Monday, September 3, 2007

Darnell lightens up

By Tom Keegan

Kansas University senior Darnell Jackson hopes to elevate his game now that he's leaner and better able to "focus" on the court regardless of distractions off it.

Photo by Thad Allender

Kansas University senior Darnell Jackson hopes to elevate his game now that he's leaner and better able to "focus" on the court regardless of distractions off it.

Advertisement

The first noticeable change in Kansas University post player Darnell Jackson, as he put aside time for a chat on his way to a workout in the weight room, was that he looked lighter. He still has the broad shoulders and thick muscles, of course, but he's definitely sporting a sleeker look.

"I am a lot leaner," Jackson confirmed. "I've been trying to work on my body, keep my body strong, stay in shape, trying to stay healthy. (Strength coach Andrea) Hudy's busting us hard in the weight room. She doesn't take it easy on us. She's always staying on us. If you mess up, she's going to make you run and then come back and lift weights. It's been great so far. We just have to keep it up as a team."

The longer Jackson talked, the more a different change showed itself. He seems to have lost the weight of the world that burdened him so during the early stages of his junior season.

Jackson talks in longer sentences, lets the listener in more and appears more trusting. He tried withdrawing from the world when he lost loved ones, and he found that approach didn't work too well. Time won't ever heal all the wounds of losing his grandmother, killed by a drunken driver; his cousin/best friend's grandfather, who was murdered; and the loss of other friends at young ages.

"My junior year, some games I wasn't fully there for the team when the team needed me because I was going through all that stuff," Jackson said. "When it came down to the Big 12 tournament, the NCAA Tournament, I was there for the team. I needed to stay focused because the guys needed me to stay focused and do my job so we'd have a chance to win and go further in the tournament."

Jackson credited a teammate with putting him in the right frame of mind when March arrived.

"I used to talk to Mario (Chalmers) a lot because Mario lost his grandma, just like I lost mine," Jackson said. "He would say, 'All I'm asking you to do is stay focused when we need you.' I made a promise to him when the tournament came I was going to stay focused and play hard and do everything I can to help him and the other guards. It came out great. It came out the way Mario said it was going to come out."

Jackson also pointed to a midseason chat with coach Bill Self as a turning point.

"When I was younger, when stuff happened to me, I would never say anything," Jackson said. "If somebody came and asked me if I was OK, I would say I'm fine. Coach Self used to do that until he realized when he knows I'm down I'm always going to smile and tell him I'm fine. I used to hate talking about everything that's going on in my life to other people because it used to make me feel real bad. Then when I was holding it in it wasn't doing anything but breaking me down. It was just breaking me down, and I couldn't handle it. Coach Self was just like, 'You need to talk about it. Don't hold it in. Talk about it.' That helped."

Jackson's mother and Iowa State offensive lineman Lee Tibbs' mother are cousins, and Jackson said for all his life Tibbs is the closest thing he ever has had to a brother. Tibbs' grandfather, whom Jackson knew well, was murdered. Every day, Jackson said, he and Tibbs would talk about their losses.

For all Jackson has endured in his personal life, that doesn't mean losing a basketball game still doesn't sting. Jackson scored eight points and had four rebounds in 14 minutes in the 68-55 loss to UCLA, which stopped the Jayhawks one game shy of the Final Four.

"Now I realize what coach Self means when he says when we lose a game he can't eat because it gives him a bad taste," Jackson said. "To this day, I still have a bad taste in my mouth from that game. : If we would have won it, it would have been a fun rematch against Florida. Knowing we beat Florida in Las Vegas, Florida would have had a bad taste in their mouth. Florida would have brought their A game, and we would have brought our A game, and it would have just been a battle to the end."

Battling is what Jackson is all about on the basketball court. Nobody battled harder on the boards than Jackson, whose ratio of one rebound for every three minutes on the floor was the best of anyone in the rotation. This year, he said, he will showcase an expanded game.

"I've improved my dribbling and shooting," he said. "I'm not going to shoot a lot of threes, but I'm going to shoot some threes."

Jackson averaged 15.3 minutes per game as a junior. His minutes likely will increase. A starting assignment, perhaps?

"If coach Self told me I was in the starting lineup today, I would tell him I don't deserve to be in the starting lineup," Jackson said. "That's not my job to come worry about being in the starting lineup. I came here to achieve and win something big, bring one of those banners back in the gym letting everyone see what we did, trying to get a degree, working hard in class. National champs. That would be great. I don't worry about starting. That's not a big deal to me. It doesn't matter who's starting. You have to be proud of whoever's out there on the court busting their butt every minute, trying to help the team win. That's what we do. We go out there and try to play hard and bring a win back to the locker room to celebrate."

The Final Four will be played in San Antonio this season. Nothing short of reaching that destination will remove the bad taste of losing to UCLA in San Jose from Jackson's mouth.

