Jim Gano-Reading Basketball

Jim Gano still remembers the first time he saw Stu Jackson play basketball. Gano’s junior varsity team was scrimmaging the varsity squad which included a 14-year-old sophomore who would become one of the legendary players in Reading High history. “He was a holy terror! He was really, really good,” said Gano. Jackson went on to score 1,563 points for the Red Knights. Jackson, Gano, and Lakers’ guard Lonnie Walker were at the Miller Center for the Arts on Monday. They took part in a special program presented by the Reading Education Foundation. Former Reading head coaches Rick Binder, Mike Miller, Pat Tulley, and Tim Redding were in attendance along with numerous former players. Gano won 83% of his games while coaching at the “Castle on the Hill” from 1971-‘81. He finished with the most victories in school history and a sparkling record of (251-50). Gano loved Jackson’s competitive nature. “He was always the type of guy that reacted to challenges. He gave you what he had, and above all he was pretty darn smart too,” he said. The Red Knights went (28-2) in 1973 which was Jackson’s senior season. They had an incredible run in the state playoffs. Cliff Durham sank a shot at the buzzer from beyond half-court to beat Upper Merion 34-33 in the Eastern quarterfinals. Reading knocked off perennial power Chester 59-53 in the Eastern final. Jackson was ejected for fighting in the fourth quarter of that thriller. The 6’6 forward erupted for 38 points in the state championship game against General Braddock, but it wasn’t enough. Daryl Washington made a free throw with no time left to topple the Red Knights 63-62. “Just a crushing blow, an opportunity lost, but that night they were a little better than we were,” Jackson acknowledged. The Geigle Complex didn’t open until after Jackson had graduated from Reading. His home games were held at Northwest Junior High. “When I played in high school, every game was sold out. We brought a lot of good teams in. We kicked their butts at home and it was just a great atmosphere,” he reminisced. Jackson played his first three seasons of college basketball at Oregon before transferring to Seattle for his final year. He was an assistant coach at Providence, Washington State, and Oregon. Jackson was only 33 when he became the head coach of the Knicks in 1989. He returned to college hoops as the head coach at Wisconsin from 1992-‘94. Jackson was then hired as the General Manager of the Vancouver Grizzlies. He served as head coach briefly during the 1996-‘97 season. After his time in Canada, Jackson took the role of executive vice president of basketball operations for the NBA. Gano joked, “I started to wonder if the guy can hold a damn job.” Jackson is currently the executive associate commissioner of the Big East men’s basketball conference. He’s also the director of basketball operations for a professional team in France. Gano mentioned that Jackson is a reflection of his father who was always smiling. Gano closed by saying that he’s very proud of Jackson’s legacy and the city of Reading should be as well.