It's not very often that a road for an athlete is easy. There are twists, turns, and unforeseen circumstances that occur. It is up to the athlete to weather these challenges to reach whatever their ultimate goal might be. For some, that journey proves to be to tough, or the challenges pile on top of them to the point where they become burned out. However, when we see an athlete push through brick wall after brick wall, it becomes an inspiring story that everyone wants to talk about.
We have one of those stories today, the subject of which story being Chloe Jackson. To say that she pushed through a little bit of adversity to lead Baylor to one of the best seasons in their program's history and a national championship would be completely unfair to her. Her story is beyond inspirational, and should be used as motivation for anyone needing a reason to push through each and every day with mindset of making today better than yesterday.
Jackson's college story started with her commitment to North Carolina State in freshman year. She arrived with large expectations placed on her from how well she played in high school. However, this hype ended up being short lived. Only 4 games into her freshman season of college basketball, she broke her foot in a way that completely ended her season. This injury, combined with not feeling like she fit the system moving forward, prompted Jackson to pull up the roots she had put down in North Carolina and transfer to LSU in hopes of a fresh start.
Per NCAA rules, Jackson had to sit out a season at LSU before she was able to take the court again. This allowed her to get comfortable with the system, as well as fully heal from her foot injury. Jackson made the most of it, emerging to score 13 point per game in her sophomore season. She made herself felt on both the offense end and defensive end, dishing out 2 assists a game and averaging close to 2 steals a game. Her success would continue into her junior season, when she scored a career high 18 points a game to go along with her best free throw percentage and steals per game of her career during the season.
However, these statistics didn't bring the postseason success that Jackson was hoping for. In her junior season, LSU wasn't able to make the second weekend, losing in the first round after only winning 19 games that season. After the season, Jackson decided to uproot herself again, this time in search of a championship. She had already built up a solid resume, and would most certainly be drafted in the WNBA draft, but was still missing the ultimate prize. Jackson was determined to find somewhere that would provide her that opportunity in the one season of eligibility she had left.
Baylor was not her first choice. In fact, it probably wasn't even her first, second, or third choice when she began her search for a new school. Oregon, Louisville, and Texas were the first schools she looked at. When Jackson was invited to come tour Baylor's campus, to say that it was a surprise would be an understatement. Kim Mulkey, Baylor's women's basketball coach, had never brought a graduate transfer on into her program. Much like another well known coach, John Calipari, she felt as though she was diminishing or taking away from the old program by taking on a graduate transfer.
Still, times were changing, and Mulkey needed a veteran presence on her team that Jackson could provide. She didn't make her any promises, telling Jackson that she wouldn't guarantee a starting role or even playing time. Mulkey also told Jackson if she was to fit at Baylor, she would have to change her style of play to best help the team. Jackson would have to go from a score-first combo guard, to a more team orientated point guard. Not saying she didn't need the scoring, but Mulkey needed someone that could control the team from one of it's most positions.
This change would be another obstacle in her path, but being impressed with the honesty coming from the head coach, and never being one to shy away from these obstacles, Jackson committed to play for Baylor University. That pass first mentality that her coach had spoken of was drilled into Jackson during the offseason, which was clear once the season began. Over the course of the season, she was the calm head that lead the Baylor Bears to the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Averaging 5.7 assists a game and 3.7 rebounds a game, Jackson was truly the presence that Mulkey needed at the point guard position. Baylor would eventually go on to win the national championship over Notre Dame, 82-81, rewarding Jackson for all those years of trials and upheavals.
Through a season ending injury, two different transfers, and having to completely change her playing style to fit a new team's needs could have ended Jackson's career at any point. She could have let these challenges stop her in her ultimate goal of winning a championship. Instead, she continued to drive forward. That tenacity has rewarded her with a brand new national championship ring before she makes the jump to the WNBA, where that drive will surely make sure she has a long and successful career.
Cover Image: Chris O'Mera - AP
Sources:
https://whtc.com/news/articles/2019/apr/06/jacksons-bucket-lifts-baylor-over-oregon-into-title-game/