Oregon senior point guard Nia Jackson had already suffered multiple knee injuries when she made a fateful leap last February. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4305&SPID=236&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=1256765&Q_SEASON=2011@@
With 4.7 seconds remaining in a game against Washington, Oregon trailed 74-73. As one of the Pac-12’s leading scorers and Oregon’s most explosive offensive weapon, Jackson was selected by head coach Paul Westhead to take the game’s final shot. The speedy 5-foot-7 point guard received a pass and maneuvered around defenders to the basket and was fouled. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=236&DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205089854@@
The infraction gave Jackson two free throws with an opportunity to win the game, but also caused a painful fall.
“When I went up for the layup, I was too busy focusing on the basket and didn’t worry about my landing,” Jackson says.
Although Jackson made one of two free throws to force overtime, she was removed from the game because of the injury. Without its star player, Oregon eventually lost to Washington 90-76. Even worse, the Seattle native’s injury forced her to miss the final eight games of the season while the university’s medical staff tried to determine the extent of the damage to her left knee.
In the offseason, Jackson underwent a scope on her right knee, which revealed cartilage damage under the kneecap. As a result, Jackson was forced to endure a lengthy rehab process for the third time in her Oregon career (she sustained a pair of ACL injuries her freshman and sophomore year) with no promise of ever returning to full strength.
But instead of getting discouraged or even retiring from basketball, Jackson made the best of a bad situation. When she was unable to fully participate in offseason workouts or practice, Jackson became a vocal leader.
“You have to be more verbal because you can’t be a leader by action when you’re hurt,” Jackson says. “I know the system, I know what’s required, so I just help them with that because we have a lot of young (players).”
Jackson’s leadership earned her a catchy nickname. She was given the moniker “Mamma Nia” by some of the team’s practice players in recognition of the advice she regularly dispensed to the team’s youthful players.@@Mamma or Mama?@@
“I think she laughs it off, but I think it is a sign of respect and acknowledging that she’s been around for a while and knows what’s going on,” says Oregon forward Amanda Johnson, a longtime teammate of Jackson’s.
Jackson’s tutelage has made a particularly strong impact on some of the team’s younger guards, including freshman Lexi Petersen. When Petersen, a fellow Washingtonian, arrived at the University last year, she harbored concerns about adjusting to college life. Jackson took Petersen under her wing and helped ease those anxieties.
“I know when we first all got here we were all nervous and she was telling us about how practices were and telling us that it’s going to be okay if we just work hard and she really made us feel comfortable,” Petersen says.
Jackson herself, however, was rarely comfortable. Intense rehab over the spring and summer only marginally helped relieve her discomfort. To help manage the pain and prepare her for the start of Oregon’s season in November, Jackson was administered multiple shots of anti-inflammatories and is on a regular schedule of painkillers.
Nonetheless, in her final collegiate season, Jackson has missed only three games and frequently plays through debilitating pain. Oregon’s coaches don’t have a rigid formula for managing Jackson’s workload; instead, she plays until she can’t take the agony. @@Dang, girl@@
“In the game you’ll see her out there play two or three minutes and then she can barely walk to the bench,” Westhead says.
Although Jackson’s presence has benefited Oregon on the court (she’s third on the team in scoring and first in assists), it has also helped motivate her teammates. @@http://www.pac-12.org/portals/7/images/wbasketball/2011-12-Stats/HTML/ORE.HTM@@
“It makes us work harder I think, because we see that she’s running (and) trying her hardest — she can’t go full all the time but we don’t have any excuses,” Petersen says. “We can go hard every day.”
Jackson hopes to one day be able to do the same. She’s continued to aggressively rehab her knee, which she claims is improving, and still dreams of playing basketball professionally. Along with Jackson’s family and teammates, her passion for basketball has motivated her to keep playing.
“I love basketball,” Jackson says. “And even though I’m not having the greatest time with my injury playing it, it’s still what I’ve been doing all my life.”
If basketball doesn’t work out, Jackson, who earned her degree in sociology last year, would like to get into coaching or become a sports psychologist. She thinks the skills she has acquired during her injuries could help her succeed in those pursuits.
“I’ve learned so much,” Jackson says. “I learned how to become a better leader. I learned how to become more positive. I learned how to push through adversity. I’ve learned how to put a smile on your face even when you feel like everything is going terrible in your life. I’ve learned how to manage frustration. And I’ve also learned that the only person that I honestly need to please is God.”
However, if Jackson’s effort this season is any indication, she might not need to revert to Plan B. According to Westhead, Jackson has shown rare tenacity and determination to continue her basketball career.
“She has shown great heroic effort that she comes out and she gives you what she has and you can tell that she’s hurting and she keeps fighting through,” Westhead says. “She gets knocked down, she gets back up.”