Alabama State University Athletics

Lewis Jackson is entering his fourth season as head basketball coach at Alabama State University. A legend as a player, the Wetumpka, Ala., native was named to lead his alma mater in June 2005 catapulting the former player and assistant coach to the top of the program he helped build into a Southwestern Athletic Conference powerhouse.

 

Jackson was an assistant at ASU since the 2000-01 season and was integral to the team’s success. In 2008, Alabama State captured the SWAC regular season title with a sterling 15-3 record, finishing the season 20-11 overall and advancing to the NIT.

 

The Hornets never lost back-to-back SWAC games, outscored their league opponents by more than 11 points per game and their leading scorer, Andrew Hayles, was named SWAC player of the year and AP Honorable Mention All-American.

 

The Hornets has also won two SWAC tournament championships and earned NCAA tournament berths after those victories while also appearing in two more conference championship games during that time.

 

Jackson began learning his up-tempo, full-court style as a graduate assistant at ASU under the late James Oliver Sr. In the next five years, he served as a basketball instructor, and in 1998 he coached The Challenge- an Amateur Athletic Union team that featured some of the top high school talent in the country, including future ASU stars Alvin Pettway and Tyrone Levett.

 

As strong as his coaching résumé has been, Jackson’s credentials as a player are equally as impressive. While playing for Wetumpka High School, Jackson led his team to back-to-back state championships and was twice chosen as most valuable player of the state tournament.

 

Jackson then selected ASU to continue his basketball career, becoming one of the best players in school history. After breaking into the starting lineup four games into his freshman season, he went on to score 2,203 points – now fourth on ASU’s all-time scoring list.

 

After his senior season in 1984, he was named SWAC Player of the Year, Black College Basketball Player of the Year and a Black College All-American. He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the third round and received an invitation to try out for the United States Olympic basketball team. He would ultimately play professionally in Australia, Canada and the Philippines before retiring in 1990.

 

In 1999, Jackson was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. A year later, he was selected for inclusion in the Alabama State University Hall of Fame. His number, 33, is retired by ASU and Wetumpka High School retired numbers Jackson donned, 34 and 35.

 

Jackson is the father of two children, Antron and Bianca, and the husband of ASU’s head women’s basketball coach, Freda Freeman-Jackson.