Comments

Cornfed (anonymous) says...

I swear any article about that kid brings tears to my eyes.....thats the heart we need to get a National Title! Rock Chalk!

September 3, 2007 at 1:19 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

lumpegravy (anonymous) says...

I think I love this man (and the fact he plays for Kansas)

September 3, 2007 at 1:51 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

crooner (anonymous) says...

"...but I'm a champion, so I turn tragedy to triumph..."

Stay strong, Darnell. We need you.

September 3, 2007 at 5:13 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

swjhawk (anonymous) says...

It is players and students like Darnell that have sustained my pride in being a Jayhawk for the last 45 years.

September 3, 2007 at 9:04 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

okjhok (anonymous) says...

Great piece...I hope this team makes a commitment to reaching the final four this year. They have to make it their mission. I'm not one to complain about how past seasons turned out, because I truly enjoy watching the 'Hawks play, and am grateful that I have such a great alma mater to root for. But with all the disappointment following the last three years, and with the group we go into this season with, I think it would be devastating if the team didn't achieve its goal of the final four. Good luck guys...now back to football season.

September 3, 2007 at 9:25 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

wi_jayhawk (anonymous) says...

Another classy player on the KU squad! This year is going to rock because of the heart and soul of the entire team.

September 3, 2007 at 11:52 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmkjayhawk (anonymous) says...

It is stories like Darnell's that make him rapidly climb my list of All-Time Favorite Jayhawks. Russell Robinson is a tough kid, too, but with all the adversity that Darnell has gone through and turned into good, you've got to love the guy.

September 3, 2007 at 12:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KEITHMILES05 (anonymous) says...

Loved everything about the article except his assertion he's going to shoot some threes. He best do what he does best and it most certainly is NOT shooting threes. He starts doing that and Self will take him to the woodshed for an ass whipping.

September 3, 2007 at 12:29 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhawklifer (anonymous) says...

Gotta love D-Jax. Mission: Final Four. Possible.

September 3, 2007 at 1:15 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Keith... while I initially gasped a bit when I heard DJ comment about taking some 3's (and thereby being away from the basket for rebounds - what he does best personally and relative to the team), I also stopped to think about the bigger picture - what is best for the team.

I can very much see a situation where defenses are sagging on DA, Sasha, ... and it's appropriate to open up the court a bit more. Where BR takes a smaller player to the post because he can rebound over him. ... I can see where DJ could have improved his 3-shooting like he did his FT shooting when he had to sit out (where are those 80% days?).

So I can see where Coach Self would want him to take an outside shot, maybe even a 3, as other bigs have done in the past very successfully. And the most comforting thing is to realize his intent on doing what is necessary to help the team.

It reminds me a lot of Sherron, and how he isn't pressing to start (as some posters insist he should), but rather to do what is best for the team. That he realizes that he is getting as much PT as any player, and that his spark off the bench is probably even more important to the team than his spark to start the game.

Gotta love this team. RC.

September 3, 2007 at 1:59 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

DARnell and DARrell; this could be the year of the Double DAR.

Watch out Sasha. You're going to have to score and board to keep this guy #2 on the depth chart.

September 3, 2007 at 2:28 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Great kid...great attitude!!!!

September 3, 2007 at 8:23 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayCeph (anonymous) says...

If he can turn his numbers into game-changing percentages, I'm confident he can make to the 'League.' He has the build and the right attitude. I hope he has a monster year... for his sake and the rest of the team's.

September 4, 2007 at 11:37 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jpstrayer (anonymous) says...

With the stroke Darnell has from the free throw line area...the 3pt line isn't that much of a stretch...all a the appropriate timing with the defense slacking off, of course.

September 4, 2007 at 11:39 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

There's a problem I have with the theory that big men should stay close to the basket....

Dirk

Another problem more specific to KU...

Raef.

You can't tell me he wouldn't have stroked it at a 40% clip in college with the early success he had at NBA range. If every player on a team could shoot 40% from there, everyone would do nothing but bomb away... so why take it out of someone like that's hands?

Of course Darnell won't hit at that clip in all likelihood.. but what he could accomplish is making an opposing team move a big body away from the basket.

Another thing KU has to think about... we have a special combination of guards that can put it on the floor and beat their man to the basket. If you have big men able to draw their defender out of the paint, it opens things up more for that dribble penetration.

September 4, 2007 at 4:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralsterKUMed95 (anonymous) says...

Great article. Good points everyone. I read that in one of the summer games, Darnell was 2 of 3 from 3-range(!) If he thinks he has the accuracy and also the green light from Coach--then go for it. Showing opposing defenses (and NBA scouts) that kind of range makes KU more versatile, and the scouts a lot more to consider.

September 6, 2007 at 3:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )