05/03/1987
By Robert Moore and Rick Cantu
El Paso Times
Hernell "Jeep" Jackson, a star basketball player for the University of Texas at El Paso, collapsed and died Saturday afternoon after playing in an exhibition basketball game. He was 23.
The preliminary cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest, said Lt. Col. Jim Lawson, spokesman for Fort Bliss, where the basketball game was played.
Lawson said Jackson had no history of heart trouble and that "he was a jock of the first order. He was in absolutely superb health." He said he did not know if drugs were involved in the death.
An autopsy is scheduled for today. Dr. Juan Contin, El Paso County medical examiner, declined to speculate on the cause of death.
Miners basketball coach Don Haskins aid, "I am very upset to learn of Jeep Jackson's death. I find it extremely difficult to believe a young man like Jeep, who obviously was in excellent health, is dead." His comments were in a statement released by UTEP Sports Information Director Eddie Mullens.
Jackson played for six or seven minutes in Saturday's exhibition game, then sat down on the bench and collapsed at about 2:55 p.m.
He as taken to Beaumont army Medical Center, where he as pronounced dead at 4:09 p.m.
Jackson, a senior criminal justice major, was a 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard. He played four years for the Miners and was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference first team last season.
Saturday's exhibition game was being played at Fort Bliss' Logan heights gymnasium with some soldiers and five players from the Houston Oilers football team.
Spec. 4 Kyle Stewart of Fort Bliss said he was sitting next to Jackson when he collapsed.
"I was talking to him and he just passed out. That's all I thought it was," Steward said.
He said Jackson had given no sign that anything was wrong.
"I was talking to him about how the game was going. He wasn't sweating hard or anything," Stewart said.
An ambulance from Beaumont arrive at 3:01 p.m. and paramedics tried for almost 15 minutes to revive Jackson in the gym, Lawson said.
The ambulance took Jackson to Beaumont, arriving at 3:23 p.m.
When Jackson arrived, "there was no sign of a heartbeat, respiration or electrical activity in the heart," said Dr. Scot Lewey, who treated Jackson.
Doctors used electric defibrillation and other measures to try to revive Jackson, but he was pronounced dead at 4:09 p.m.
Contin, the county medical examiner, did not want to say what he would be looking for when he performs the autopsy today.
"We don't know anything right now, so I can't say anything," Contin said. "We will know tomorrow (Sunday)."
Teammate Wayne Campbell ran into the hospital at bout 5 p.m. He emerged an hour and a half later, with is arms around friends and tears in his eyes.
Miner assistant coach Nate Archibald also was at he hospital for more than an hour, and spent much of the time wandering around the lobby and the parking lot in an apparent daze.
Neither Campbell nor Archibald would comment.
Several other friends of Jackson's rushed to the hospital, and all left in tears.
UTEP trainer Dave Binder said Jackson never appeared to have a health problem while playing for the Miners.
Jackson had a physical examination before the season and "Jeep always looked to be the picture of health."
Jackson, who played four years at UTEP, was the team's leader on the court during the 1986-87 season when the school won its fifth consecutive WAC basketball championship.
The team made it to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament before losing to Iowa, 84-82.
Jackson graduated from Gardena High school near Los Angeles in 1982 and was scheduled to graduate from UTEP this summer.
In the statement released by the UTEP sports information office, Haskins said, "Jeep was always ready to play. He was an upbeat young man with a sunny outlook on life. He was always ready with an encouraging smile or a good word for those around him.
"The thing I will remember most about Jeep was seeing him running to the stands and hug his mom and dad after our final home game."
Jackson's father, Mason Jackson of Carson, Calif., said , "it's tough right now. Real tough.
"Jeep had never been sick in his life. He just had some injuries related to sports. But he was never sick."
The elder Jackson said he and his wife had not talked yet about whether they would have a service in El Paso for their son.
Former UTEP Athletic Director Bill Cords, now in the same job at Marquette University in Milwaukee, said Jackson was an "inspirational young man" and a good role model for young players.
Cords said Jackson didn't possess a lot of talent when he arrived at UTEP, but "turned himself into a great player with his hard work."
He added, "Aside from basketball, he was just an outstanding young man. He worked hard academically and athletically. We must remember what he did, what he stood for, and how he handled himself in life."
Jackson befriended many people in El Paso and those friendships endured. Shortly after Jackson arrived at UTEP, he met Earl Maxon. About a year later Maxon moved to Littleton, Colo., where he owns a restaurant, but they kept in touch.
Maxon met Jackson through David Wilbanks, an El Paso dentist. "We both were over at David's house a lot, and Jeep was always playing with the kids," Maxon said Saturday in a telephone interview. "Jeep was the friendliest person I've eve met. What a great kid. What a loss. It's just unbelievably sad."
Saturday's game was co-sponsored by the Army and the National Football League Players Association as a morale-booster for Fort bliss.
After Jackson was taken to Beaumont, Army officials canceled the remainder of the game and cleared the 300 spectators from the gym.
Jeep Jackson
Born: March 13, 1964
Home: Carson. Calif.
High School: Gardena Calif., graduated 1982
College major: criminal justice
Career plans: professional basketball or law enforcement
Highlights: guard, University of Texas at El Paso Miners, played on four Western Athletic Confernce championship teams (UTEP, 1983-84 through 1986-87); all-WAC first team, 1986-87; all WAC tournament team, 1987.
Jackson's UTEP statistics
CAREER
Games: 123
Starts: 74
Field goals: 298 of 640
3-point shots: 25 of 56
Free throws: 216 of 296
Total points: 875 (7.1 per game)
Rebounds: 202
Steals: 170
Assists: 312
SENIOR SEASON
Games: 31
Stars: 30
Field goals: 137 of 267
3 point shots: 25 of 56
Free throws: 77 of 105
Total points: 414 (13.4 per game)
Rebounds: 63
Steals: 67
Assist: 74
1987: Hundreds mourn for Jeep Jackson
1987: Coach Haskins wants Jeep's number retired
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