Central senior earns All-Bi-City honors after Red Devils’ deep playoff run

At a school where football often is the lead attraction, Central senior Donald Jackson was one of only a few members of the Red Devils basketball team who didn’t spend their summer and fall in shoulder pads. During the time his teammates were scoring touchdowns or delivering bone-rattling hits, Jackson was busy in the gym preparing to end his high school career on a high note.

Jackson’s dedication to the game paid off in his last season with the Red Devils. The 6-foot-4 senior was Central’s go-to player throughout the year, as evidenced by his team-high 19.7 points per contest. Jackson filled an important leadership role for Central and propelled the Red Devils to the Class 7A semifinals, the second such appearance in Jackson’s time with the team.

Thanks to his impressive senior season, Jackson is the 2017-2018 All-Bi-City Large School Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“I had a great senior year. I felt like we could have done better in the Final Four, but hey, we still had a good season,” Jackson said. “I just wanted to be a leader and a coach on the court. I told myself, ‘Don’t give up and and don’t let your teammates down.’ I had to push through everything and keep the team together.”

The Red Devils got a late start on the hardwood due to the football team’s push to the semifinals of the state playoffs. With teammates on the mend from football and a wacky schedule to quickly adjust to, Jackson did his part to make the process as smooth as possible.

Even with time working against them, Jackson said the team came into form in December.

The defining moment in Jackson’s eyes came in the team’s first of five showdowns with area foe Auburn when the Red Devils fell behind 14-2 in the game’s opening quarter. The Red Devils rallied and eventually toppled Auburn 55-48.

As sweet as the first win over the Tigers was, it paled in comparison to what Jackson and his teammates did on Feb. 20. Central beat Auburn for the fourth and final time in the Class 7A quarterfinals, a 62-36 blowout that punched the Red Devils’ ticket to Birmingham for the semis.

Jackson made sure the game never was in question for Central, dropping 19 points and earning Central Regional MVP honors.

“As a leader and a senior, I felt like I just had to come out and be aggressive,” Jackson said after the win. “I’m trying to make it to Birmingham and win a state championship. I just felt like that was my job tonight.”

The Red Devils had their hands full once they got to Birmingham. Jackson had a team-high 11 points in a loss to Mountain Brook in the semis which ended his high school career.

With his time at Central coming to a close, Jackson is working on the next step in his career. He said he’s been taking the recruiting process slowly, eager to make sure he comes to the right decision for himself and his family.

Despite the disappointing finish to his senior season, Jackson takes pride in having called himself a Red Devil for the past four years.

“It felt pretty good, Jackson said. “Not too many players from Central have made it to the Final Four two times. I was fortunate enough to do that.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2018 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Central senior earns All-Bi-City honors after Red Devils’ deep playoff run."