Feb. 15, 2007

Denise Jackson was more than just a student. But, she wasn't just a student-athlete either. The former Indiana basketball star had a much greater responsibility than just sports and studies during her college career - she was a mother.

Jackson (now Salters) was six months pregnant with her daughter when she finished her junior season in 1983, which turned out to be the best year of her career.

That year, Jackson put up a career-high 592 points and pulled down a career-best 366 rebounds, which ranks second all-time in Big Ten history.

"(Being pregnant) did not affect my play," Jackson said. "My whole decision to continue playing was first, I wasn't going to give up on school, and I would never ever give up on my team and my coach. I could not give up on them. I felt they depended on me. I made a commitment and I stuck to it."

That season, Jackson's commitment helped her Hoosier squad to a share of the Big Ten Championship and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. It also earned her a place on the All-Big Ten team, the Kodak NCAA District IV All-America team and made her a finalist for the Wade Trophy, which honors the finest women's basketball player in the nation.

The 1983 season was just one in a successful four-year career that puts Jackson at or near the top of several Indiana and Big Ten records. Jackson's most prolific stat is in rebounding where she is first in conference history with 1,263 in her career. The 5-11 forward also tallied 1,917 points, putting her 15th on the Big Ten all-time list and first in Hoosier history entering the 2006-07 season.

But it wasn't until after she finished playing that Jackson realized just how good she was.

"All we wanted to do was win," Jackson said. "I didn't realize how good I was until it was over. I was just out there to play hard. I hated losing. I was a very competitive person."

That competitive spirit is what turned Jackson into the player she ultimately became - the best rebounder in the history of Big Ten women's sports.

"The basket was my home territory and I controlled my home territory," Jackson said. "I would just be extremely upset if someone out-rebounded me or out-scored me, and I carried that philosophy with me through my whole career."

Jackson's aggressive style is also what sparked her interest in athletics. Standing 5-9 as a freshman in high school, her height made her an obvious choice for basketball at the time, but her persistent desire to succeed and her relentless work ethic turned her into a complete athlete.

"I was aggressive and a tomboy, and the basketball coaches and I just decided to put all that aggression to good use," Jackson said. "After a year of playing basketball, volleyball, softball, badminton, whatever, I just became an athlete, and that's all I did."

Indiana's Denise Jackson was six months pregnant when she finished her junior season with the Hoosiers.

But upon entering college, Jackson was also careful to make time to concentrate on academics as well.

"The student-athlete part was extremely tough, especially in my junior year when we played around 34 games, which was tough," Jackson said. "But I got through it with the grace of God, and my family was a tremendous support. We were able to make it through and see what we had to do, and it began to flow - slowly, but surely."

With a demanding schedule of basketball and books, Jackson was left with little free time and did not participate in what many consider to be "college life."

"Student-athletes don't have time for much of a social life," Jackson said. "Most of the successful ones rarely have a life outside of athletics. I decided that wasn't going to be part of my life - I would go to practice early, stay late, and anything that wasn't perfect, I was constantly trying to perfect."

So while other college students were out at parties, Jackson spent the majority of her free time with teammate Rachelle Bostic and boyfriend John Salters.

"We were a threesome at IU," Jackson said. "With (Rachelle) playing basketball too, our free time was the same so whatever she did, I did, and vice-versa."

Jackson and Bostic also found company in each other as two black players on a predominantly white Indiana women's basketball team and Indiana campus.

"In the early `80s, there were not many black people in Indiana, so my experience was not so good my freshman year," Jackson said. "Thank goodness for the coaches. They made us feel very, very comfortable.

"After my freshman year, though, everything sort of cooled down and they all accepted us, and I think my teammates were the best people in the world. They made us feel comfortable. They didn't give us any flack; they just treated us like one of them."

Jackson's relationships with her teammates blossomed into strong bonds of sisterhood, making her four-year career at Indiana what she calls the best times of her life.

"I love the game, and just to be able to be on that court was enough for me," Jackson said. "I can say now that it didn't matter whether I was on the court or the bench - just being part of that team was enough for me."

And Jackson was indeed a part of some very special Indiana teams. The 1982-83 Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular season and went on to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament, which is to this day the farthest any Indiana women's team has advanced.

But Jackson was not just a team member - she was a leader. Specifically, Jackson paced her 1983 squad in points (592), field-goal percentage (.482), rebounds (366) and blocks (39).

Jackson was also a leader in women's athletics, playing at a time when women's sports were just beginning to take off and black athletes were still uncommon. However, Jackson remains pleased with the progress being made.

"I think we're moving at a wonderful pace," Jackson said. "You can already see that there are more women coaches now and the game is just as competitive. We need to stay on course of where we are and remember that we are dual people. Femininity still exists, and I still push it."

Jackson was able to see progress in college women's basketball first-hand as her daughter, Me'sha Salters, played with the Hoosiers during the 2002-03 season.

A self-described "athletic mom," it is easy to see that Jackson was the true definition of a "dual person". Jackson started living that lifestyle from an early age with the help of some very important coaches.

"My high school volleyball coach, to this day, is one of my best friends - 30 years later we are still talking and laughing," Jackson said. "She made a lady out of me. She taught me how to be a lady, and putting that together with my basketball coach who taught me how to be an athlete - and a good one - it was a tough four years, and it all came together at the end. I am forever indebted to her for teaching me how to be a lady."

But however you want to label her - lady, athlete, mother - one thing will always remain true about Denise Jackson - she was committed to being the best, no matter the challenge.

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