Dec 9, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte 49ers center Dishon Jackson (1) dunks in front of Duke Blue Devils center Kyle Filipowski (30) during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
AMES — Dishon Jackson’s journey to Iowa State ended about two weeks before head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s famously arduous practices were set to begin.
A quiet campus met the 6-11, 280-pound transfer from Charlotte in late May — but a modest pre-practice workload did not.
“I think it was me just getting acclimated to the facilities and the way we do things,” said Jackson, who averaged career highs in points (11.6) and rebounds (6.1) last season. “How we get up early, how we get after it early.”
Jackson’s presence and production will be crucial for the 2024-25 Cyclones, who saw seasoned big men Robert Jones, Tre King and Hason Ward exhaust their eligibility after last season’s run to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. Two other transfer forwards — 6-10 Brandton Chatfield of Seattle and 6-8 Joshua Jefferson of Saint Mary’s — also joined the program this offseason to add skilled frontcourt depth alongside redshirt freshman J.T. Rock.
“(Chatfield’s) bringing an extremely high level of physicality,” Jackson said. “J.T.’s providing length and helping me, because there are bigs in the Big 12 who are extremely tall, as well, so helping me finish over guys that are seven foot, as well, every day, has just helped me out a lot.”
Jefferson — an all-West Coast Conference honorable mention selection last season — has been rehabilitating after undergoing knee surgery, as has ISU’s standout guard Tamin Lipsey, who is expected to be able to participate in practice relatively soon.
“Joshua’s status is just a little bit behind Tamin’s in terms of what our training staff has said,” Cyclone head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “For him right now, he’s (also) integrating back into our team activities — not five-on-five, but some of the five-on-(zeros) and some of the drill work. What we’re looking for (from) him is just continuing to have that confidence in his mobility, continuing to increase his conditioning, and then just overall, I think, of his body to get to the point where he feels great about it.”
Otzelberger and his staff already feel good about Jackson’s development over the past six weeks.
“Dishon has really good natural scoring instincts,” Otzelberger said. “He’s got great hands. When he has the ball in space he’s really difficult to defend because he can drive it at you and finish both ways. He’s a guy that has a good basketball feel and IQ. He can make passes and plays for his teammates, and on the defensive side, he’s somebody that’s intelligent and can provide rim protection.”
In other words, he’s a Jackson of all trades — a hybrid forward of sorts capable of providing some of the same elements Jones, King and Ward did in their time at ISU.
“Offensively, I can score the ball, I can make reads out of the pocket, I can pass the ball, I can dribble,” Jackson said. “Working on my jump shot. Defensively, I provide great rim protection. I can block shots. I can alter shots. I can go get a couple rebounds. That’s what I can do.”
All of that should be more than enough for Jackson, who started his college career at Washington State — just like Chatfield and one of Otzelberger’s first transfers, Aljaz Kunc. Jackson said Kunc’s journey to Ames three seasons ago helped him decide to follow the same path.
“I always wondered why he came here, but he told me that gave him the (best) opportunity to show what we can do,” Jackson said. “And he came here and he won. He made it to the (Sweet 16), so I think me being able to come here and potentially do that, it was a no-brainer.”
