Athlete Spotlight: Brooke Jackson

Greenbrier's Michelle Swiec (5-foot-6) and Sara Oland (5-foot-3) don't cast large shadows.

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Don't tell that to Brooke Jackson. She has been in the shadows of the two starting guards for most of her high school career.

"She's the forgotten one," Greenbrier girls basketball coach Garrett Black said, "but she does the little things on the court that counts."

Jackson is the third starting guard in the Lady Wolfpack's offense. It's been that way since her sophomore season. No other three-year starter gets as little media attention as she does.

Jackson said she doesn't mind the extra exposure her teammates get.

"I'm really proud of them," she said. "As long as the team's winning and doing good, that's all I care about."

Even though the spotlight often lands on her teammates, Jackson has had some moments in the spotlight as a Lady Wolfpack guard. Perhaps none of them was bigger than a 3-pointer she hit during her sophomore season.

"We turned the corner as a program when Brooke hit that 3-pointer against Effingham two years ago," Black said. "That shot was the defining moment to turning our program around."

The deep 3-pointer came late in the fourth quarter and solidified a win for the Lady Wolfpack. It also gave the team its first state playoff appearance.

Greenbrier hasn't missed the state playoffs since.

"I remember (the shot) spun around and around and around and took forever to go in, but it did and it put us in the state playoffs," Jackson said.

That shot, like all her other 3-point attempts, was a moon shot that started out in a cocked-and-ready position at Jackson's waist. That shooting motion makes her stand out on the court.

"It's ugly. I know it. It either barely touches the net and goes in, or it's an air ball," she said. "I've always done it like that, and I can't change it. My dad has tried."

Ugly or not, Jackson's shot was on last week when the Lady Wolfpack knocked off Lakeside to finish the regular season at 25-0. She led all scoring with 14 points on three 3-pointers.

The coach said Jackson's value goes beyond points in the box score.

"To me, the thing that shows what type of person she is is the respect she gets from the other girls on the team," Black said. "She's just a super kid."