Jackson Green was the leading Class 5A receiver during the 2020 season
The only player to ever have his jersey retired in both basketball and football at the University of Kentucky is Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones — and if that wasn’t enough he was also a pitcher on the UK baseball team and part of the school’s track team. He played basketball for legendary coach Adolph Rupp and won a gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He helped Kentucky win national championships in both 1948 and 1949 and was an All-American football player for coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Jones was from Harlan, Ky., and set a national scoring record in basketball, led his team to a state championship, and was named all-state in football, basketball, and baseball.
Jones, who passed away at age 88 in 2014, played in the NBA where he scored 1,428 points and also had 408 rebounds and 429 assists from 1949-52.
That’s the background to let you know why winning the Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones Award is such a prestigious honor and the eighth annual winner is senior Jackson Green of West Jessamine High School.
Nominees were submitted from across the state for senior athletes who played multiple sports but also excelled in the classroom and contributed in other ways to the community.
“All of the nominees were very deserving and this decision gets more difficult to make each year,” said Wallace “Wah” Jones, Jr., said in a release from the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation.
So what made Green stand out from the other nominees?
He has a 3.385 grade-point average. During the 2020 football season, he was the leading Class 5A receiver with 1,093 yards and 21 touchdowns receiver. As a junior basketball player, he averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. This season he is averaging 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He hit .400 as a basketball sophomore before losing his junior season to COVID.
“From leading his basketball team to a 12th Region Championship as a junior to leading the state in receiving as a senior, and being a standout on the baseball diamond despite losing his junior season to COVID-19, Jackson is always at the center of attention,” said West Jessamine basketball coach Damon Kelley. “His work ethic, character, and talent are second-to-none.”
Congratulations to Green because winning any award named for Wah Wah Jones is quite an accomplishment.
