Aurora – It has been 28 years since Mike Jackson roamed Aurora Central’s basketball court as if he owned it.
In so many ways, he did. He was a strong, athletic guard in the mid- to late 1970s who included savvy and determination in an all-around, lofty-credentialed game, a talent at the front of some of Aurora Central’s most entertaining teams.
On Tuesday night, Jackson made a rare return to his former schoolboy haunt as head coach on the opposing bench.
In front of a modest crowd and under a banner that proclaimed his inclusion as a “Trojan for Life” in the school’s Legends Club, Jackson’s Cheyenne Central team, Wyoming’s big-school runner-up a year ago but reloading in 2006-07, fell to Aurora Central 85-65 in a rescheduled tournament game.
But Jackson considered the evening a score.
“I got to see a lot of friends in the stands,” Jackson said. “And it’s really satisfying to see they have a really good team that’s playing well and starting to get a program here that’s well-respected.”
Esteem, or the lack of it, was rarely a problem for Jackson, a former Trojans team captain who combined the gifts of athleticism and hand-eye coordination as well as any in-state player of the era. Fundamentally, he did everything well, notably dealing the ups and downs as a great leaper, and thriving in team play.
In Jackson’s time, respect wasn’t talked about; it was earned and recognized, and that’s all there was to it.
Those were the days before video games, MTV, ESPN, cellphones and e-mail, when Jackson honed his game to the point that he was all-Centennial League, all-state and a McDonald’s All-American. His hard work and intensity, intricate parts of a constant effort to improve, compete and have fun, remain part of Aurora lore. Eleventh Avenue and Peoria Street literally rocked as the Trojans’ Jackson Five had no trouble withstanding the earlier waves of suburbia that eventually drained the city’s central talent base.
A natural athlete, Jackson decided to discontinue football after a season as a Trojan, but marveled in other ways – in his first try as a soccer goalie, he went on to become an all-leaguer; in track and field, he high-jumped 6 feet, 10 inches.
“He was the one,” former longtime athletic director Lee Rosa said.
Jackson’s basketball potential was best recognized by Wyoming’s Jim Brandenburg. As part of a bunch of Cowboys who had something to prove, Jackson and Wyoming enjoyed a four-year run that included the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in nearly two decades and a 24-6 record in 1980-81. Jackson was a two-time all-Western Athletic Conference choice.
However, he suffered a severe knee injury in the second half of his final college game, and the promise that made him a fourth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Kings vanished even quicker than one of his leaps to the basket.
Jackson, who appears trim enough to play competitively today, made an attempt to rehabilitate, but the freedom to run, stop and jump with the exceptional never returned.
Now in his 15th year as a high school coach, don’t make the mistake of getting into any Nassaus with Jackson. He’s a teaching professional at Cheyenne Country Club and part of an athletic family. His brother, Danny, was a 14-year pitcher in the big leagues who earned victories as part of the 1985 (Kansas City Royals) and 1990 (Cincinnati Reds) World Series champions.
Having surpassed 1,000 career points for Aurora Central, Mike Jackson on Tuesday presented a ceremonial, encased basketball marking the same occasion for current senior Stephen Franklin.
Jackson vowed to return to his alma mater more often, and he’ll be in town later this month for induction into the Colorado High School Activities Association Hall of Fame.
Coming home can happen even if it’s not in the exact, same way.
After all, he used to own the place.
On tap
Denver Post staff writer Neil H. Devlin looks at the weekend ahead in high school sports:
BASKETBALL
CLASS 5A CENTENNIAL LEAGUE: Shaw nearing boys fast lane
Ken Shaw is about to complete the Coaching 500. The Smoky Hill boys coach, a former schoolboy multisport star at Merino who went on to perfect-record state titles at Yuma and Sterling and a good run at Rocky Mountain, entered Wednesday night’s Centennial League play two victories shy of the benchmark. The Buffaloes were at Overland on Wednesday and will be home against defending Class 5A champion Mullen at 7 p.m. Friday. Shaw will join a fairly crowded club. East’s Rudy Carey, Denver Christian’s Dick Katte, Doherty’s Dan McKiernan and Steamboat Springs’ Kelly Meek are active in-state boys coaches with 500 or more victories.
CLASS 5A-4A BOYS NONLEAGUE: Snow what?
Colorado usually has to pick up the pieces from the holiday break; the snow has made it that much more fun. Scheduling has given way to rescheduling. More good news: Another round of snow with the season’s coldest stretch, is forecast today through the weekend. If the games go on as scheduled, get warm on Saturday’s nonleague play with 4A Abraham Lincoln (Jorge Gutierrez) at 5A Aurora Central, 2 p.m., and the big schools’ East making an infrequent trip to Brighton, 7 p.m. Also on Saturday, the Tournament of Champions at Metro State, wiped out by the first snowstorm before Christmas, will try again to complete pool play, at Grandview, with tipoffs at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. On Monday, three consolations in Roadrunnerland beginning at 1 p.m. will precede the title game, scheduled for 7 p.m.
CLASS 5A-4A GIRLS: North by southwest
Silver Creek at Fossil Ridge on Friday will continue the breaking in of the new two-division 4A Northern. The Western Division foes will tip off at 7 p.m. It’s the same time a day later in Jefferson County for Arapahoe at Dakota Ridge in 5A nonleague.
WRESTLING
TOURNAMENTS: Mat bracketology
Locally, Arvada West’s invitational is a smart choice for Saturday action, but that’s not the only option. Brackets full of top-flight competitors also will be on display at Alamosa, Evergreen, Lyons, Mullen, Overland, Pueblo Centennial, Salida, Simla, South, Sterling and Wiggins. Most will have early-morning starts, then finals in the 6-7 p.m. range.
HOCKEY
ASPEN: Ice, ice, baby …
Wake up! Aspen’s Skiers, on a metropolitan swing, can’t get caught napping. But it may be tempting. On Saturday, they will meet Bishop Machebeuf at the University of Denver. First puck drops at 6:45 a.m. Obviously, ice time isn’t that easy to obtain.
SWIMMING
JEFFERSON COUNTY: Don’t be pooled
A few words for competitors, coaches and followers of Jefferson County’s girls swimming and diving meet at Meyers Pool (competition begins at 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday) – dry yourselves before heading outside into the snow and Arctic air.
Staff writer Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
