Demetrius Montell Jackson Jr. (born September 7, 1994) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who last played for

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two team ...

of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played three seasons of college basketball for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

before being drafted 45th overall by the Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft.

High school career

Jackson played high school basketball for Marian High School. As a junior, he averaged 22.3

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by ...

, 6.6 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game, and 2.0 steals per game; led his school to sectional championship; and was named to the All-State Underclass First Team. As a senior, Jackson averaged 25.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, finishing as runner-up for the

Indiana Mr. Basketball The Indiana Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top high school basketball player in the state of Indiana. The award is presented annually by '' The Indianapolis Star''. The first Indiana Mr. Basketball was George Crowe of Franklin High School ...

Zak Irvin Zakarie Tyler Irvin (born September 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He earned the 2013 Indiana Mr. Basketball and Indiana Boys Baske ...

. He concluded his career at Marian as the all-time leading scorer in St. Joseph County with 1,934 career points. His performances with Marian earned him a selection for the

2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 2013 McDonald's All-American Boys Game is an All-star basketball game that was played on April 3, 2013 at the United Center in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls. It is the 36th annual McDonald's All-American Game for high school boys. The g ...

, and he was the first

Northern Indiana Northern Indiana is a region of the U.S. State of Indiana, including 26 counties which border the states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. Northern Indiana is also considered part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis. The area is generally classified i ...

native to receive this honor since

Shawn Kemp Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' () ...

in 1988. Jackson finished the game with 5 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals and won the Jack Daly Sportmanship Award and the Skills Competition.

College career

Freshman season

Jackson committed to play for

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

, under coach

Mike Brey Michael Paul Brey (born March 22, 1959) is an American college basketball coach. He has been the men's head coach at the University of Notre Dame since July 14, 2000. Early life and education Brey, the son of Olympic swimmer Betty Brey, graduate ...

. In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. A ...

season he was expected to back up guards

Eric Atkins Eric William Atkins (born December 14, 1991) is an American professional basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach at George Washington. He played college basketball for Notre Dame where he served as a video coord ...

and

Jerian Grant Holdyn Jerian Grant (born October 9, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Türk Telekom of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball with the University of Notre Dame and was considered one of the top college ...

. Jackson commented on the situation, saying that although he had been apprehensive to play along a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

point guard, he realized that it would benefit his game. He scored in double digits for the first time versus Santa Clara, tallying 13 points. In February, he missed two games in order to deal with academic issues. Upon returning to the team, he scored a season-high 17 points against

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

. He concluded the season having started half of his 30 games and averaging 6.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

Sophomore season

In his sophomore season, Jackson scored a career-high 22 points against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

; this was the first meeting between the schools in 35 years. A couple of weeks later, he tied this mark against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

. Jackson produced solid performances for the Irish in the 2015 ACC tournament against

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

, and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and he was eventually named to the All-ACC Tournament second team. He helped his team proceed to the Elite 8 of the 2015 NCAA tournament by scoring 20 points against

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of stud ...

. Throughout the season, he averaged 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, appearing in all 38 games of his team. On April 14, 2015, it was reported by ESPN that Jackson would return to the Fighting Irish squad for his junior season.

Junior season

On February 1, 2016, he was named one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. Th ...

on February 11. On March 29, 2016, Jackson declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.

Professional career

Boston Celtics (2016–2017)

On June 23, 2016, Jackson was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

with the 45th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. On July 27, 2016, he signed with the Celtics. On November 6, he made his professional debut in a 123–107 loss to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, recording eight points, three rebound and two assists in 11 minutes off the bench. During his rookie season, he has received multiple assignments to the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

, the Celtics'

D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

affiliate. On July 15, 2017, Jackson was waived by the Celtics.

Houston Rockets (2017–2018)

On August 21, 2017, Jackson signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the Rockets and their G League affiliate, the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

, becoming the first player in franchise history to sign such a deal. While he got playing time in Houston early in the season due to an injury to

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and “The Point God”, is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is widely regarded as one ...

, his playing time declined in the weeks following Paul's return. As a result, his two-way contract with Houston was terminated on January 6, 2018, although he would sign a 10-day contract with the Rockets the same day. He was assigned to Rio Grande Valley immediately and took part in the 2018 G League Showcase.

Philadelphia 76ers (2018–2019)

On January 14, 2018, Jackson was signed to a two-way contract with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

and

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate the

Delaware 87ers Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. He was re-signed to a second two-way deal for the 2018–19 season.

South Bay Lakers (2019–2020)

On August 13, 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that they had signed Jackson. On October 21, 2019, Jackson was waived by the Lakers. He was then added to the roster of the

South Bay Lakers The South Bay Lakers are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Los Angeles. Founded in 2006 as the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team is owned by the Los Angeles Lakers, who were the first National Basketball Associ ...

Rytas Vilnius (2020)

On August 8, 2020, Jackson signed with

Rytas Vilnius Rytas Vilnius is a Lithuanian professional basketball club based in Vilnius, Lithuania. The club was founded in 1997 from another club, Statyba, and has become one of the most successful Lithuanian basketball clubs. Rytas have won two EuroCup ...

of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Je ...

(LKL). On October 1, 2020, after averaging 13 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game, Jackson was named the Lithuanian League

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of September. On October 30, 2020, Jackson terminated his contract with Rytas Vilnius due to undisclosed family circumstances, possibly related with health concerns as the club sincerely wished good health to his relatives.

Joventut Badalona (2021)

On January 29, 2021, he has signed with

of the Spanish Liga ACB.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, 5 , , 0 , , 3.4 , , .750 , , 1.000 , , .500 , , .8 , , .6 , , .0 , , .0, , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 5.3 , , .286 , , .000 , , – , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 5.7 , , .750 , , 1.000 , , .500 , , .3 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 0 , , 6.5 , , .533 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , .5 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 26 , , 0 , , 5.2 , , .486 , , .286 , , .667 , , .7 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.8

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 15 , , 22.2 , , .420 , , .417 , , .780 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , 34.7 , , .508 , , .429 , , .745 , , 3.6 , , 3.1 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 36.0 , , .451 , , .331 , , .813 , , 3.5 , , 4.7 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 15.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 103 , , 88 , , 31.5 , , .467 , , .381 , , .782 , , 3.1 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 11.7

Personal life

Jackson, a

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

native, is the son of Juanita Jones. Jackson lived in two different foster homes after the age of twelve, before finally settling with the Whitfields, the family of then basketball teammate Michael Whitfield. As a student in the

, he enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Demetrius 1994 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Lithuania American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from South Bend, Indiana BC Rytas players Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Delaware 87ers players Delaware Blue Coats players Houston Rockets players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Maine Red Claws players McDonald's High School All-Americans Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball players People from Mishawaka, Indiana Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players South Bay Lakers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople