Shortly after the conclusion fo the 2021-22 men’s basketball season, Liberty guard Jonathan Jackson announced he was entering the transfer portal. Just a few weeks later, he reversed course and announced he would return to the Flames for the 2022-23 season. It wasn’t because of a change of heart, Jackson says.
“At the end of each year, we get an individual meeting with Coach (McKay) to get an evaluation and see what we can work on,” Jackson stated. “When I got in the meeting, he kind of laid out the future for us as a team – who he was bringing in, who we have returning, and all that stuff. He recommended looking at other options because we’ve got so much talent.”
After that meeting, Jackson put his name in the portal and began to look at his other options after Liberty. He was contacted by a couple of schools, but had to make a decision quickly if he didn’t want to sit out a year. The NCAA allows immediate eligibility for transfers completed prior to May 1st. During this time, Jackson stayed around the team and worked out with them.
“I’m not going to disconnect from them, it’s my family,” he explained. “I was working out one day and coach came and offered the spot to come back.”
It was an easy decision for Jackson. He told Coach McKay that he was on board and wanted to remain at Liberty.
“I’ve never been around a team or a group that is this family-oriented,” Jackson said of his decision to take McKay up on his offer. “I didn’t want to leave whenever I was in the portal. I had no desire to leave. For me, it’s not just on the court, it’s off the court. I have so many relationships I have built here that are going to last me the rest of my life. I have a few mentors here that have really rooted me here a little bit. I think the family environment, which is why I came here in the first place my freshman year, I knew this place was different. I knew this place was special.”
Jackson is a 6’4″ guard originally from Dallas, Texas where he attended Blue Valley High School. The younger brother of current NBA player Justin Jackson, Jonathan played in 16 games as a freshman in 2020-21, averaging 3.1 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game. This past season as a COVID-freshman, he played in 21 games, averaging 3.5 minutes, 1.2 points, and 0.3 rebounds per game while shooting 30.0% from the field and making 8 of his 27 three-point attempts for 29.6%. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining if he were to utilize his COVID-shirt.
“For me, that was probably the roughest three-four weeks of my life,” Jackson said of the time he was in the portal. “Just the anxiousness of not knowing what was next. I talked to my brother and my trainer back home and said, ‘I think that was kind of an eye-opener.’ I lost basically everything and I have to gain everything back. I had to lose everything to realize what I had here was real for me.”
When Jackson first arrived on campus in Lynchburg the summer prior to the 2020-21 season, he impressed the coaching staff with his shooting ability. As time grew and the season was set to begin, it looked like Jackson would be a key part of the rotation that season.
That didn’t happen as just prior to the start of the year, Jackson came down with illness and was set back for about two months. By the time he returned to the team and was healthy enough to play, the Flames were rolling along to what would become a third straight ASUN regular season and tournament title. He was unable to carve out a spot in the rotation that year.
As Jackson’s second year began, he ended up behind true freshmen Joseph Venzant and Brody Peebles in the rotation at guard. Now, he will have to fight extremely hard this offseason for any playing time this coming season. He says he’s not worried about playing time right now, but instead just focusing on getting better every day while helping the team to the best of his ability.
“I’ve always been taught, from my parents and people around me, that I should be process-oriented,” said Jackson. “Never look at now but look in the future. I’m just going to keep stacking days, keep working on my game, help the team any way I can, and wait for my time whenever that is.”
