re: Chris Jackson...I was blessed to see him play...

I met him as a kid and sat on the bench for two games (@ Miss State and vs. UNLV). 1989 was a special year that I can practically recall every bit of.

LSU started out 1-2 after beating Marist and then losing to Oral Roberts and Tech, before barely beating McNeese. Over the holidays, LSU showed up and won a tourney in Hawaii. Then, the night everyone discovered Jackson - an unusual early SEC game in December vs. Florida. He had dropped 48 against Tech, but 53 on ESPN was unavoidable to see by many. Jackson basically became an overnight sensation. He was a highlight in almost every game.

Illinois showed up with Gill, Anderson, Battle, Liberty, Bardo and co. and beat us by 27, but Kendall Gill said after the game that he played against a guard as good as Michael Jordan.

The high point started after a loss to Tennessee. LSU went on to beat Bama, Auburn, Kentucky, Vandy (on a lst second CJ 3), and then a come from behind win at UGA To claim first place in the SEC. I do not think many realize how big of a feat this was. Even though we ended up 4th in the SEC and lost our final 4 games, the Tigers being in first place - in a good league - was unimaginable. They started no one taller than 6 foot 7 and went about 7 deep off the bench. LSU beat Georgetown at the dome and snuck into the top 25 - almost as unimaginable as winning the SEC.

Eventually, defenses just realized that double-teaming CJ every second of the game was the only way. Sometimes Blanton would pick up the slack. Sometimes Simms would. When nothing went right and 3's weren't falling and LSU's lack of height caught up with them, the games went BAD. Blowout losses at Vandy, at State, and at Bama at the end of the year and then a close loss at home to revenge-minded Florida cost LSU first place. The final high point was a one point victory over UNLV on CBS. That was win #20. LSU lost the last regular season game in Oxford in double OT - CJ hitting for a career high 55 and Ole Miss's Gerald Glass going for 51. The game was nowhere near a tv network, but just listening to Hawthorne on a radio station that could only be picked up at night made the game come to life...the pictures of 2 young men pouring in a combined 106 points was just amazing.

My family and I drove to Knoxville for the '89 SEC tourney and that might have been dumb to begin with. LSU was playing UT in the first round...early Friday game. The two split the regular season series and the rubber game was all UT. It was simply CJ versus 5. It was sickening to see Vol forward Mark Griffith run down the court with this hands up after each 3 he made. As bad as center Chris Roth was, he was still about 7 feet tall and we had no one worthwhile to guard him. Then, Lyle Mouton trying to cover Dyron Nix was just as awful to watch. 20-11 and then we got into the NCAAt, only to become one of all SEC qualifiers to lose in round one. UTEP treated us poorly in round one. CJ hit for an ugly 31 points in a late, late Friday night game in Tuscon, AZ.

It was a great year. CJ was a phenom. As special as he was in '90, too...it wasn't the same type as it was in '89. Thanks for letting me share. I could go on and on and on about the season that I felt so close to.