PARAMUS − The Jim Grasso Classic was John Jackson’s coming out party, and he didn’t play a down.
The Ridgewood senior basketball star, recently diagnosed with Stage 4B Hodgkin’s lymphoma, watched the first half from the stands at Paramus, and witnessed a dominating 35-0 victory for the Maroons over rival Clifton.
Jackson said he came to see some of his basketball teammates play and to get some fresh air. He’s on a long journey. Two courses of chemo treatment down, about 10 to go. But like the Maroons did Friday, he expects to win big.
“I will be back soon,” Jackson said. “People need to know that. I am ready to get back for the first game of basketball season, I am very, very confident.”
“He looks at this like it’s a contest and a game and every game he’s gone into, he says he’s going to win,” said Ridgewood basketball coach Mike Troy, also watching Friday. “This is no different.”
Jackson, 18, played all last season for the Maroons not at 100 percent. He had night fevers, random aches and pains, and was diagnosed with mono.
He made it through the season, leading the Maroons to a North 1, Group 4 sectional title by scoring 18 of his 20 points in the second half of the sectional final against East Orange. Then he attacked AAU basketball in the spring and summer.
“He averaged 23 points with cancer,” Troy said.
He still never felt right.
“In some games, I felt like a zombie,” Jackson said. “I had no energy. We knew this just wasn’t another bad cold.”
Finally, tests in mid-July revealed the diagnosis. The good news is this cancer is treatable, despite the scary Stage 4 designation. It started in his lymph nodes and into his chest, but that is all. There was some relief for Jackson, finally knowing what was wrong and now being handed a game plan to attack it.
Jackson has worked out almost every single day even since the diagnosis. He shot jumpers Thursday, even though he said his elbow is a little sore. Chemo can mess up your stomach, but Jackson − so far − has handled that OK. He’s hoping to go to school in person, at least a couple of days a week. It will hinge on what his doctors believe is best.
“I feel pretty good right now,” Jackson said. “The first week it was a little rough, but the second treatment I took pretty well.”
Mentally, Jackson knows he has to keep a positive attitude.
“It took me a couple of days to wrap my head around it,” Troy said. “We just kept saying, I can’t understand it, but honestly Johnny’s attitude has made everyone else around him OK. It’s very weird, we should be helping him, but he’s helping us. It’s a testament to how strong willed he is.”
“When I saw my family react, they were breaking down and I understand why, they are my family,” Jackson said. “But I have to be strong for them. My mom’s mom just passed away from cancer, so she is going through that. I just have to stay as strong as possible for them, and the other part is basketball. I want to get back on the court as soon as possible, so I have to stay tough in my head.”
Ridgewood football starts with a win
Ridgewood football coach Torre Watson talked about Jackson after the game, saying he has the full support of the community.
“We’re a family here,” Watson said. “These kids are all friends with one another. We play the game for us, for our family and for our community. We’re battling for Johnny too.”
Ridgewood came out in Rocky III T-shirts, sending a message to Clifton, which used the same Rocky image in their win over the Maroons last year.
Ridgewood scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and held the young Mustangs to just one first down in the first half.
“Our kids played very hard,” Watson said. “We don’t need gimmicks to play hard, but some things were said last year that our kids took personal. So our kids were intent on this one. Clifton didn’t get our best last year. They got it this year.”
James Nugent races 17 yards for a Ridgewood touchdown
Off a counter, James Nugent ran 17 yards to extend Ridgewood’s lead over Clifton.
