Lady Vols fans who saw Gwen Jackson play at Tennessee will remember a fierce competitor on the court. When Tennessee hosted a reception for Jackson before she received an award named for the late Pat Summitt, she was reminded of why she makes her home in Knoxville as a teacher and coach.
Jackson received the Pat Summitt Ignite Greatness Award last month from the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame when it inducted the class of 2024 that included former Lady Vol player Michelle Marciniak. The award, which was established in 2012 after Summitt retired, notes that “to ignite greatness is to believe that every person has limitless potential that we must discover, ignite and foster. No one better exemplifies this idea than Summitt.”
Jackson has spent 13 years as a teacher at Austin-East High School and also serves as the girls’ basketball head coach. The award saluted her work in those roles.
“Very special. Surreal,” Jackson said in an interview this week with Knox TN Today. “I don’t take anything lightly. I think that’s why I work with kids now, because I’m always wanting to give back, because sometimes you see things in them that they don’t see in themselves.”
Jackson, a 6-2 forward from Eufaula, Alabama – her jersey was retired by Eufaula High School in 2022 – played at Tennessee from 1999-2003. She is No. 22 on the all-time scorer’s list for the Lady Vols with 1,508 career points and grabbed 786 rebounds, just 14 shy of the 800 club. As a senior, Jackson averaged 16.1 points and 6.2 boards.
Gwen Jackson’s jersey is retired at Eufaula High School in 2022. (Dothan Eagle photo)
She was drafted No. 6 in the first round of the WNBA draft in 2003 – teammate Kara Lawson was No. 5 that same year – by the Indiana Fever and went on to play for the San Antonio Stars and Phoenix Mercury. A knee injury in 2005 that never healed would require surgery to enable her to walk again.
The surgery to repair a torn ACL was done in Phoenix with an allograft, which is donor tissue instead of an autograft, which is taken from the patient’s body. That decision ultimately would end her basketball career.
A trading card shows Gwen Jackson playing for the Phoenix Mercury.
“Long story short, my body rejected it, so I couldn’t walk,” Jackson said. “I was on crutches for almost two and a half years. My knee would never bend.”
Jackson stayed in physical therapy and went to training camp in Phoenix in 2006 prepared to sign a contract but got waived when she informed the team that she was pregnant. She continued to rehab despite pain that never went away and later went to Los Angeles to work out with the Sparks, but she was waived again.
“I did pretty good, and they said you really need to see a specialist because your results didn’t come back good,” Jackson said. “Devastating.”
She returned to her hometown to coach at her old high school for two years, followed by a stint at St. Paul’s College in Virginia. Jackson’s next position was at Austin-East. Her knee was as problematic as ever, so she went to see Dr. William Youmans, the longtime surgeon for Tennessee athletes who is now retired.
“The screw (from the original surgery) had dug a pothole in my leg, so he had to scrape that leg bone,” Jackson said. “I remember going through all of that pain. He did wonders. I feel better about it now than I did before.”
Jackson can’t jog, but she can now walk, even though some days are harder than others. A knee replacement isn’t the solution because of bone damage to the leg. Her medical trials weren’t over, though.
“In 2017 I almost died,” Jackson said. “I had an almost 29-centimeter cyst on my ovaries that I was not aware of that ruptured. It was the day after New Year’s, I went to the bathroom, and I was in so much pain, I literally blacked out. That’s how bad it was.”
Gwen Jackson and Michelle Marciniak hug while talking to the basketball team. (Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics)
Still, Jackson remains optimistic and devoted to her work as a coach and teacher and mother to two daughters and one son. Cemiya Jackson, who is now 18, graduated from Eufaula High School. Jaiden Richard Turner, 14, plays basketball at Austin-East, and Janiya Turner, 12, plays basketball at West Valley Middle School. Both of the younger children also play for their father, James Turner, with Tennessee Knockout Elite. Gwen Jackson and James Turner married in October 2009 and soon will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.
She also relies on the love of her parents, Patricia and Jim Jackson.
“When I was hurting, when I was in pain, when everything was bothering me, I would call my mom and dad and they would talk to me until I could fall asleep,” Jackson said. “My parents, they have been my rock through everything that I ever can imagine. Having a great relationship with both your parents is one of the most amazing things in this world.”
She also cherishes a conversation she had with Pat in 2009 and a letter her former head coach wrote to her.
“She literally said you crossed my mind,” Jackson said of the phone call. “She said, ‘I’m proud of you. I’m sorry I didn’t do more to help you. You were one of my more headstrong kids. If there’s anything else that I can do to help you, please let me know.’ ”
Gwen Jackson handles the ball for the Lady Vols. (UT Athletics)
As far as the letter, “I always keep it with me,” Jackson said. “And she was hardcore, but I love that lady. She was there for me. There were times at school she was so tough on me, I thought, ‘God, does she even like me?’ But that was just Pat.”
Jackson could test Summitt’s patience, and Jackson erupted in laughter when asked if she was hardheaded.
“I was horrible!” Jackson said. “I was a hothead. I had a chip on my shoulder. I was absolutely horrible. I spoke my mind even when I shouldn’t have. I talked when I should have shut up. But she was patient with me. She never held it against me.”
She still keeps up with former teammates and Lady Vols, including Ashley Robinson, Semeka Randall, Dominique Redding and Shyra Ely. The loss of teammate Tasha Butts to breast cancer on Oct. 22, 2023, hit Jackson particularly hard.
“Even if we don’t talk, I’m always watching,” Jackson said. “I watch what they do, I follow what they do. I try to support what they do. I know that any of them, I could pick up the phone and get in touch with them if I needed to.”
Michelle Marciniak and Gwen Jackson, center, visit with 2024-25 Lady Vols basketball team. (Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics)
She feels blessed to have been coached by Summitt and Michael Smith, who is still at Eufaula High School.
“I try to approach coaching with integrity,” Jackson said. “It’s one of my favorite phrases: I am who I am, because someone outside of myself believed me. They believed in me. They saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, and they pushed me into that greatness.
“I can say I have had one of the best basketball journeys there have been. And when I look back on my career, I have to say, ‘Good God, girl, you did some amazing things.’”
Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press.