Jhivvan Jackson

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Jackson and the second or maternal family name is Meléndez.

Jhivvan Jameel Jackson Meléndez (born August 27, 1998) is a Puerto Rican-Panamanian professional basketball player for Würzburg Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He played college basketball for the UTSA Roadrunners.

Jhivvan Jackson

No. 56 – Würzburg Baskets
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
League	Bundesliga
Personal information
Born	(1998-08-27) August 27, 1998 (age 26) Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican / Panamanian
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Trinity (Euless, Texas)
College	UTSA (2017–2021)
NBA draft	2021: undrafted
Playing career	2022–present
Career history
2022	CB Menorca
2022–2023	Spirou Charleroi
2023–2024	Tigers Tübingen
2024	Osos de Manatí
2024–present	Würzburg Baskets
Career highlights and awards
BSN Rookie of the Year (2024) 3× First-team All-Conference USA (2019–2021) Second-team All-Conference USA (2018) Conference USA Freshman of the Year (2018)

Early life and high school

Jackson began playing basketball at the age of five.^[1] He moved from his hometown of Bayamón, Puerto Rico to Dallas, Texas in seventh grade.^[2] He played four years of varsity basketball at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. As a freshman, Jackson was teammates with top recruit and future National Basketball Association (NBA) player Myles Turner. In his senior season, he averaged 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and 2.8 steals per game.^[3] and also his older brother Jalen Jackson He scored 52 points in a 92–91 overtime win over Denton Guyer High School in the playoffs after missing the two games previous with an injured ankle.^[4] Jackson was lightly recruited, his only NCAA Division I offers coming from New Mexico and UTSA, and was not rated by any major recruiting services. On October 16, 2016, he committed to play for UTSA, who discovered him at an all-star game in New York City.^[3]

College career

As a freshman, Jackson was named Conference USA freshman of the year and Second Team All-Conference USA.^[5] He averaged 18.4 points per game to lead the team.^[6] Jackson tore his ACL at the end of his freshman season, cutting the year six games short. He missed the first three games of his sophomore season while recovering from the injury.^[2] He scored a career-high 46 points and hit a career-high eight three-pointers in a 96–88 overtime loss to Western Kentucky on January 31, 2019.^[7] As a sophomore, Jackson led Conference USA in scoring with 22.9 points per game on 38.6 percent shooting from the field, combining with Keaton Wallace to form the highest scoring backcourt in Division I. Jackson was named to the First Team All-Conference USA.^[2]

On December 21, Jackson scored 41 points in a 89–70 win over Illinois State.^[8] He was subsequently named National Player of the Week by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), becoming the first Conference USA player to win the award since its creation in 2009–10.^[9] On February 6, 2020, Jackson scored a season-high 45 points in an 85–81 overtime victory over Old Dominion.^[10] Jackson scored 14 points in a 84–59 loss to Old Dominion on March 4 and surpassed the 2,000 point mark.^[11] At the conclusion of the regular season, Jackson was named to the First Team All-Conference USA.^[12] As a junior, Jackson averaged 26.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.^[13] He averaged 19.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game as a senior.^[14]

Professional career

On March 6, 2022, Jackson signed his first professional contract with CB Menorca of the LEB Plata.^[15]

On August 29, 2022, he signed with Spirou of the BNXT League.^[16]

Jackson joined Tigers Tübingen in Germany for the 2023–24 season.

On September 3, 2024, he signed with Würzburg Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).^[17]

National team career

Jackson was named to the Puerto Rico U18 team in the 2016 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.^[18] He averaged 12.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in five games.^[19]

Career 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

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	UTSA	29	9	25.7	.431	.368	.768	3.2	1.8	1.0	.1	18.4
2018–19	UTSA	29	24	30.8	.386	.351	.846	4.1	2.4	1.2	.1	22.9
2019–20	UTSA	32	31	34.5	.418	.354	.852	5.6	2.4	1.4	.2	26.8
2020–21	UTSA	25	24	33.2	.468	.369	.784	4.2	3.4	1.0	.3	19.9
Career		115	88	31.1	.421	.359	.818	4.3	2.5	1.2	.2	22.2

Personal life

Jackson's father, LeRoy Jackson, played college basketball in the early 1990s for Oregon State before playing for Panama and professionally in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.^[1] His grandfather, Flor Meléndez, played for Puerto Rico at the 1968 Olympics and professionally in Puerto Rico. Meléndez coached the national teams of Puerto Rico, Argentina and Panama as well as professional teams in Venezuela and Spain.^[3]

Jackson's name, Jhivvan, is derived from the Hindi word, "Jeevan," meaning life.^[1]

References

1. "Player Spotlight: Jhivvan Jackson, Euless Trinity". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
2. Luca, Greg (November 4, 2019). "Jhivvan Jackson ready to reprise dominant scoring role as UTSA opens season". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
3. Whisler, John (January 19, 2018). "UTSA's Jackson making his mark as a freshman". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
4. Grosbard, Adam (February 26, 2017). "Boys basketball player of the week (Feb. 26): Euless Trinity's Jhivvan Jackson". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
5. "UTSA's Henson named Conference USA men's basketball coach of the year". KENS5. March 7, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
6. Luca, Greg (November 5, 2018). "As Jackson continues recovery, UTSA prepares for season opener". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
7. "Jackson scores career high, but UTSA loses". San Antonio Express-News. January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
8. "Jackson scores 41 to lift UTSA over Illinois St. 89–70". ESPN. Associated Press. December 21, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
9. "Jhivvan Jackson tabbed national player of the week". UTSA Athletics. December 24, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
10. Miller, Ed (February 6, 2020). "Texas-San Antonio's Jhivvan Jackson goes for a record 45 points, and Old Dominion loses another close one". Daily Press. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
11. "Second half leads Monarchs past Roadrunners on Wednesday in Norfolk". UTSA Roadrunners. March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
12. Luca, Greg (March 9, 2020). "UTSA guards Jhivvan Jackson, Keaton Wallace earn All-Conference USA honors". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
13. Perez, Yamaira (March 23, 2020). "Top 15 de los canasteros boricuas en la NCAA". El Vocero (in Spanish). Retrieved April 3, 2020.
14. "Jhivvan Jackson named NABC All-District for third time". UTSA Roadrunners. March 16, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
15. "Menorca signs Jackson just out of college". Eurobasket. March 6, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
16. "Jhivvan Jackson renforce la périphérie du Spirou Basket". spiroubasket.be (in French). August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
17. "Als Vizemeister Aus Puerto Rico Direkt Ins Trainingslager". wuerzburg-baskets.de (in German). October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
18. Florek, Michael (April 5, 2016). "Euless Trinity's Jhivvan Jackson named to Puerto Rico's U18 national team". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
19. "Jhivvan Jameel Jackson Melendez". FIBA. Retrieved January 6, 2020.

External links

• UTSA Roadrunners bio