Troy Jackson (basketball)

Troy Jackson (January 11, 1973 – February 20, 2011) was an American basketball player. The younger brother of retired NBA player Mark Jackson, he was a member of the AND1 Mixtape Tour, known by his streetball nickname "Escalade". Jackson was listed by AND1 at 6'10" and 375 pounds.[1]

For persons of a similar name, see Troy Jackson (disambiguation).
Troy Jackson
Personal information
Nickname(s)Escalade
NationalityAmerican
Born(1973-01-11)January 11, 1973
Queens, New York
DiedFebruary 20, 2011(2011-02-20) (aged 38)
Los Angeles, California
Height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Weight375 lb (170 kg)
Sport
SportBasketball
Event(s)Streetball
College teamLouisville (1991–1995)
TeamAND1 Mixtape Tour

Troy Jackson weighed close to 500 pounds (227 kg) as a senior at Hills East High School in Long Island, New York, but his performances at Rucker Park caught the attention of Bill Hughley, coach of Wallace Community College in Selma, Alabama.[2] Jackson enrolled at Wallace, and even though he continued to play at 500 pounds (or more), he received all-region honors as a sophomore. "People wonder how I played at 500-plus pounds. But to me it felt natural," he later said. Jackson's accomplishments in community college led to a scholarship offer from the University of Louisville, though the school demanded that he lose weight. Jackson complied, and by his senior year at Louisville, he had slimmed down to about 363 pounds (165 kg) after adhering to a strict diet.[3]

Jackson only played twenty games for Louisville over two years, averaging 3.0 points per game and 1.6 rebounds per game in a reserve role. However, he became well known to basketball fans through the AND1 Mixtape Tour, a traveling streetball exhibition which he joined in 2002. With the AND1 Tour, Jackson used the nickname Escalade, a reference to the Cadillac SUV. His teammate Antwan "8th Wonder" Scott told the Herald Sun, "He's a big guy, but he can entertain and he can seriously play."[4] Jackson appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated [5] and was described as a "streetball legend" by the magazine Jet.[6]

Off the basketball court, Jackson worked as an advocate for STD prevention.[6] He died in his sleep of hypertensive heart disease on February 20, 2011.[7][8]

References
  1. "AND1 Profile". Archived from the original on March 4, 2008. Retrieved 2017-11-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Retrieved on February 21, 2011.
  2. Dick Weiss. "Big Jax Makes Mark; Troy is Quite a Card Archived 2009-04-12 at the Wayback Machine". New York Daily News. February 1, 1997. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.
  3. Mike Berardino. "Biggest man on NCAA court getting smaller." Augusta Chronicle. December 21, 1997. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.
  4. Tim Morrissey. "Troy Jackson's game nicely rounded". Herald Sun. November 10, 2007. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.
  5. Cover of June 13, 2005 issue of Sports Illustrated. Retrieved on February 19, 2011.
  6. Melody Hoffman. "AND1 baller joins fight against sexually transmitted diseases". Jet. April 7, 2008. Retrieved on June 28, 2008.
  7. Former U of L basketball player Streetballer Troy Jackson, brother of Mark Jackson, dies at 35. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  8. Troy Jackson, Street Basketball Star, Is Dead at 38 New York Times. February 25, 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
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