Frank Jackson was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2017 as the 31st overall by the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets would quickly trade him to the New Orleans Pelicans where he currently plays as a point guard. Although he has just spent a season in the NBA, Jackson shows great potentials of becoming a very successful player in the league.
Before his NBA career, the PG played basketball both as a high school student and in college and has been honoured with several awards which include the McDonald’s All-American Game Slam Dunk champion, McDonald’s All-American Game co-MVP,
Utah Mr Basketball (2016) among others. Below are six other facts you need to know about the Pelicans star.
6 Things To Know About Frank Jackson
1. His Father Is A Former Utah State Senator
Jackson was born in Washington, D.C. as Franklin Willis Jackson, on the 4th of May to former Utah State Senator Al Jackson, and his wife Juleen Jackson. His father is African-American and his mom is of Euro-American descent and was born and raised in Utah. Al Jackson served as Republican Senator for Utah State’s 14th district from 2014-2016.
Frank Jackson is the second of his parents’ five children. He has three sisters (Marie, Mary Alice, and Kayla) and a brother (Alvin Jackson III).
2. His High School Basketball Achievements
He first attended Lehi High School where he spent his first year before transferring to Lone Peak High School in his second year. He played with the school’s basketball team and as a sophomore, he recorded an average of 17.9 points per game. He was among the squad that helped his school team win the Utah 5A state championship.
With an average of 4.5 rebounds, 26.9 points and 2.0 steals, Franklin earned the Salt Lake Tribune All-state honours, Fourth-team MaxPreps All-American and First Team All USA Utah selection as a junior. In 2015, he was invited to play in the Under Armour Elite 24 Invitational which was held in Brooklyn, New York, and he hit twenty points that earned him the Co-MVP honours.
As a senior, he averaged 3.0 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 28.1 points per game to be named Utah Mr Basketball, Salt Lake Tribune player of the year and the McDonald’s All-American. Jackson also won the Slam Dunk Competition and was honoured with another Co-MVP after scoring nineteen points at the All-Star game played in March 2016 at the United Center, Chicago, IL. He would later be selected to play at the Jordan Brand Classic. ESPN ranked Frank Jackson as No. 10 overall player and No. 4 in the 2016 high school class.
3. Jackson Played College BasketBall At Duke
With such an impressive high school career, several schools wanted Jackson on their team, thus, he got offers from a number of them including Utah, Standford, UCLA, BYU, Arizona State, Maryland, Duke, Arizona and many more. The youngster originally committed to BYU but would later change his mind and opted for Duke.
After spending just one season at Duke, Frank announced he was forgoing his remaining 3 seasons and signed with an agent. In his only season with the Blue Devils, he appeared in thirty-six games (starting sixteen) and recorded an average of 1.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 10.9 points per game.
4. He Was Drafted Into The NBA By The Charlotte Hornets
Although he ended up with the Pelicans, Jackson’s journey into the NBA began with the Charlotte Hornets which drafted him 31st overall in the 2017 NBA Draft but traded him on the night of the draft to New Orleans Pelicans for No. 40 picks, as well as for cash consideration.
5. Frank Jackson Missed An Entire NBA Season
He didn’t start with the franchise immediately as he was ruled out for an entire season due to a foot injury that required surgery. After his first surgery in May 2017, Frank required a second one to address a setback following the first surgery.
His first game with the team was in the Summer League of 2018 where he hit thirteen points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal before being ruled out for the entire tournament due to a sprain in his left ankle.
6. His Height And Weight
Jackson may not be as tall as the likes of Boban Marjanovic and Kristaps Porzingis but he is certainly not the shortest in the NBA. The point guard stands at the height of 6’2″ (1.9 m) and weighs 93kg – 205 Ibs.
