Coach Phil Jackson enters his first season as the assistant men's basketball coach for Benedict College.
Jackson comes to Benedict after serving as an assistant at Florida Memorial University for three years and being considered one of the best recruiters in the Sun Conference. He helped recruit one All-American and five All-Conference players in a two-year span, while helping lead FMU to a Sun Conference Championship and national raking of No. 21, the first in over 20 years.
A Jacksonville, Fla., native, Coach Jackson attended William M. Raines High School where he was ranked as one the top 50 players in the state of Florida as a senior. He made a name on the AAU circuit and received MVP honors at Hall of Fame Coach Glenn Wilkes Shooting Stars Camp, where he started garnering national attention and was featured in Student Sports Magazine and Basketball Times. As a senior, Jackson also was selected to the prestigious Team Florida AAU program that won a state title. After graduating, he attending Seminole State College and then Palm Beach State College ultimately finishing his collegiate career at Division II Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. At Tusculum, he averaged 17.5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assist per game while also breaking several records - made three-pointers in a single game (8) and rebounds in a single game (19).
Jackson earned his Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Tusculum College and played professionally in the Long Beach NBA Summer League and two years in Hamburg, Germany.
Prior to joining the Florida Memorial staff, Jackson was CEO of Cr8tive Minds Business Group, Inc. (Boston, MA) where he specialized in marketing, advertising, brand development, public relations. Under that business umbrella, Jackson authored a biography titled "Until Death Do Us Part: One player, One journey, One undying dream" and continues to direct the program Next Entrepreneur of Tomorrow (NET) Youth Workshop that help youth between the ages of 14-18 gain knowledge in business.
Jackson, whose basketball passion has always run deep, also was the director of one of the most successful exposure basketball player development combines from 2004-2011 that helped 100 plus players from NCAA I, NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA sign contracts to professional clubs abroad. Â He also has trained and worked individually with players from the Boston that currently play in the NBA and abroad.
During off-season Jackson continues to make a difference with basketball as he organizes and directs The Annual STOP THE VIOLENCE Basketball Pro-Am (Jacksonville, Florida) that works with several non-profit organizations where donations are given to support yearly initiatives in his hometown.Â
