Remembering Pan American Basketball Legend Luke Jackson
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RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is saddened to learn that Luke Jackson, the MVP of the 1963 NAIA Tournament after leading the men’s basketball team to the national championship, a 1964 Olympic Gold Medalist, a 1967 NBA Champion, and one of just three players in program history to have his number retired, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 80.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced but are being planned with Mercy Funeral Home in Beaumont.
UTRGV Athletics will honor Jackson as part of a night celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 1963 National Championship team on Feb. 9 when UTRGV men’s basketball hosts UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. at the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
A 6-9 power forward/center out of San Marcos, Jackson spent three seasons with legacy institution Pan American College, leading them to the 1963 NAIA National Championship as a junior by scoring 25 points and pulling in 25 rebounds to beat Western Carolina 73-62. Throughout the NAIA National Tournament, Jackson averaged 26.4 points and 18.6 rebounds per game to earn the Most Valuable Player award.
It was one of three NAIA National Tournament appearances for Pan American during Jackson's career, as he led the team to back to the NAIA National Championship game in 1964 as well.
A two-time All-American, Jackson ranks first in program history in career field goal percentage (.544), free throws made (460) and free throws attempted (630), second in points scored (1,858), rebounds (1,427) and field goals made (699), and sixth in field goals attempted (1,284). His name is also in the Top 10 for single-season records 17 times and single-game records eight times.
Shortly after graduating, Jackson went on to help Team USA win the gold medal in men's basketball at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
The fourth overall pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1964 NBA Draft, Jackson went on to play in 522 games across eight seasons in the NBA, averaging 9.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. During the 1964-65 season, Jackson was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team and the NBA All-Star Team. He averaged a career-high 14.8 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. Jackson was a starter alongside Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain on the 1966-67 76ers squad that won the NBA Championship.
Jackson was inducted as part of the inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class in 2007 and the inaugural Small College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016. His jersey number, 54, which was the first to be retired in school history, one of just four in department history to ever be retired, and the only one to be retired across all sports, hangs proudly in the rafters of the UTRGV Fieldhouse.
Jackson is survived his wife of 57 years, Marva, their three children, Nicole, Andrea, and Lucious III, and their six grandchildren.
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