UNDERGRADUATE NEWS
From Homeless to Hopeful: Gamma Alpha's Breyon Jackson Mission Goes Far Beyond Basketball
Submitted by Tyrone Guillory Jr.
B asketball trainer Jamie Adams was in his second week work- ing with Breyon Z. Jackson (Gamma Alpha 2022) when he noticed that his new client’s 2012 Hyun- dai Tucson was overloaded with clothes. “Hey, man,” Adams recalled saying to Jackson — a former Long Beach State player — after a workout last spring. “Are you living in your car?” Jackson nodded, then told Adams how he became unemployed and homeless: the mental health challenges exacerbated by the deaths of several loved ones; the financial toll of ping- ponging across the country; the pursuit of another full-ride scholarship. Though Jackson knew he was unlikely to return to the Division I level, he wanted some closure on his college basketball dream. Now the 23-year-old junior is a key rotation player for the Division II Gators — a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward who defends all five positions, knocks down jumpers and dives for loose balls. Head coach Vince Inglima envisions Jackson blossoming into an all-conference selec- tion and receiving offers from pro teams overseas. Even though Jackson plans to play as long as he can, his ultimate goal is to be a mental health advocate. An interna- tional relations major, he hopes to land a job with the NBA teaching young kids in underprivileged areas that it’s OK to ask for help. That’s part of what made Tuesday night so memorable. As Jackson stood at midcourt of Golden 1 Center before the Sacramento Kings’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans, he was recognized as a March recipient of the CalHope Courage Award — an honor given to two student-athletes at Cali- fornia colleges each month who have overcome some sort of stress, anxiety or mental trauma.
Unbe- knownst to
Jackson, SFSU had nominated him for the award weeks ago. Since arriv- ing on campus in December, his story — from living out of his SUV to excelling for the Gators — has inspired team- mates, coaches and administra- tors. “SFSU is no Duke, but I’m inundated
with social media messages from guys who, for whatever reason, washed out of their previous school and want another shot at college basketball,” Inglima said. “What makes Breyon special is that, despite all his challenges, he made sure he was ready.” When Jackson joined the Gators midway through this past season, he was muscular and 20 pounds lighter than his listed weight at his most recent school, West Virginia State. Two years removed from his last college game, Jackson needed just 15 minutes in his SFSU debut to post 13 points and seven rebounds in a win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. Never mind that he hadn’t even practiced with his new team. For much of the previous year, Jackson had driven that 2012 Hyundai throughout the country as he searched for pickup games where he might impress a college scout or two. Last March, after a brief stint at West Virginia State in which he didn’t
Breyon Z. Jackson (Gamma Alpha 2022).
play a game, Jackson asked Adams — a popular shooting coach in the Washing- ton, D.C., area — to train him. During their first few sessions together, Adams saw a once-revered local high school standout who was out of shape and lack- ing confidence. “He had doubts about his life, about everything he had going on,” Adams said. “You could see it in the way he talked, the way he moved.” Nearly a half-decade of adversity had plunged him into a deep sadness and left him questioning his love for basketball. During Jackson’s freshman season at Cloud County Community College in rural Kansas, his father died from a heart attack. Over the next year, as Jackson realized his longtime goal of Division I basketball, three close child- hood friends were shot and killed in his native Cincinnati. During Long Beach State practices,
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