By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

As one of the most talented players on a very good team, Jedarian “J.J.” Jackson, hardly was a secret among college coaches.

After considering his options, the Osceola High senior opted to sign with Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, a destination that has worked out well for other OHS graduates.

“I liked everything up there. I liked the players, the coaches, the apartment, everything,” he said.

Jackson played a key role, averaging 19 points and six rebounds, for OHS as it produced a 23-8 record and reached the regional semifinal round last season. In 2010, Osceola won the district championship with considerable input from Jackson.

“When the coach up there (Chris Mowery) talked to me, he said he was looking for a guy who could come off a screen and hit a three,” former Osceola Coach Steve Mason said. “I said to him, ‘That’s J.J.’ He’s the (Boston Celtics) Ray Allen type, he can take the ball and drill it.”

Jackson, 6-2, said he could play point guard in an emergency, but feels more comfortable as a shooting guard.

“I’d have to work on my ball-handling,” to play the point, he said.

The most memorable game of his career came in January, when his last second put-back lifted Osceola over Haines City in front of a sold out crowd at the OHS gym for an important district victory.

“I just grabbed the ball and put it up,” he said.

It was an emotional win for the team and Jackson because he lost his aunt, Dana Coats, one of the team’s biggest fans, just two days before the game.

“It was unbelievable for J.J. to win it that way, especially under those circumstances,” Mason, who stepped down as the OHS head coach after the season, said. Former assistant coach Nathan Alexander took over.

Jackson might have again teamed up with former OHS player Brenton Williams, who played at Santa Fe last season, but Williams recently signed with the University of South Carolina.

“He had several offers. UCF really wanted him,” Mason said.

Jackson said he would like to have similar success at Santa Fe.

“I’ll do whatever they want me to do when I get up there,” he said.