Tiffany Jackson Biography

American basketball player and coach Tiffany Jackson-Jones was born on April 26, 1985, and she passed away on October 3, 2022. She played collegiate basketball for the Texas Longhorns and was an All-American. Jackson participated in Women’s National Basketball Association games with the Los Angeles Sparks, Tulsa Shock, and New York Liberty (WNBA). She also participated in Israeli Premier League play for Maccabi Ashdod. She later returned to Texas to assist with the Longhorns’ coaching.

Early life 

He was born in Longview, Texas, on April 26, 1985. She began her high school career at Dallas’ Lincoln High. She guided the school to the Class 4A state championship game in both of her sophomore and junior years. Jackson resided in Duncanville, Texas, where he attended the high school there. He won the Class 5A state championship as a senior. She was referred to be an All-American by McDonald’s and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

College career 

Jackson attended the University of Texas at Austin where he participated in basketball for the Texas Longhorns. She received the 2004 United States Basketball Writers Association Freshman of the Year award (USBWA). Jackson was recognized as a first-team All-American by the USBWA and a third-team All-American by the Associated Press in 2006, his sophomore year of college (AP). [7] She received honorable mention All-American status from the AP in both her junior and senior years. All four of her years in the Big 12 she was named all-conference, and in her final three she was named to the first team.

Professional career

The New York Liberty selected Jackson with the fifth overall choice in the first round of the 2007 WNBA draft. On May 20, 2007, Jackson played her debut WNBA game against the Chicago Sky. They defeated her group 83–71. She played more games than any other player during her rookie season in the league (34). She finished fourth in overall rebound percentage (17.5%) and sixth in defensive rebound percentage (23.6%) the following year. On June 14, 2010, the Liberty traded Jackson to the Tulsa Shock for Plenette Pierson. Jackson averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game with the Shock in 2011, her greatest season as a professional. She participated in 34 games, which was a league-high number. She came in second in terms of overall minutes played (1152), minutes played per game (33.9), total rebounds (286), rebounds per game (8.4), and defensive rebounds (5th) (186).

When Jackson was still a player for Tulsa in September 2015, she received the diagnosis of stage III breast cancer. After receiving therapy, Jackson returned to her position as a player with Maccabi Ashdod in the Israeli Premier League, where she had been competing since 2013. She joined the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks in February 2017.

In February 2018, Jackson re-signed with the Sparks.

She had intended to play with Los Angeles for one more season, but she left the WNBA in April 2018 to return to the University of Texas and join Karen Aston’s staff as an assistant coach. Jackson was a member of Maccabi Ashdod till 2020. In 2015, she guided the team to their highest EuroCup result as they advanced to the semifinals. She departed the team with numerous league championships.

Coaching career 

Jackson spent four years working as Texas’s assistant coach. [17] In April 2022, she was appointed the new head coach of Wiley College.

Personal life 

On October 3, 2022, Jackson died of breast cancer. She was 37 years old.