By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Jackson posted 27 points and 9 assists to earn the first MVP of the Round honor for the season while establishing himself as the new darling of the fans in Tel Aviv. We decided to get to know Jackson a little bit better by sitting down with him for this interview in which he talked about his opening night performance, what brought him to Tel Aviv and how he decided which shoes from his extensive sneaker selection to wear for any given game. “Maccabi has a great history and they are used to winning and they want to get back on the winning track,” Jackson told EuroLeague.net. “And it’s a huge compliment that they wanted me to run the show.”
Congratulations on a great game on opening night. What stands out the most for you from the game in Bamberg?
“The environment. Obviously, we haven’t played, as a team, in an environment like that. Their fans came out and they were really loud. And obviously, Bamberg is a really good team.”
You had a strong game through three quarters, but really turned it up a notch in the fourth with 14 points and 4 assists, including the big plays in the game-clinching run. What led to that outburst?
“I’m not sure. We needed baskets and I put myself and the team put me in some great positions to score the ball and we got it done. I was just being more aggressive. Obviously, I was trying to get everybody involved throughout the game, and, like I said, my teammates really put me in a good position to capitalize on opportunities to shoot. Credit goes out to the management and the coaching staff for recruiting players. Norris is an NBA champion, we both have experience, so having us both out there at the same time so one can run the show and the other can sort of relax. We got a long season, so we’ll see what happens.”