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Jackson & Suez – Co players of Feb
Orli Klinger
,03/03/2006 |
February might be short but we have two winners for Safsal's player of the month. Liad Suez who's been leading the way for Villanova , and Deanna Jackson, Ramat Hen's talented lefty forward. She helped her team win three of four games, and put up great numbers with 24.0 points on great shooting and 9.0 rebounds per game in February. We caught up with her for a quick chat.
The highlight Jackson's month was definitely the game at Raanana Hertzelia, where her 31 point and 13 rebound effort helped Ramat Hen get a big win that helps them avoid 4th place and gives them hope for 2nd.
When Jackson first landed in Israel, 2nd place was pretty far away from where Ramat Hen was. The team was 6 – 5 back then, only beat one team over .500, and they had just signed their 3rd power forward of the season. "I didn't really know the team. I never really played in Europe before, so I just came here just trying to do what I can to help the team. I didn't know anything about the team, not even the record", said Jackson who helped turn the team around. Ramat Hen is 7 – 1 since DJ arrived, but that wasn't something she's thought about. "I don't really go on the internet, when I'm at home in the states I never go on the internet to check records and stuff".
Ramat Hen's great 2nd half of the season secured that they can't finish lower than 3rd, and could still move up to 2nd if things go right. "We can go as far as we work hard for. If we play defense like we're supposed to, we're in control of our own destiny", said Jackson. "It all depends on how hard we work, if we work hard I feel like we can be in the Championship, or Israeli cup or anything".
Jackson was the last piece of the puzzle for Ramat Hen. Defensively she can guard any post in the league with those long arms, and with her along side Amber Hall Ramat Hen's defense up front might be the best in the league. Offensively she's led the team in scoring in four of the last five games, and she's starting to look like their go to player. "I feel like on our team we have so many go-to players", Jackson responded. "Like Natasha [Brackett], she was hot tonight so when she gets hot we try to pass the ball to her, when Amber gets hot we try to milk her. When Moni [Veselovski] gets hot, Shiri [Sharon]… it's everybody. Any given night, somebody else can be the go-to player".
When Jackson signed with Ramat Hen most people in Israel didn't know her very well, despite her 4 years in the WNBA. Jackson's injury midway through her senior season at Alabama-Birmingham University sidelined her for the rest of the season, and at the time she was the NCAA's leading scorer and rebounder with an average of 26.2 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. "I think it didn't really effect cause I still went number 8 in the draft", said Jackson, looking back at the injury – a broken fibula. "It kinda effected a little bit but everything happens for a reason so I'm just happy to be playing".
Another reason Jackson was pretty unknown around here was that she hasn't played in Europe before. She did however play in the winter – in Korea & China. "It's totally different", she said of those experiences compared to Israel. "Korea & China only allow one American per team. Actually they're not that short, but there's only one American on each team and therefore you have more responsibility. You have to do a lot more. Here you have four foreigners so it's kinda spread out".
Jackson spent the last two seasons with the WNBA's Indiana Fever, and was picked by the Chicago Sky in the expansion draft a few months ago. It'll be her 3rd WNBA team in five years, and she's excited about the opportunity. "Oh I love the Sky right now, I went up there before I came over here and the people, the fans, the organization was great. I'm just very anxious to get there because I love Michael Jordan". Not too anxious though we hoped. "No, not too anxious", she laughed, "I want to win a Championship here first and then go to the Sky. It's gonna be a nice organization and I'm ready to get started over there".
The Sky's roster doesn't have any big names, and it could definitely be a chance for Jackson to have a breakout season. "We're all fairly new players and young players so it's gonna be very interesting this year for the Chicago Sky", she added.
We finished with the usual question we ask in the player of the month interview, and asked DJ for something interesting we don't know about her. She took a while before sharing some of her bills with us. "Umm… I don't have anything interesting. I don't know, I'm kinda more of a laid back, into music, just chilling. I just like to shop, since I've been here I spent over 5,000 shekels on crazy stuff. I like to talk on the phone, my cell phone bill was like 800 dollars". But she still lets her game do most of the talking.
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