<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">To watch Cavaliers rookie swingman Luke Jackson shoot a basketball, it?s hard to imagine that he does anything else. The fluidity of the shot. The textbook follow-through. The release. The rotation. The splash. But, like last year?s first rounder, Luke was a two-sport star himself. But unlike LeBron James, Luke Jackson?s sport was baseball. As a senior at Creswell High School in Eugene, Oregon, Jackson once struck out 16 batters in a ballgame. That was six foot, seven inches of left-handed nastiness coming off the mound at those poor kids. Luke occasionally works out with the Eugene Emeralds, the San Diego Padres Single A affiliate. The Padres pressed Luke?s father for a month before the NBA Draft to get the 6-7 lefty off the hardwood an onto the diamond. But the former Duck and his dad didn?t budge. And the Cavaliers are better for it. So even though the Cavaliers wrap up the preseason and head into their home opener in just over a week, we at clevelandcavliers.com decided to give Luke a break from basketball to talk about this year?s exhilarating baseball playoffs and his second sports passion ?. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before we talk baseball, how is training camp and the preseason moving along? Luke Jackson: It?s just an adjustment getting to know all the new plays and all the new guys. There?s a way how to play on the floor and I just have to learn all the little tricks. The vets are teaching me all that stuff. You?ve been following the baseball playoffs. What did you think of the Red Sox big comeback over New York? LJ: It was awesome. I always find myself rooting for the underdog, like the Cubs and the Red Sox. They deserve to be in the World Series. I hope they win it. They haven?t been there in so long and haven?t won it in forever. After that three-game comeback (against the Yankees) they have to win it. So you?re going with Boston in the Series ? LJ: I?m going Boston, All the way. It?s my team. (It?s not my team. It?s my team now.) You were a four-year letterman in high school baseball and once K?d 16 batters in a game. How far could you have gone? LJ: I think I could have made it to the majors. My dad has always said that I would have had a better shot of going pro in baseball than basketball. I just like the action in basketball better. Basketball?s just a totally different atmosphere. The crowd ? everybody?s hyped up for the game. Baseball, for me, was just hanging out with my boys, going on roadtrips, and messing around, chewing some seeds. What kind of pitcher were you? A Randy Johnson lefty or a Jamie Moyers lefty? LJ: I was more of a Randy Johnson. I had some junk. I had a horseshoe change that you?d let slip out of your hand. and it would just knuckle and drops. It was a really nice pitch. Did you play at Oregon? LJ: Oregon doesn?t have baseball. It got cut because of Title IX. You?ve worked out with the Eugene Emeralds. What was that like? LJ: (The stadium) is pretty old. But even if they?re a really bad team, people are always out there. It?s a really great minor league atmosphere. I lived right across the street from it. I would just hit batting practice. Last time I think I hit seven home runs in batting practice. I led the league in hitting my senior year in high school. Besides pitching, I was a center fielder. I batted .500. I could hit. I don?t know if I would hit that well if I went to the next level. I have a pretty huge strike zone.</div> http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/luke_baseball_041025.html
Wow! thats just amazing that luke jackson is the amazing of an athlete to be so good at both sports. in my opinion i think he will be a great pro basketball player but to see him pitch a baseball too would be an amazing thing. THe athletism is awesome.
