Moon Township, PA -- Men's basketball player A.J. Jackson (Monessen, PA/Monessen), a 6-6, 230 pound power forward, has transferred from East Tennessee State to Robert Morris University. Jackson will have to sit out the 2004-05 campaign to comply with NCAA transfer rules and will be eligible to play for the Colonials for the 2005-06 season.
Jackson appeared in seven games for the Buccaneers as a freshman during the 2003-04 campaign, averaging 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest while serving as the backup to Southern Conference Player of the Year Zakee Wadood. East Tennessee State finished the 2003-04 campaign with an overall record of 27-6, including a 15-1 mark in league action. The Bucs won their second straight SoCon Tournament title and went on to nearly upset No. 4-seeded Cincinnati before falling, 80-77, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"A.J. is a strong, physical combination forward that can play both inside and outside," RMU head coach Mark Schmidt said. "He'll bring both toughness and scoring ability to our team and will also be a strong rebounder. We're thrilled to have another player from the Pittsburgh area join our program, and once he's eligible to play in 2005-06 he'll make an immediate impact."
A prolific scorer during his prep career, Jackson averaged 24 points and 16 rebounds per game as a senior at Monessen. For those accomplishments Jackson garnered all-district, all-area, All-Western Pennsylvania and All-State accolades. As a sophomore and junior, Jackson helped lead Monessen to back-to-back WPIAL Class A state titles and on his prep career finished with 1,757 points, a school record.
Jackson is only the third player to be a four-year starter for Monessen head coach Joe Salvino, and he also played summer AAU basketball for the Pittsburgh Shockers. Jackson will have three years of eligibility remaining for Robert Morris after he sits out the 2004-05 season.