[2] He played the center position in high school,[3] and in his senior year he was named a preseason all-American;[4] in his last season at Palos Verdes he averaged 21 points and 15 rebounds per game.

[1] Jackson's sophomore year saw him being promoted to the starting lineup, and his 37.1 minutes per game were the best mark in the program history surpassing Ed Gregg's 37.0 in 1975–76.

[1] Utah State qualified for the 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, facing USC in the first round: in a 86–67 loss Jackson recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes of play.

In the 1980 Tournament Utah State (11th seed in the West) faced Clemson, losing 76–73:Jackson scored 11 points and recorded 6 rebounds.

[17] After the end of his senior season, Jackson was automatically eligible for the 1981 NBA draft, during which he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 3rd pick in the second round (26th overall).

[18] He participated in the Los Angeles Summer Pro Basketball League in 1981 with the Trail Blazers,[19] but he was waived before the start of the 1981–82 NBA season.

He then moved to Spain and signed for Primera División team Círcol Catòlic: in the 1981–82 season Jackson was second in the league in scoring with 29.5 points per game, behind Larry McNeil.

In 1992 he moved to CB Sevilla (named Caja San Fernando for sponsorship reasons) and in 1993 he was the first player in ACB history to record 6,000 points.