Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) dunks the ball around Jackson State Tigers’s center Ebo Wilson (10) during the first half in the NCAA men’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES — Dishon Jackson’s college basketball career has wound from Oakland, California, through Pullman, Washington, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
But despite the 6-11, 274-pound forward’s circuitous hoops journey, he’d never acquitted a nickname beyond obvious offerings such as “DJ” or “D-Jack.”
Until he reached his final college destination — Iowa State — where the Hilton Coliseum PA announcer bellows “Big Dawg” between his first and last names, and Cyclone Alley responds with a series of sharp, loud barks.
“I love it,” said Jackson, who hopes to keep living up to his new nickname in the third-ranked Cyclones’ nonconference finale at noon Sunday against Morgan State (6-8) at Hilton.
But where did the newly-minted monicker come from? Naturally, it was earned not given, but let Jackson explain:
“This summer, we were playing volleyball and I was having a good day, and I was just like, ‘I’m the big dawg,’” said Jackson, who’s averaging 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in just 18.5 minutes per game this season. “And (teammate Demarion Watson) threw it back and was like, ‘Ain’t no big dawg.’ So it was a whole thing and they started calling me that. And then there was a day I was killing it at practice and the whole team just was barking. They started doing it the first game and then I guess the student section caught on.”
Jackson — along with versatile fellow transfer Joshua Jefferson — has shined in the paint for the Cyclones (9-1) this season, elevating the offense to an elite perch. ISU currently ranks fourth nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, and the addition of Jackson, Jefferson and reserve transfer big man Brandton Chatfield has helped take pressure off the Cyclones’ dynamic returning guards, Keshon Gilbert, Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey.
“Me and Josh have been talking a long time just about what we want to do on the floor together, what we want to accomplish,” Jackson said of Jefferson, who’s averaging 11.5 points, a team-best eight rebounds and 2.6 assists. “He said he was gonna kill it on the glass. I said I was gonna offensive rebound. He said he’s gonna find me in the pocket. I told him I’m gonna set screens for you and I’m gonna find you, as well, if it’s high-low. We’re just gonna find each other every time.”
So where does Chatfield fit in? Consider him cut from the same cloth is Robert “Big Rob Energy” Jones — who deftly did the dirty work for the Cyclones the past three seasons before exhausting his eligibility.
“I’d say a lot on the defensive end, getting rebounds, getting stops, calling up screens and communicating a lot, as well as offensive rebounding,” said Chatfield, who like Jackson, started his college career at Washington State.
That’s a lot of rebounding …
“Yeah,” he said. “A lot of rebounding.”
No kidding.
Chatfield’s tied with Jefferson for the team lead in offensive boards with 20 despite playing just 13.5 minutes per game. Jackson ranks a close third in offensive rebounds with 19 — so they’re complementing each other perfectly as newcomers in head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s program.
“We just try to buy in together and buy into this team concept because we really just want to win,” Jackson said. “We’re all buying into winning, so whatever we’ve got to do, whether it’s an outside activity, whether it’s we’ve gotta come to practice and boost each other up when somebody’s a little tired or something like (that) — man, we’re just buying into each other.”
As for Jackson’s newfound “Big Dawg” nickname? It’s received an important stamp of approval.
“Rob (Jones) told me about that,” Jackson said. “He said he likes it, too.”
