City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Sammy Jackson’s love of basketball came early, and naturally.

“Sammy’s the one who said ‘dada, look’ and he showed me his dribbling between the cones when he was four years old,” his father, Marc Jackson, recalled. “That was my signal to get to work.”

Thirteen years or so later, that work paid off quite handsomely.

The middle son of the former Temple standout and NBA big man, Sammy Jackson has been a clear prospect to watch ever since he arrived at Roman as a freshman. Quite a different player from his older brother, Lafayette-bound power forward Shareef Jackson, Sammy is a lithe shooting guard with a feathery touch, though at a touch north of 6-foot-7 he’s taller than his burly brother. 

With his father and family helping advise him through his recruitment, Sammy Jackson kept things close to the vest as to which programs were most involved. It came down to a quartet of options: Virginia Commonwealth, Texas, Saint Joseph’s and Indiana. 

Ultimately, it was VCU that won the race for the nationally top-75 senior’s services, Jackson committing to the Rams on Wednesday during a ceremony at Roman Catholic. 

“It was my relationship [with the coaches] and the way they see me as a player,” he told CoBL by phone afterwards, “and how they think I could have a great impact on VCU right away and in the A-10 conference.

“It’s good to be committed to a school that’s committed to me,” he added. 

Jackson’s commitment is no doubt a big one for the Rams, who will certainly be making Philadelphia a recruiting priority under a new regime. That’s no surprise, given that the new head coach is Phil Martelli Jr., a St. Joe’s Prep product and son of the longtime Saint Joseph’s MBB boss of the same name; Phil Jr.’s brother, Jimmy Martelli, and former Carroll standout Ryan Daly are both VCU assistant coaches.

It was Jimmy Martelli who recruited Jackson first, when he was at Penn State; when he joined his brother’s new staff a couple months back, the relationship transferred right over, with Phil quickly getting involved.

“(He) was constantly talking to me, 24/7, almost every day, he was talking to me,” Jackson said. “And he came to a lot of my games — Roman games, [Team] Final games, all of that. Camps. So it was great.”

Jackson’s offer list reached well into the double digits, though he didn’t often discuss things publicly. He did announce his final four schools, and took official visits to all four during June: Saint Joseph’s at the beginning of the month, then Indiana/VCU in quick succession and finally Texas, going down to Austin on Monday and Tuesday. 

Ultimately, Jackson said, his relationship with the coaching staff was what made the difference. The program’s winning past — it’s been to 14 NCAA Tournaments in the last 22 years, despite five coaching changes in that time — appealed as well. VCU’s program has a strong fanbase, without a professional team for competition in the city of Richmond.

Last year, the Rams went 28-7 (15-3 Atlantic 10), losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Head coach Ryan Odom, there just two years, moved on for the same job at the University of Virginia.

“The tradition of the program came up but it was a lot of what Martelli was bringing into it,” Jackson said. “VCU’s a winning program, that’s great, but it’s about the coach and what the coach is bringing in there. He wants to keep the winning tradition and I want to be a part of it.”

As a junior at Roman Catholic, the same school his father graduated from in 1993, Sammy Jackson averaged 13.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.2 apg and 1.2 apg, hitting a team-high 51 3-pointers. The Cahillites made it to the 2025 Philadelphia Catholic League and PIAA Class 6A championship games, losing to Father Judge both times. 

With Sammy Jackson back in the fold, the Cahillites are once again expected to compete for both titles once again. And though Shareef is off at Lafayette, Sammy won’t be the only Jackson brother on the roster; Shayne Jackson, a 6-6 forward, is an incoming freshman at Broad and Vine.

After three years of being the younger brother, Sammy Jackson gets to be the older brother for one season.

“It’s great, being the older brother, now (Shayne) has someone to look up to and I still look up to Reef,” Sammy Jackson said. “Playing with ‘Reef and then going to play with Shayne, it’s special. Reef only played with me, Shayne’s only going to play with me. It’s special to share the court with your brother.”

It’s possible that the Jackson brothers will share the court in the future, too — as opponents. Both Sammy and Marc said they would love to see a VCU/Lafayette matchup next year, pitting Sammy against Shareef.

“For sure,” Sammy said, “we’ve gotta make that happen.”