Last night at the Verizon Center, freshman forward Justin Jackson had his coming out party.
Against Georgetown, Jackson made seven shots, including a trio of three-pointers while grabbing seven rebounds in Maryland’s nail-biting 76-75 win over the Hoyas.
You also may or may not know that Jackson is Canadian. The 6’7″ forward is in fact an Ontario native.
After last night’s performance, it’s fair to wonder if he is the greatest Canadian athlete of all time. Let us look at some stats to make our judgement.
Career points
Justin Jackson: 20
Joey Votto: 0
Joey Votto is one of the best first baseman in Major League Baseball. Votto has been selected to four MLB All-Star Games and was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 2010. However, Votto has never scored a point in a college basketball game, while Jackson has scored 20. Advantage: Jackson
Career rebounds
Justin Jackson: 16
Bobby Orr: 0
Bobby Orr grabbed numerous records in the National Hockey League in his time with the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks. Orr won two Stanley Cups in his playing career and was an NHL All-Star on seven different occasions. Despite his accomplishments in hockey, he has never pulled down a rebound in a college basketball game. This pales in comparison in Jackson, who has grabbed a rebound 16 times in his career. Advantage: Jackson
Career field goal percentage
Justin Jackson: .500
Wayne Gretzky: .000
Wayne Gretzky’s career can hardly be described in words. Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers and holds the NHL records for career goals and assists. However, for someone who is famous for the old adage “you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” Gretzky never once took a shot in a college basketball game. Meanwhile, the freshman has taken 16 shots in his career and made exactly half of them. Advantage: Jackson
Career three-point percentage
Justin Jackson: .600
Steve Nash: .401
While Justin Jackson is clearly better than Canadian baseball and hockey players, what about the best Canadian basketball player of all time? In the National Basketball Association, Steve Nash twice won MVP and was selected to eight All-Star Games. Before Nash’s illustrious NBA career, he spent four years at Santa Clara, leading the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons there. In Nash’s four seasons in college, he hit just a tick over 40 percent of his threes. Meanwhile, Jackson has hit 60 percent of his shots from downtown. Advantage: Jackson