Washington State's Dishon Jackson to miss 'indefinite stretch of time' with unspecified medical issue
Washington State announced on Monday that center Dishon Jackson will be out for an “indefinite stretch of time” as he works through “some medical issues.”
“Please respect my privacy and process,” Jackson wrote in a message shared to Twitter. “I do not want to draw undue attention to myself or distract my team.
“My inner circle of friends and family understand and are giving me the support I need. I want to move forward with the process. No one needs to feel sympathy or pity for me. I am sure people will want to reach out and send their well wishes via texts and social media. I know you are behind me, but I need to move forward.
“I’ll be back better than ever at some point in the future and will let the community know in due time. I appreciate all of the love and support that everyone at Pullman has shown.”
A message from Dishon Jackson to the Cougar family. #GoCougs | #WAZZU pic.twitter.com/HtLfTtFqA6
— Washington State Men's Basketball (@WSUCougarsMBB) September 26, 2022
The center from Oakland, California was a Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention selection in 2020-21 after averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. He played in 25 games last season but was never 100%. Jackson averaged 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds during the Cougars’ run to the NIT semifinals, setting a postseason program record for blocks in a game with four against Santa Clara.
“There are some things I really can’t touch on, but the most important thing is to get him healthy,” coach Kyle Smith told The Spokesman Review’s Colton Clark. “It’s disappointing in the sense — he had so much progress over the summer, and he was really looking forward to it, as were we.”
Jackson was expected to take on a bigger role following the departure of Efe Abogidi. With the 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man out of the rotation, Washington State will lean on 4-star freshman big Adrame Diongue. A 7-footer, Diongue signed with Wazzu this offseason from Senegal.
The Cougars begin the year on Nov. 7 against Texas State.