Tiffany Jackson (basketball)

Tiffany Jackson
Personal information
Born(1985-04-26)April 26, 1985
Longview, Texas, U.S.
DiedOctober 3, 2022(2022-10-03) (aged 37)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolDuncanville (Duncanville, Texas)
CollegeTexas (2003–2007)
WNBA draft2007: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career2007–2017
Coaching career2018–2022
Career history
As player:
2007–2010New York Liberty
2010–2011,
2013–2015		Tulsa Shock
2013–2020Maccabi Ashdod
2017Los Angeles Sparks
As coach:
2018–2022Texas (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference

Tiffany Jackson-Jones (April 26, 1985 – October 3, 2022) was an American basketball player and coach. She played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns, earning All-American honors. Jackson played professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the New York Liberty, Tulsa Shock, and Los Angeles Sparks. She also played in the Israeli Premier League for Maccabi Ashdod. She later returned to Texas as an assistant coach for the Longhorns.

Early life

Jackson was born in Longview, Texas, on April 26, 1985.[1] She began her high school career at Lincoln High in Dallas, where she led the school to consecutive appearances in the Class 4A state championship game in her sophomore and junior years.[2] Jackson transferred to Duncanville High School in Duncanville as a senior and won a Class 5A state title.[2] She was named an All-American by McDonald's and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.[3][4]

College career

Jackson enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin and played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns.[5] In 2004, the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) named her the Freshman of the Year.[6] As a sophomore in 2006, Jackson was named a first-team college All-American by the USBWA and was selected to the third team by the Associated Press (AP).[7] She received honorable mention as an All-American from the AP in both her junior and senior years.[8][9] She earned all-conference honors in the Big 12 in all four seasons, including first-team selections in her last three seasons.[10][11]

Texas statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Statistics[12]
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 Texas 35 455 47.3 – 72.8 7.5 1.7 1.9 1.3 13.0
2004–05 Texas 31 568 56.0 – 66.7 8.7 1.8 3.3 1.9 18.3
2005–06 Texas 25 357 40.7 – 71.3 8.7 2.0 2.6 1.4 14.3
2006–07 Texas 32 537 41.5 33.3 68.4 9.0 2.1 2.5 1.3 16.8
Career Texas 123 1917 46.5 33.3 69.6 8.4 1.9 2.5 1.5 15.6

Professional career

The New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) selected Jackson in the first round, with the fifth overall selection, of the 2007 WNBA draft.[1][13] Jackson made her WNBA debut on May 20, 2007, in an 83–71 win over the Chicago Sky.[14] During her rookie season, she led the league in games played (34). She later finished fourth in total rebound percentage (17.5) and fifth in defensive rebound percentage (23.6) the following year.[1] On June 14, 2010, the Liberty traded Jackson to the Tulsa Shock for Plenette Pierson.[15] In the 2011 season, Jackson had her best pro season, averaging 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds with the Shock.[16] She again led the league in games played (34) and finished second in minutes played (1152) and offensive rebounds (100), third in minutes per game (33.9), fourth in total rebounds (286) and rebounds per game (8.4), and fifth in defensive rebounds (186).[1]

While playing for Tulsa in September 2015, Jackson was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. After undergoing treatment, Jackson resumed her career with the Maccabi Ashdod in the Israeli Premier League,[17][10] with whom she had been playing during the WNBA's offseason since 2013.[16][18] She signed with the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA in February 2017.[17]

In February 2018, Jackson re-signed with the Sparks.[19] Although she intended to play one final season with Los Angeles, she retired from the WNBA in April 2018 to return to her alma mater and become an assistant on Longhorns head coach Karen Aston's staff.[20] Jackson continued playing with Maccabi Ashdod until 2020.[18] She finished her career with the club with multiple league championships, and led them to their best finish in the EuroCup in 2015, when they qualified for the semifinals.[21]

