In the odyssey this 2008-09 season has become for the Cleveland State Vikings, all year long senior forward J’Nathan Bullock has been consistently excellent. He led the team in scoring and rebounding, earned first team all-conference honors in the Horizon League, and in this writer’s opinion he should have been Player of the Year. The way Bullock has played this year, and particularly now on the biggest stage, don’t be surprised if he follows in the footsteps of Antonio Gates and becomes a star NFL tight end when his days playing for Gary Waters are concluded.
And for the last three months, sophomore guard Norris Cole has been the most improved player in the Horizon League, increasing his scoring (he finished eighth in the league in scoring) and consistently locking up the opposition’s best guard defensively.
But for those of us who’ve watched this roller coaster season, the success and failure of Cleveland State has been inexorably linked to the play of one man: as Cedric Jackson has gone, so have gone the Vikings. And for the first 80 percent or more of the year, other than hitting a miracle 65-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome, Jackson just wasn’t quite good enough. Not good enough to beat Washington, or Kansas State, or West Virginia in non-conference play. Not good enough to beat Butler in conference play. In fact, for the first half of the conference season, not good enough to beat any Horizon team on the road except Detroit.
For much of the year, Jackson looked lost out on the floor, couldn’t come close from the perimeter, then embarrassed, stopped shooting altogether. And defensively, while this wonderfully athletic player still made steals in passing lanes, his constant reaching and digging while defending the ball made him incapable of guarding anyone straight up.
But perhaps as much as any player I’ve ever seen, Jackson is a rhythm player, and yes, an emotional player, a player whose game is based on confidence and whose psyche is incredibly fragile. At another conference’s tournament I heard another coach say about another player, “he has to feel good about himself to perform well, and he picked a darned good time to feel good about himself.” The same can be said of Jackson.
Following a loss at Youngstown State on January 23rd, and more than anything due to a favorable home schedule the second half of the conference season, gently and gradually the Vikings turned around their season, winning seven straight conference games en route to a third place regular season finish, at first almost despite Jackson’s inconsistent play. Trey Harmon stepped up and won a game for the Vikes, George Tandy did likewise, and freshman Jeremy Montgomery scored 21 to steal a road win at Illinois-Chicago. Bullock was good every night, and Cole better and better, but where was Jackson?
Then on the final day of the regular season, a 58-56 loss at Butler, Jackson began showing signs of finding himself, of that smile evidencing his elusive confidence. Jackson scored 11 that day, shot a bit better (4-11), and made two crucial treys in four tries. And down the stretch of that tough game, Waters positioned Jackson on the wing, using baseline screens to get open to shoot or penetrate. The Jackson Waters thought he was getting when the New Jersey native transferred from St. John’s was almost back.
Then a terrific Horizon Tournament, culminating in a superb performance in the tournament final, winning the rematch with Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tournament MVP, a second-team all-league selection, and conference Defender of the Year (even though his teammates know the lock-down defenders on the Vikings are Cole and injured D’Aundray Brown). Jackson’s confidence was soaring, and his play was all the way back, heading into the NCAA’s Tournament as the 13th seed in the Midwest Region.
Friday night’s game against No. 4 Wake Forest in Miami was over almost before it started. Jackson hit an open trey 15 seconds into the contest, then Norris Cole hit one a minute and 15 seconds later, then Jackson hit another at the two minute mark, and CSU had Wake 9-0. The Vikings led wire-to-wire, by as many as 17 twice in the first half, and only 15 first half points including a late barrage from the arc by Wake’s James Johnson kept the game from being a first-half blowout. As it was, the Vikings led 39-30 at the break, turning the ball over just twice in the first half, scored the first two baskets of the second half, and were off to the races, winning easily 84-69.
In the end, Cole had 22 points on 8-18 shooting and four assists, and held ACC second-leading scorer Jeff Teague to just half his average. Bullock had 21 points on 8-16 shooting and six rebounds. But it was all Jackson this night, who finished with a line of 19 points on 8-14 shooting, including 3-4 from the arc, seven rebounds, three steals, eight assists and just two turnovers.
Now it’s on to the round of 32 for the Vikings, who play No. 12 Arizona tomorrow, who defeated fifth-seeded Utah. Now, as good as his body is, Jackson still isn’t the perfect player, or the most consistent player, especially when shooting from the perimeter. But if Jackson’s confidence continues for two more days, you just might see another stellar performance from the senior guard on Sunday. And as Jackson goes, so go the Vikings, with one more win right into the Sweet Sixteen.
