic enough to be a wing.

He has had some injuries along the way that did especially deny his NBL career ever truly getting off the ground when he was at the Cairns Taipans after his time in college at McNeese State University.

However, he has now made a home for himself at the Redbacks since 2020 and has played 143 games in the league with the 30-year-old a genuine star and one of the best all-round talents still in the country.

When his dad looks at his game and as someone who has coached him at NBL1 level, he admires his talent and just feels the last piece of his puzzle to come together is lifting his three-point shooting numbers up nearer the 40 per cent mark.

"I feel that Tevin is one of the best downhill players in the competition, and perhaps even the country," CJ Jackson said.

"I do feel like he was capable of playing at a higher level than this league too and I will always believe he should have received more opportunities at NBL level. At 6'8 and handling the ball the way he does, and doing the things he can do, he's very quick, agile and skilled.

"I don’t know that there's too many players that can stay in front of him when he is going downhill going to the basket.

"I would like to see him continue to improve on his shooting and if he becomes a knockdown shooter, he would be an unstoppable player and he's fully aware of that and is putting the work in.

"There wouldn’t be too many players in the country that could contain him if he improves his shooting, and their only hope would be to contain him, nobody could stop him."

Comparing Tevin to own game

Tevin might very well be the closest thing in the modern version of the league to what CJ was like as a player too.

CJ always modelled his game on the legendary Magic Johnson at his beloved Los Angeles Lakers. In the SBL competition, he came mighty close to doing just that averaging 16.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists across his 260-game career.

That included a remarkable 1993 season at East Perth where he put up 26.9 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8.5 assists so when Jackson says he wanted to be a triple-double player, he more than lived up to that across his entire career.

His son, Tevin, has a similar skill set and might just be that bit more dynamic than his dad ever was, and while CJ thinks he might have him covered in terms of getting on the glass, he sees a lot of his old self in his eldest son.

"What I see in Tevin when I compare to what I was like as a player is his ability to share the ball and throw some of the passes that he throws," CJ said.

"I feel like one thing I might have been better at was rebounding just because my career stats show that I was more of a guy who was looking to get a triple-double.

"My idol was Magic Johnson so I did my best to play like he did and I thought if I could be that type of player that he was then I could go out and aim to get a triple-double.

"My stats will say that I was more of a triple-double man and I'd go get some more rebounds, but that's not to say Tevin doesn’t rebound as well.

"I just did think I went after them a bit more because I knew in my mind that the fast break starts with me and I wanted to start the play with the ball in my hands. I learned that by watching Magic Johnson do that so I just tried to emulate him the best I could."

What's in the future for younger son Denzel

Then there is CJ's younger son Denzel who is still finding his feet in the NBL1 West at the Redbacks but now does have 90 games under his belt as a 23-year-old who did spend some time at Adams State University that was interrupted by Covid.

He has been back at home now since and is continuing to develop and work on his game, and his dad does see where he could become a difference maker in the NBL1 West should he define down his role and what his strengths can become.

"When I talk to Denzel I try to tell him that one thing he needs to do is to catch up to the speed of the game, and play to the speed of the game," CJ said.

"But I really do think that there are some prototype players that he should look to be like and those are in the NBA Bam Adebayo and Myles Turner from the Pacers.

"I would also put in the Duop Reath who just had a very good season for Portland and his pick and pop, but his picking and diving is even better. That's what Denzel needs to make himself elite out and throughout all his juniors, we used to get him on a lot of pick-and-rolls and he could score out of that.

"That's what he needs to keep working on being able to do at this level, but I'm sure he will get there and I'm proud of him no matter what he does."

Basketball in the blood as a family

For Jackson to not only have made a home for himself down under but to have also been able to have his entire life revolve around basketball is everything and more he could have ever hoped for when he working out what to do after growing up in a military family in California.

To have now been able to share basketball with his sons and to continue to see what they are doing out on the court every week in the NBL1 West is something he'll never be anything but greatly thankful for.

"I would say that Tevin was kind of more cast into basketball at an earlier age. At six months old I was playing at Redbacks and he was coming along and actually following the game while we're scrimmaging," Jackson said.

"He would turn his head one way and the other way to follow the game, and he was kind of born into it and was a bit more of a natural. It was a bit different with Denzel because I had finished playing by then so he was a bit more about playing video games and stuff like that from a young age.

"He wasn’t quite born into the game like Tevin was, but in saying that, their careers have kind of ended up going along similar paths. They both went away for school, they both started playing SBL or NBL1 when they were 18 and both have a lot of those same parallels.

"Tevin made more state teams than Denzel did so that might have been where he had a bit of an advantage, but I really do think that us being able to be around basketball has been a blessing with what Basketball WA and Basketball Australia has allowed us to be able to do, and the opportunities we've had as a family."