Inside a Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant in Philadelphia, Rick Jackson waited more than three and a half hours with family and friends to hear his name called in the 2011 NBA draft. Fifty nine picks went by and still nothing.

The 60th pick was announced, and it wasn’t Jackson.

After all 30 NBA teams passed on the former Syracuse forward through two rounds of the draft Thursday, the San Antonio Spurs were still interested enough to invite him to a mini-camp tryout on Sunday.

But Jackson will turn that offer down, his father, Rick Jackson Sr., said in a phone interview Friday.

‘(Rick) said the Spurs had the 59th pick,’ Jackson Sr. said. ‘They should have picked him then.’

Instead, Rick has decided to play one year overseas before returning to the United States to test the NBA waters again. Jackson Sr. said his son has sent a highlight reel abroad and will make a decision on where to go once the offers start to come in.

Jackson and his agent B.J. Armstrong from Wasserman Media Group did not return phone calls to The Daily Orange.

Seventeen other power forwards were picked in the draft over Jackson, the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year who averaged a double-double (13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds) in his senior season with the Orange. There were also 12 international players selected Thursday, including surprises like Ater Majok a bust at Connecticut and Adam Hanga, a swingman from Hungary whom the Spurs selected with that 59th pick.

‘They go by potential,’ Jackson Sr. said. ‘They don’t go by facts. If they went by facts, they said Rick would be in the first round with his numbers.’

Jackson Sr. said reality started to sink in for his son and their family when the Philadelphia 76ers took power forward Lavoy Allen out of Temple with the 50th pick. Rick told his father that he and Allen worked out together for the 76ers and that Allen got hurt during drills. The injury forced Allen out of the tryout shortly after it had started, Jackson Sr. said.

Still, Philadelphia went with Allen over Jackson, and three other power forwards were selected in the final 10 picks before the draft was completed.

Jackson Sr. said the Spurs and Hawks contacted Jackson after the draft and invited him to an upcoming tryout. But after weighing his options, Jackson has decided to go overseas.

‘There’s a few teams that want him overseas,’ Jackson Sr. said. ‘And he’s talking to the teams with the best deal his agent gets for him. He’s going to go overseas and play ball professionally.’

Jackson entered the day with high hopes despite being projected to go in the late second round in multiple mock drafts. He had shed 30 pounds off his frame entering his senior year at Syracuse to get in better shape, and it resulted in the best season of his career.

He was atop the Big East in rebounds, blocked shots (2.5 per game) and field goal percentage (.588) en route to All-Big East Second Team honors. The power forward worked out for nine different NBA teams in the weeks leading up to the draft before Thursday finally came.

‘You have a guy that averaged a double-double in the Big East, blocked shots, Defensive Player of the Year (in the conference), best field goal percentage (in the conference) and led (his team) in minutes,’ Jackson Sr. said. ‘And he doesn’t get drafted? He led four different things in the Big East and doesn’t get drafted?’

Disappointment and disbelief shone through his words.

But for his son, those feelings have subsided slightly since Jackson made the decision to go abroad, his father said.

One year abroad and then off to the NBA. That’s the plan at least. And though Jackson’s future can’t be predicted with certainty, he certainly won’t be lacking any motivation in the mean time.

Said Jackson Sr.: ‘His spirit is up now that he’s got a game plan and he knows what he’s going to do.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on June 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm