TPG: Have you caught a Chris Mullin-St. John's game in New York?
JACKSON: I live in California, so I have not caught a game in-person. I've seen them on TV and talked to Chris and he's a guy that impacted me. I love him like a brother. I'm proud of him. He's the right man for the job. Obviously, they're talented, but he will get more talent and I've got tremendous confidence in his ability to turn that program around. It's about the principals and the mentality and being an ideal place for recruits to come. He's doing that.
TPG: As an alum, what do you think it means for the program to bring in a fellow alum who embodies the university?
JACKSON: I can't speak on that as a whole. It's ideal, but it doesn't happen, for the most part, around the country. When you have an opportunity to get one of your own after struggling and trying to be relevant, when you have a chance to get the greatest player in your school's history to be a head coach and he's a class individual. He's a true professional and he's a Hall of Famer. It was a slam-dunk choice. It was a win-win. As an alum and as a friend, it was a perfect decision and great timing.
TPG: What do you remember about what Chris taught you about the game of basketball and also, as a person?
JACKSON: I played two years with him as a freshman and sophomore at St. John's and I also played against him in high school, so I watched him. Then when I got to St. John's, I've said this before, I don't make it to the pros without Chris Mullin. I was always a guy who was a gym rat. By playing with him, playing around him, I became a gym technician. I worked on stuff that was crucial in being successful in the game, rather than throwing it between my legs three times, behind my back and taking a shot. I actually became a scientist in the gym and he taught me. He's a guy I'm forever grateful for. I'll always feel like I owe him and he taught me a lot about the game of basketball.
TPG: Does he ever ask you for advice with this new team he has now?
JACKSON: He's a heck of a coach and he has a bright future ahead of him right now. We talk about things that friends talk about. We talk about our families and our loved ones. I was crazy about his parents and he was crazy about mine. We go that far back. We just celebrate our time together and the incredible moments we've experienced.
Klay Thompson Mark Jackson Draymond Green
TPG: Going back to the
JACKSON: I live in California, so I have not caught a game in-person. I've seen them on TV and talked to Chris and he's a guy that impacted me. I love him like a brother. I'm proud of him. He's the right man for the job. Obviously, they're talented, but he will get more talent and I've got tremendous confidence in his ability to turn that program around. It's about the principals and the mentality and being an ideal place for recruits to come. He's doing that.
TPG: As an alum, what do you think it means for the program to bring in a fellow alum who embodies the university?
JACKSON: I can't speak on that as a whole. It's ideal, but it doesn't happen, for the most part, around the country. When you have an opportunity to get one of your own after struggling and trying to be relevant, when you have a chance to get the greatest player in your school's history to be a head coach and he's a class individual. He's a true professional and he's a Hall of Famer. It was a slam-dunk choice. It was a win-win. As an alum and as a friend, it was a perfect decision and great timing.
TPG: What do you remember about what Chris taught you about the game of basketball and also, as a person?
JACKSON: I played two years with him as a freshman and sophomore at St. John's and I also played against him in high school, so I watched him. Then when I got to St. John's, I've said this before, I don't make it to the pros without Chris Mullin. I was always a guy who was a gym rat. By playing with him, playing around him, I became a gym technician. I worked on stuff that was crucial in being successful in the game, rather than throwing it between my legs three times, behind my back and taking a shot. I actually became a scientist in the gym and he taught me. He's a guy I'm forever grateful for. I'll always feel like I owe him and he taught me a lot about the game of basketball.
TPG: Does he ever ask you for advice with this new team he has now?
JACKSON: He's a heck of a coach and he has a bright future ahead of him right now. We talk about things that friends talk about. We talk about our families and our loved ones. I was crazy about his parents and he was crazy about mine. We go that far back. We just celebrate our time together and the incredible moments we've experienced.
Klay Thompson Mark Jackson Draymond Green
TPG: Going back to the
