For all the things to marvel at on this undefeated Kansas University basketball team, Darnell Jackson working so hard and still finding the time to smile so often on the court ranks near the top.

The explanation, in Jackson’s mind, is quite simple. Compared to most of his friends with whom he hung out while growing up in Oklahoma City, he has plenty about which to smile. Twice this week, he’ll have 16,300 voices cheering him. He has teammates with whom he shares a close bond. He has freedom.

Jackson said his “best friend” and high school teammate can’t say the same.

“Right now, he’s locked up,” Jackson said before Monday’s practice. “He’s in jail. … He was getting recruited by teams. He just wanted to be a gangster, I guess. … I saw him over the summer at the mall. When I came back for Christmas break, he got locked up. All my friends I grew up with, they’re all in jail, except one.”

Jackson is such a kind, thoughtful sort it’s difficult to picture so many he considered close friends going so wrong. How did it happen?

“I don’t know,” Jackson said. “I thought we were all going to make it one day. We all just hung out together, and when we were at school, some guys wanted to go the other way. My mom made sure she stayed on me. She didn’t want me to go down that road.”

That’s one of many reasons every day is Mother’s Day for Jackson. She kept him on the right path, one that has led to him having the time of his life as a starter for the undefeated, second-ranked Jayhawks.

Jackson said he has lost touch with friends now living behind bars.

“I don’t even know where they’re at,” he said. “One of them is in California. A couple of them are down in Dallas.”

Meanwhile, Jackson is making the most of the opportunities afforded a hard-working student-athlete. The decibels he generates from Allen Fieldhouse crowds show what a positive impression he’s leaving on everyone associated with Kansas athletics. That can only help him in life.

His statistics, though impressive, merely hint at his value. Seeing someone so big play with so much enthusiasm has an energizing effect on the team. Jackson leads KU with 7.1 rebounds per game and ranks third with a scoring average of 12.3 points. His .672 shooting percentage is the most remarkable individual statistic on the team, considering many of his shots are 15-foot jumpers.

Jackson averages 24.2 minutes per game, compared to 15.3 last season.

“I thought my role was going to be the same,” he said. “Out of the blue, it just changed for me. Coach (Bill) Self always tells me, ‘Don’t get too comfortable with yourself. We need to stay focused as a team, and when we’re out here, just give everything you have.’ That’s what I try to do for him. I’m just thankful coach Self gives me the chance to play. I told him before the (Missouri) game, I just told him, ‘Thank you. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me.'”

Jackson’s advice for staying on the right road should be heeded by all young people tempted by the slippery slope that is the wrong side of the law: “When I see guys who don’t want to do anything positive with their lives, I just try to make sure to avoid that.”