Somehow the spotlight never seemed to find Donovan Jackson.
“I always felt disrespected, because ever since I was a little kid, nobody ever thought I was good,’’ the Milwaukee, Wis., native said. “Certain point guards had big names in my state. Everybody looked at them and nobody ever saw me.’’
They see him now, thanks to a life-changing weekend in St. Louis last month. The Iowa Western sophomore-to-be entered Mullen’s JC Top 100 Camp with one Division I offer, from Tulsa. Shortly after an outstanding showing, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound lefty had more than 25 Division I offers.
Mr. Congeniality had suddenly become Mr. Popularity.
On Sunday night, Jackson called Iowa State first-year coach Steve Prohm and informed him of his plans to become the first member of the Cyclones’ 2016-17 recruiting class. The rest of his final five included UNLV, Illinois, Virginia Tech and Mississippi. Iowa, Creighton and Wichita State were among those he had crossed off his list.
“I love Coach Prohm,’’ Jackson said. “I think he’s a great guy. I could just tell he’s very genuine. And it’s one of the top programs in the country, so why not?’’
Jackson comes from a poor family. He guesses he lived in about 13 different houses growing up in the Milwaukee area.
“Everything I’ve ever gotten I’ve earned,’’ he said.
Jackson found a home at Pius XI High School, leading the team to state as a senior and earning all-state honors. But he never attracted huge recruiting attention.
“There were multiple games where I would play in front of coaches and I was doing real, real good,’’ he said, “and nobody would ever give me a phone call. Every time I would come close to thinking, ‘Man, I don’t know about basketball,’ I would literally just go to the gym.’’
It became clear that Jackson would have to go the juco route. Iowa Western coach Jim Morris first watched him on a recruiting trip to Milwaukee to see another player. Morris signed him shortly after that. ...
