NBA veteran and current San Antonio Spurs wing Stephen Jackson is a big personality, and not always in the best way. While Jackson has a reputation as a great teammate and fearsome competitor, he also has a tendency to act recklessly. Sometimes, that's meant he earns technical fouls — in the worst cases, he's fought with fans and gotten in trouble with the law off the court. Put simply, Jackson can be an important player and a major problem, all at once.
Based on that reputation, he's not necessarily the kind of person who would be an obvious choice as a coach at any level. However, as this video from the Stephen Jackson Academy Basketball Camp shows (via The Noc), Jackson is something of a natural with kids. Jackson has a clear connection to the kids from his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas and does his best to engage and inspire them. He gets the kids to have fun, all while competing their hardest and improving at the game. It's just the right mix of seriousness and levity.
This isn't to say that Jackson would be a great NBA coach, no matter how hard he plays or how well he knows the game. But Jackson isn't just the sum of his basketball-related successes and problems. Off the court, when working with the kids of a economically disadvantaged city, he's very much in his element. Despite his controversial reputation, Jackson appears to be a great influence on these kids.
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