Editing Stephen Jackson (section)

==Early life==
Jackson was born in [[Houston]], Texas, and spent his childhood in [[Port Arthur, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Draftee Profile: Stephen Jackson|url=http://www.nba.com/draft97/profile/stephen_jackson.html|publisher=NBA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010211065131/http://www.nba.com/draft97/profile/stephen_jackson.html|archive-date=February 11, 2001|year=1997}}</ref>  Growing up, Jackson was raised by his mother, Judyette, a single parent who worked two jobs.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Montieth|first=Mark|title=Destination unknown for Jackson|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/mark_montieth/11/13/jackson.warriors/index.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119133242/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/mark_montieth/11/13/jackson.warriors/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2013|department=Inside the NBA|magazine=Sports Illustrated|access-date=September 1, 2012|date=November 13, 2009}}</ref> As a teenager, Jackson worked in his grandfather's soul food restaurant in Port Arthur, where he would wash dishes and bus tables.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/jackson_page_0405.html |title=Pacers.com: Stephen Jackson 2004–05 Player HQ |work=[[NBA.com]] |date=July 19, 2004 |access-date=February 13, 2007}}</ref> At the age of 16, Jackson's half-brother Donald Buckner died at 25 years old from head injuries after being beat up. Following the violent tragedy, Jackson said that he wished he could have been there to assist and protect a member of his family. "You can't tell me seeing his brother die that way hasn't had an effect," recalls Pacers CEO [[Donnie Walsh]]. "To me, it's why he is always coming to the help of his teammates."<ref>{{cite web|last=Rodriguez|first=Ken|title=Stephen Jackson: Inspired by Tragedy|url=http://www.nba.com/spurs/features/120502_rodriguez_jackson|work=San Antonio Spurs|publisher=NBA.com|access-date=September 1, 2012}}</ref>

Jackson led [[Memorial High School (Port Arthur, Texas)|Lincoln High School]] to a state championship in his junior year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Abrams|first=Jonathan|title=The Devil and Stephen Jackson|url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8009630/inside-mind-san-antonio-spurs-stephen-jackson|work=Grantland|publisher=ESPN|access-date=September 1, 2012}}</ref> However, facing academic "ineligibility" at Lincoln, he transferred to [[Oak Hill Academy (Virginia)|Oak Hill Academy]] ([[Virginia]]),<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://grantland.com/features/inside-mind-san-antonio-spurs-stephen-jackson/|title=The Devil and Stephen Jackson|first=Jonathan|last=Abrams|date=June 5, 2012}}</ref> where he earned All-American honors in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |title=1996 McDonalds All-American Rosters - High School Basketball |url=https://basketball.realgm.com/highschool/mcdonalds/rosters/1996 |website=RealGM |access-date=June 16, 2024}}</ref> He was the leading scorer in the [[1996 McDonald's All-American Boys Game]], on a team that included [[Kobe Bryant]], [[Jermaine O'Neal]] and [[Tim Thomas (basketball)|Tim Thomas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1997_draft/scout/sg.html | title = Shooting Guards – 1997 Usenet Draft |year=1997 |access-date=April 14, 2008}}</ref>

Following a commitment to join the [[University of Arizona]], Jackson was deemed academically ineligible due to his low [[SAT]] and [[ACT (test)|ACT]] test scores.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="burn control">{{cite news |first=Art |last=Spander |title=Fiery Jackson tries to do burn control |url=http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_5836830 |work=[[The Oakland Tribune|Oakland Tribune]] |date=May 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070514051647/http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_5836830|archive-date=May 14, 2007}}</ref><ref name="hawksjackson">{{cite news |title=Hawks Sign Free Agent Stephen Jackson |url=http://www.nba.com/hawks/news/Hawks_Sign_Free_Agent_Stephen_-85618-33.html |work=NBA.com |date=October 3, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100321220251/http://www.nba.com/hawks/news/Hawks_Sign_Free_Agent_Stephen_-85618-33.html|archive-date=March 21, 2010}}</ref> He instead attended [[Butler Community College|Butler County Community College]] of [[El Dorado, Kansas]] for one semester, but did not play basketball there.<ref name="devil and stephen">{{cite web|last=Abrams|first=Jonathan|title=The Devil and Stephen Jackson|url=http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8009630/inside-mind-san-antonio-spurs-stephen-jackson|publisher=Grantland|access-date=June 9, 2013|date=June 5, 2012}}</ref> Prior to the [[1997 NBA draft]], Jackson participated in several pickup games with the [[Phoenix Suns]] after family friend  Virginia Bibby (mother of NBA player [[Mike Bibby]]) brought him to the Suns arena during tryouts.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-12-21|title=No Hablo Español with Stephen Jackson|url=https://www.espn.com/blog/onenacion/post/_/id/6520/no-hablo-espanol-with-stephen-jackson|access-date=2020-06-03|website=ESPN.com|language=en}}</ref> Jackson's strong play, and particularly his fearlessness against the Suns' [[Cedric Ceballos]], is largely what led to team president [[Danny Ainge]] drafting him months later.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jason Kidd and Stephen Jackson On The Jump | date=March 26, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lR0EzQ3QUg  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/4lR0EzQ3QUg |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|publisher=ESPN}}{{cbignore}}</ref>