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2007 New York 34 0 13.9 .416 .000 .570 3.1 0.6 0.6 0.3 1.4 5.1
2008 New York 25 0 19.8 .516 .000 .630 5.7 1.0 0.9 0.3 1.9 8.3
2009 New York 34 9 14.6 .450 .000 .719 3.4 0.7 0.6 0.3 1.2 5.3
2010 New York / Tulsa 34 17 21.1 .395 1.000 .787 5.1 1.1 1.1 0.2 1.7 6.7
2011 Tulsa 34 32 33.9 .456 .000 .776 8.4 2.0 1.1 0.6 2.7 12.4
2013 Tulsa 19 10 20.7 .393 .000 .654 4.5 0.7 1.3 0.2 1.4 4.4
2014 Tulsa 7 0 10.1 .400 .000 .750 1.9 0.1 0.5 0.1 0.5 2.1
2015 Tulsa 12 0 23.2 .500 .000 .833 4.3 0.7 0.5 0.4 1.3 4.1
2017 Los Angeles 26 1 5.7 .462 .000 .625 1.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.4 1.1
Career 9 years, 3 teams 225 69 18.3 .443 .333 .712 4.5 0.9 0.8 0.3 1.6 6.2
Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2007 New York 3 0 14.3 .471 – .778 4.3 1.0 0.7 0.3 2.0 7.7
2015 Tulsa 2 0 10.5 .000 – .500 2.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5
2017 Los Angeles 1 0 0.0 – – – 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Career 3 years, 3 teams 6 0 10.7 .381 – .727 2.8 0.7 0.7 0.2 1.0 4.0

Source:[1]

Coaching career

Jackson spent four years as an assistant coach with Texas.[17] In April 2022, she was announced as the new head coach for Wiley College.[10]

Personal life

Jackson was married to Derrick Jones. Their son was born in 2012.[22]

Jackson died from breast cancer in Dallas on October 3, 2022. She was 37.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Tiffany Jackson-Jones WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Sayles, Damon (October 5, 2022). "Remembering Tiffany Jackson, a player easy to root for on and off the court". The Athletic. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Carlton, Chuck (October 3, 2022). "Former Texas and Duncanville High School basketball player Tiffany Jackson dies at 37". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  4. ^ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "Freshman Is Sparking Texas Women – The New York Times". The New York Times. January 11, 2004. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "1 Apr 2004, 21 – Austin American-Statesman at". Newspapers.com. April 1, 2004. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  7. ^ "Women's Basketball Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA. 2021. pp. 2–8, 27–36. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  8. ^ "OU freshman Paris a pioneer". Austin American-Statesman. Associated Press. March 29, 2006. p. C-4. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Paris an All-American again". Austin American-Statesman. Associated Press. March 29, 2007. p. C-5. Retrieved October 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b c Glover, Andrew (April 21, 2022). "Former WNBA player Tiffany Jackson named head basketball coach at Wiley College". Tyler Morning Telegraph. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Women's Basketball Conference Awards". The University of Texas at Austin Athletics. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  13. ^ "5 Apr 2007, 30 – Austin American-Statesman at". Newspapers.com. April 5, 2007. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  14. ^ "Tiffany Jackson-Jones 2007 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "Liberty Acquires Tulsa's Pierson – The New York Times". The New York Times. June 15, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Boren, Cindy (October 4, 2022). "Tiffany Jackson, who starred at Texas and in the WNBA, dies at 37". Washington Post. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  17. ^ a b c Foster, Matt (October 4, 2022). "Tiffany Jackson: Former All-American basketball player dies from breast cancer at 37, according to university". CNN. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Tiffany Jackson basketball profile". EuroBasket. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  19. ^ "Transactions". Orlando Sentinel. February 22, 2018. p. C7. ProQuest 2007014528. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  20. ^ Cantu, Rick (May 4, 2018). "Texas ex Jackson will join Aston's staff – New assistant ranks fifth all-time in scoring (1,917 points) for Horns". Austin American-Statesman. p. C1. ProQuest 2035292059. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via ProQuest.
  21. ^ "After a long struggle: Tiffany Jackson passed away". Middle East 24. October 4, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  22. ^ Brown, Mike (January 31, 2013). "Shock leading scorer Tiffany Jackson-Jones set to return to play". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  23. ^ Sandomir, Richard (October 5, 2022). "Tiffany Jackson, Texas Star Forward and W.N.B.A. Veteran, Dies at 37". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  24. ^ Associated Press (October 4, 2022). "Tiffany Jackson, WNBA 1st round pick and Texas Longhorn women's champ, dies at 37 after battling breast cancer". CBS News. Retrieved October 4, 2022.