Sammy Jackson emerges for Roman Catholic with his brother Shareef sidelined

Throw these ingredients into a mixer: poise, a deft shooting touch, long arms, and nimble feet, and you might just come up with something resembling Roman Catholic sophomore Sammy Jackson.

This concoction needs to be formidable, though, so we’re not finished.

Add the vision, ballhandling, poise, and unselfishness of a point guard with the 6-foot-6 frame of a forward. Lastly, be heavy-handed with intelligence, and don’t worry about saving room.

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The rest of the ingredients are already coursing through Jackson’s veins. His father, Marc, is the former Roman and Temple standout who also played in the NBA and is currently an analyst on television.

But for Jackson, 16, perhaps his most important physical gift thus far — aside from a relatively recent growth spurt — has been his ears.

From tuning out trash talkers to learning from those who came before him, Jackson’s ability to listen has helped transform him from an understudy to a major contributor since his older brother Shareef was injured last week.

“Last year was a great observation year to prepare me for this season,” Sammy Jackson said before a recent Roman practice. “In varsity is where I got a lot of mental reps, playing behind guys like Xzayvier Brown and Anthony Finkley [both now at St. Joseph’s]. Watching them definitely prepared me for this year.”

Sunday afternoon against visiting Neumann Goretti, Sammy Jackson displayed his considerable talents in relief. Shareef missed his third game since an ankle injury knocked him out of Roman’s Jan. 22 loss to Father Judge.

Without Shareef, a 6-7 junior who leads the team in scoring (17.5 points), rebounding (10.6) and blocked shots (1.6), the defending Catholic League champion Cahillites (16-1, 7-1 Catholic League) have won three straight.

That may be due, in part, to Sammy Jackson’s versatility.

Against NG, Jackson finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots, and a steal during Roman’s 56-34 victory at Holy Family University.

That production far exceeded his season averages: 3.1 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.4 blocks.

Jackson appeared unfazed by the gravity of the moment, the size of the crowd, and the intensity of the rivalry.

“Definitely the most intense game so far, and it was fun,” he said. “It was definitely a great experience. … The trash talk, the crowd, everything. It’s always fun to play [in that environment].”

Perhaps that’s because he has grown accustomed to hostility from opponents regarding his famous father.

“Oh, yes,” he said, smiling. “All the time. Every game. I can’t escape it. As long as I can remember playing from fourth grade, fifth grade, fans, parents were saying stuff. But it all just goes [in one ear and] out the other ear …”

“It makes the game more fun, and just makes you play better,” he added later. “I’m going to be honest, when I first started hearing it, it really used to get to me. But now I hear it all the time. Sometimes I don’t even [notice] at all. People tell me [later], ‘Oh, they were saying this and that.’ But at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. I’m just there to play my game with my team.”

The sophomore’s game is considerable thanks to hard work, lessons from his father, battles with his brother, and a recent growth spurt.

Jackson was just 6-foot in eighth grade, so he often played point guard growing up while Shareef, who was much taller, played down low.

Growing six inches over the last two years means Jackson now has the skills of a point guard in the body of a forward.

“That’s exactly what Sammy is capable of,” said Roman coach Chris McNesby in a telephone interview. “He can do a lot of things, which makes his upside and potential pretty scary. … I think he has a bright future.”

McNesby has also been impressed by Jackson’s basketball acumen, which he credits to his father, who is often remembered for his toughness after two seasons at Temple under John Chaney before a seven-year NBA career.

Thanks to his older brother, Sammy Jackson might be building toughness of his own.

“We’ve always played one-on-one,” he said. “Growing up we went nonstop after we worked out almost every day. It wasn’t always that fun because he was way bigger and he was always beating me. But now, it’s more competitive, more fun.”

Jackson added that his older brother has also provided guidance, prompting him to focus on defense and rebounding.

While the younger Jackson holds down the fort, McNesby said there is optimism that Shareef will return. He just isn’t sure when.

Until then, “little” brother will continue getting valuable experience that could pay dividends later.

“The way we’ve been playing as a team has been great,” Sammy Jackson said. “Our chemistry has been there. We just need to take that forward because in this league anybody can beat anybody. There are a bunch of close games, a bunch of upsets, so you need to have the mindset that you’re not going to take anybody lightly because of what their record is or what their name is.”