Raider guard Trency Jackson signs with Texas Tech
Trency Jackson signs with Texas Tech (photo by Jeff Gammons)
4/17/2012 – NWF State guard signs with Texas Tech
Trency Jackson to play basketball with Billy Gillispie's Red Raiders
By PAT FLYNN 315-4421 | @PatFnwfdn pflynn@nwfdailynews.com
Northwest Florida State College guard Trency Jackson ended his recruitment Monday by putting his guns up and signing with Texas Tech.
A visit to Lubbock, Texas, last weekend to meet with Red Raiders coach Billy Gillispie and see the campus put the 6-foot-2 guard's mind at ease and helped him come to a decision almost immediately after his visit.
"I loved everything," Jackson said of his visit. "I loved the atmosphere and I like the players they got coming in. I like Coach Gillispie, he's a smart dude. He always turns around programs.
"I believe in him, I want to be his point guard."
Jackson narrowed his choices down to Texas Tech and Pittsburgh before choosing the Red Raiders. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
After spending a year at Southern Miss, struggling to get cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, Jackson transferred to NWF State. This past season, Jackson played shooting guard for a Raiders team that went 31-2 and finished as the NJCAA National Runner-up. He was a first team All-Panhandle Conference selection and a first-team all-freshman selection.
"I'm really excited for Trency," NWF State coach Steve Forbes said. "It's a great place for Trency, a great league.
"He's had a hell of a year for us on and off the court. Defensively, he always guarded the best player."
Jackson, who averaged 10.3 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game last season, is looking forward to getting back to playing point guard on a full-time basis.
"Pitt was going to run me at the two, or more of a combo (guard)," Jackson said. "So I'm excited about getting back to my primary position of running things on the floor and being a coach on the floor."
The transition from JUCO to the Big XII should be an easier one for Jackson, seeing as how Forbes served as an assistant to Gillispie at Texas A&M from 2004-2006. Forbes said Gillispie was one of the coaches he's modeled himself after, and that should only help Jackson moving forward.
"He's a defensive minded coach and I was the best defensive player on the team this year," Jackson said. "It's going to be a lot of the same because Coach Forbes took a lot of drills from coach Gillespie, so I'll be two steps ahead."