Detroit Consortium's Joshua Jackson, left, and Pewamo-Westphalia's Kyle Nurenberg eye the basket as they watch a free throw sink in the fourth quarter during the MHSAA boys basketball Class C championship game on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Detroit Consortium defeated Pewamo-Westphalia 61-44. (Jake May | MLive.com)
-
03/22 - 4:30 PM Boys Basketball Final Pewamo-Westphalia 44 Detroit Voyageur 61
EAST LANSING -- Detroit Consortium sophomore Josh Jackson has let his play on the court do the talking all season.
After scoring 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to lead Detroit Consortium to its first ever Class C title with a 61-44 win over Pewamo-Westphalia, Josh Jackson broke a season-long silence with the media to vocalize just how happy and relieved he was to win.
"It was really hard getting here," Jackson said. "We worked hard as a team all year, even last year. Even when I was in 8th grade watching Consortium come up short every year and they had the talent.
"I told myself that, when I get in high school, I was going to win one."
Averaging 28 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists this season, Jackson has been a force to be reckoned with. Establishing himself as one of the top sophomores in the nation according to ESPN, Rivals and Scout, Jackson more often than not leaves his opponents in awe of his talent.
"I saw Earvin (Magic) Johnson play over here at (Lansing) Everett," Pewamo-Westphalia coach Luke Pohl said. "I had season tickets when he was a senior or something. (Jackson) is a similar type player to him. Whether he becomes that is another story. But, he really talented.
"He might be the most talented person that our team has ever played against."
What position does the 6-foot-7 sophomore play?
"I play every position," Jackson said with a grin. "One through five. Anything you need."
Jackson's relentlessness and dedication to winning had him believing a state championship was possible from the beginning of the year. With the entire Consortium roster feeling more comfortable with each other, Jackson and the Cougars never stopped believing.
"Playing with most of the guys last year, I already had trust in them," Jackson said. "We just had something to prove. I knew they wanted to win just as bad as I did."
Jackson was not lying about having something to prove, either.
Detroit Consortium players celebrate after defeating Pewamo-Westphalia 61-44 in the MHSAA boys basketball Class C championship game on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. (Jake May | MLive.com)
Last year, Consortium had to deal with the sudden passing of head coach Al Anderson at the midway point of the season. Consortium rallied to carry on, but eventually fell short in a heartbreaking loss in the region finals to Flint Beecher, the eventual state champion.
"It hurt really bad," Jackson said. "We wanted to sit, sob and cry about it. But, at the end of the day, we knew that what (Anderson) wanted was for us to win a state championship. We knew that was something we had to do."
Being just a freshman during such a dramatic season, Jackson admits that having then senior teammate Vince Hunter, who is now at UTEP, help guide him on the right path and keep things fun.
"Playing with Vince last year, he was like my big brother," Jackson said. "I looked up to him and I wanted to be just like him. In practice, I will always go at him. He would dunk on me from time to time and I always tried to dunk on him.
"I wanted to be just like him."
With coach Tobias Tuomi taking over the program this year, Jackson learned to add even more facets to his already impressive repertoire.
"I think he really enforced defense this year versus our team last year," Jackson said of Tuomi. "We had so muck talent. Last year, we just tried to score more than the other team. This year we played great defense."
Along the way, Jackson and his teammates patched up the heartbreak from last season and took Consortium farther than its ever gone, beating teams like Detroit Southeastern, Detroit Douglass, Detroit Country Day and Romulus along the way.
The whole time, Tuomi was never afraid to let a sophomore like Jackson lead the way.
"He's really grown as a leader, vocally," Tuomi said. "But what he does on the court, he sets the tone with everything we do. He said something about emphasizing defense and it's a lot easier to get everyone else to run around and defend, get on the floor for loose balls and rebound when you've got a guy this talented who'll do anything that he can to win.
"It doesn't matter if it's practice. This guy doesn't ever want to lose. He's a headache in practice about it but I think that is what really makes him so special. It makes it an easy job for me because, above all things, I know he is going to compete and work hard."
Yet, no game was bigger in the trip to the title than the Class C quarterfinals against No. 1-ranked Mt. Clemens, where Jackson scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Consortium to the Breslin Center for the first time with a 67-60 win.
"I think maybe one person picked us to win that game," Jackson said. "I guess that they thought, overall, that they're team was better than ours. I think we've proved people wrong all year, winning big games. It was just another game."
It may have been just another game. When it comes to Josh, however, he is not just another talent.
Being in the spotlight all season, Jackson is just happy to share his state championship with his teammates and the city of Detroit.
"It feels great," Jackson said. "Consortium's first team to ever make it to the state finals and the first team to ever win it.
"We made history today."