City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Shareef Jackson knew he was making a name for himself in his sophomore year of high school. 

Walking home from Roman Catholic one day, he encountered a few strangers on the street who recognized him — and not just because he was the son of former Roman, Temple and NBA big man Marc Jackson.

“Two back-to-back people,” Shareef recalled. “One guy was like ‘yo, you’re Shareef, right?’ and the other guy said the same thing, and that was the moment where it was like, ‘Oh this is serious, I’ve made a name for myself.’”

Jackson arrived at Roman Catholic four years ago with high expectations and a big family name to live up to, joining a program with a hoops history and longevity no other in the area can match. That’s an imposing set of circumstances for a 15-year-old, no doubt. 

But as he finished up his career in a Cahillite uniform on Saturday in the PIAA 6A state championship game, Jackson did so with the knowledge that he more than made his own mark at Broad and Vine, his presence defining the last few years of Roman hoops.

In his four seasons at Roman Catholic — one as the Cahillites’ sixth man and three as a starter — Jackson was part of 102 wins, two Catholic League championships and one state title along with four state quarterfinals and three state championship game appearances.

With a 15-point, 10-rebound effort in Roman’s 71-60 loss to Father Judge, Shareef Jackson finished his Roman career with 1,301 points and 1,003 rebounds, with more than 300 assists, 150 blocks and 140 steals to his name. According to Roman coach Chris McNesby Jackson is the first to officially hit the milestone since the program started tracking rebounds, though it’s also possible — perhaps likely — that one of the school’s long list of standout alumni have also joined that exclusive club. 

“He’s an excellent student, part of NHS [National Honors Society], he’s an All-Catholic, All-State, thousand-point scorer, thousand-rebounder, he’s the whole package,” McNesby said. “To have him for four years, I’m the luckiest coach around.”

When Jackson first got to Roman, serving as the sixth man on a team that starred Daniel Skillings (Cincinnati), Xzayvier Brown (Saint Joseph’s) and Khalil Farmer (Hofstra), he was a promising 6-foot-6 post player, a mix between muscle and baby fat, his basketball IQ clear, though he still had a ways to go. 

His future coach at Lafayette, Mike McGarvey, present at the GIANT Center on Saturday night, remembered seeing Jackson during his early years at Roman, how impressed he was even back then.

“I wasn’t sure if he was right handed or left-handed,” McGarvey said. “I think when everyone sees him the first time they’re trying to figure it out when he makes left-handed layups a lot. He had a presence about himself as a younger player that he belonged on the court.”

By the time Jackson got to his senior year, he was a sculpted presence in the post and one of the area’s toughest matchups, with a much-improved ability to convert from the foul line and even pop out to the 3-point arc to knock down a jumper or two. 

“There’s a big difference between me now and me freshman year,” he said. “And that’s all players. Even senior year I’ve got things to work on, everybody does. And we have, what, eight months before college season starts, right? So I can be in the gym basically all day, and I know I have to do that, not only because college is a high level, but because I need to go beyond.”

What never changed was Jackson’s affability and gregariousness, his personality shining through in the locker room and during interviews, the friendly big man always happy to talk — even just minutes after his high school career came to an end.

“He’s just so mature, he’s way more mature than me and some of our guys on the staff,” McNesby said. “He’s always so selfless and he’s always thinking about others. And that’s been very early, we always joke that he’s like an old man on the team, but I think he must laugh at us, because he’s way more mature than all of us.”

An easy example of that: Jackson's response to what surprised him the most about his high school years. 

“How friendly it is, actually," he said. "Most parents will tell the kids you’re by yourself, you’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that, or coach is going to kick you off the team. But one thing I really love about not only Roman but the entire PCL, is at the end of the day, even [after] leaving, I know I can go back and talk to Coach [McNesby], I can come back and look at the team, give a talk to the team. That’s what really took me off guard, is that brotherhood is actually there, and that’s something that I really appreciate."

The last three years, Jackson’s been teammates with younger brother Sammy, a 6-foot-7 wing with a silky outside shot and a handful of high-major offers. There will still be two Jacksons on the roster next year, as Shayne Jackson — a 6-foot-5 forward who’s just starting to tap into his potential — will be a freshman at Roman in the fall. 

McNesby called the youngest Jackson “a combination of Shareef and Sammy,” certainly foreboding words to the rest of the Catholic. 

It was fitting that Jackson’s final game came against Judge, the same team it saw in the Catholic League championship game. The Crusaders were led by standout guard and Merrimack commit Kevair Kennedy, one of Shareef Jackson’s teammates on the Team Jacko squad which dominated the middle school AAU circuits before its respective players — including Jaron McKie and Jordan Ellerbee (St. Joe’s Prep) and Luke Bevilacqua (George School) went off to various sneaker-circuit teams in high school. 

“We lost the game, but I felt I gave it my all, that’s all I can say,” he said. “I’m proud. I know people are going to bring up the loss, they’re going to bring up that we didn’t bring it home, but I’m proud [...]  I still have things to work on, but with what I left behind, I feel good.”

As he very well should.