Who’s smiling now?

Working with young campers helps KU sophomore Darnell Jackson deal with death of his grandmother

Darnell Jackson smiles. For now, that means a lot.

With a whistle pressed between his lips at the recent Danny Manning basketball camp, Jackson, the 6-foot-9 Kansas University sophomore basketball forward, can’t help but smile when one of his players, a member of the red squad who stands all of about 4-feet tall, twirls with an impossible turn-around jumpshot that miraculously touches nothing but net.

Reaching down to give a high-five, Jackson again can be himself.

If the little boy only knew. He is helping Jackson just as much as the Jayhawk is helping him.

“When I come out with the kids, I don’t worry about anything,” Jackson said. “When I’m on the court talking to the kids, I feel safe out here. My world is completely safe from anything happening to me.

“In real life, life is short.”

It has been a difficult past few months for Jackson, who still is recovering emotionally from a May 29 car accident that took the life of his grandmother Evon and left his mother, Shawn, with multiple broken bones.

Kansas University's Darnell Jackson, left, takes a shot against St. Joseph's Robert Ferguson in this file photo from Nov. 23. Jackson, who played in 24 games and averaged 2.0 points as a freshman last season, has struggled this summer coming to terms with the aftermath of a car wreck that killed his grandmother and injured his mother.

Jackson admits it’s something that still weighs heavily on his mind.

“I’ve been in and out of it lately. I haven’t really been myself,” Jackson said. “I talk to Pastor (Randy) Beeman, and he’s helped a lot to keep level-headed. Coach (Tim) Jankovich makes sure I keep busy all the time, because if I sit around I get to thinking about stuff.”

With only one afternoon class in the just-completed session of summer school, Jackson took the opportunity to help Manning and also himself by working at the camp.

So far, it has been just what he has needed.

“The kids give me a lot of energy,” Jackson said. “Just looking at them reminds me of myself when I was younger. Man, life goes by real fast.”

Jackson also has had to deal with being separated from another close friend — former teammate J.R. Giddens, who announced he was transferring at the beginning of July.

The two had become good friends after playing for the same AAU team in Oklahoma, along with current Jayhawk Jeremy Case.

“He still talks to me like I’m his little brother,” Jackson said. “I’m going to carry on what he told me to do, and I’m just going to keep him in my prayers and hope he can make it to the next level.”

Jackson said he still kept in close touch with Giddens, who seemed pleased to choose New Mexico.

“When he came back, he said he loved it when he went down there,” Jackson said. “He said it was just like Kansas.”

Jackson said it would be quite awhile before his mother recovered from all the injuries she had received in the accident. After getting screws taken out of her legs, she will have to be fitted for a cast, which will keep her from walking and driving for about a year.

In the meantime, Jackson has been trying his hardest to get himself back to normal — with the camp functioning as one way to do that.

“Darnell has had a rough summer, to say the least,” Manning said, “but he’s a young man that’s going to go out and be successful in life because he’s a good kid.”

In time, Jackson believes he will be able to smile easily once again.

And, for now, that means a lot.

“The team … they talk to me and tell me everything’s going to be all right,” Jackson said. “I just have to push myself through it.”