Ralph A. Jackson III (born October 26, 1962) is an American former 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 played briefly in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). Jackson attended Inglewood High School in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

. The school's basketball team was the nation's top-ranked team in 1980, going undefeated and winning the national championship, with Jackson the CIF player of the year and all-time assists leader. At

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, Jackson averaged 8.4 points, 4.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 111 career games between 1980 and 1984. Jackson was selected by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

in the fourth round of the 1984 NBA draft with the 71st overall pick. He signed with the Pacers on September 1, 1984, and played his one and only NBA game on November 7 against 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 ...

. He was waived by the Pacers on November 9. On November 20, he was acquired by the Toronto Tornados of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

. He averaged 8.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 47 games for the Tornados during the 1984–85 season. He returned to the franchise in 1985–86, with the team moving to Florida mid-season and becoming the Pensacola Tornados. In 14 games, he averaged 7.6 points, 4.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Ralph 1962 births Living people Inglewood High School (California) alumni American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Pensacola Tornados (1985–86) players Point guards Toronto Tornados players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players