Josh Jackson is not a rarity. Not at Kansas, which has had its share of high-profile recruits -- even No. 1 overall prodigies.
It is a top-five program, a basketball factory of the highest order. So when the player who was labeled the top prep talent in the land committed to Kansas in April, it was a big deal but not that big a deal.
Jackson himself seemed to signify that when he declared his allegiance to the Jayhawks out of Detroit without much pomp, circumstance or (signing) ceremony.
Talk about a rarity.
"I just didn't want that, really," Jackson said. "I wanted to do it and get it over with."
The 6-foot-8 wing is special in a human way. You can see it in those eyes that beam with curiosity, intelligence and energy. There's something there besides cliché answers and let's-get-to-the-Playstation dismissiveness that comes with so many teenagers.
"Josh, to me, doesn't need the attention but he also doesn't mind it," KU coach Bill Self said. "He doesn't mind you [media] guys hounding him."
You can see it in a charismatic personality. At Kansas, they track such things as a players' first dunk in Allen Fieldhouse. When Jackson had his last week in an exhibition against Emporia State, it was a mile marker in his career to the average drooling Jayhawk fan.
But Jackson added layering and perspective to a dunk in a meaningless exhibition game.
"When I was younger, I was that guy being shoved around," he said. "I didn't get a lot stronger until I got here. It's kind of new to be shoving guys around like that but I like it."
Kansas starts the season Friday against Indiana in Honolulu in the Armed Forces Classic. Jackson's rookie debut will be a storyline but not the storyline. Kansas is once again considered a title contender. Eight months ago it was the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed. The Jayhawks are going for their 13th consecutive Big 12 title.
Jackson is going to be good even if he drops below No. 3 in next year's NBA draft which is where some projections have him. After that Emporia State game, Jackson gladly confirmed he had played every position 1 through 4.
"Coming up this year I think you guys will see me at a bunch of positions," he said to reporters.
Thing is, if Jackson breaks his leg tomorrow (God forbid) and never plays basketball again, he's still going to be something special. You can see it. Feel it.
"He's coming in here about as mature or as worldly as any kid we've ever had," Self said. "He's good at it, but it's not fake. He naturally enjoys company but he also respects elders. He's well beyond his years as a college freshman."
Jackson has been tested by his teammates. All freshman are, especially the five-star types. It goes beyond carrying equipment bags to the bus.
"They came at me [in practice]," he said. "You can't back down. It's the same everywhere when you meet people and you know you're going to be working with them. I went through that stage. I think I passed. You can ask them."
We did.
"I set pretty hard screens so he might have run into a couple of them at some time," said 6-10, 250-pound forward Landon Lucas with a smile. "You can tell his confidence and his drive and his demeanor. He acts like he has talent. That's what we want. That's what we needed. We didn't need someone shying away from things."
The last KU player in this situation was Andrew Wiggins. The one-and-done future No. 1 draft choice was a supreme talent but shrank from the moment in some situations. Big man Cheick Diallo was met with fanfare last year but played only 200 minutes in 27 games in his lone season.
You get the feeling Jackson wants to be the face of the program as well as the best player on the court.
"I'm kind of a little brother on the team," he said. "I've always wanted to be a big brother so it'd be kind of fun ... I see how hard they go in practice, how hard they want to win. As long as they're trying, I'm trying. As long as they're fighting, I'm fighting."
Jackson finished his high school career at Napa, California's Prolific Prep, which isn't even a school. No teachers. No classrooms. It bills itself as a "college preparatory education." It's basically a basketball academy that meets after school.
Jackson attended actual classes down the street at Justin-Siena High, 2,400 miles from his native Detroit.
"It was," Jackson admitted, "kind of random."
The idea was to find better competition to sharpen his game. Such is the amateur world these days. Jackson has had six coaches since he was in eighth grade, not counting AAU experiences. Out of that you might expect an unrefined product, making KU a stopover on his way to the NBA.
"The good thing about Josh," Self said, "is he's unpacked his bags. Sometimes I think kids go to college but still their sight is on the next thing. If his sight is on the next thing, he doesn't let anybody in Lawrence, Kansas know it."
That kind of commitment is hard to define because in may ways Kansas is, in fact, a stopover. Jackson's celebrated arrival should turn into a quick exit to the pros in about nine months.
Right now, though, the embrace from Kansas feels like it's going to last forever.
"I think that's the cool part, going from stage to stage -- high school to college and hopefully from college to the NBA," Jackson said. "You get to start over again, learn so many new things."
