January 22, 2001
After suffering his fifth concussion on Jan. 13, All-Big 12 forward Aaron Jack has decided to end his college basketball career, he said Monday.
"Aaron is a tremendous young man and it's unfortunate that his long career had to end in this manner, but his health is the top priority," A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "Aaron is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be. To our young kids, he's been as much of a teacher and coach as he's been a teammate. We certainly wish him the best of luck and we know he has an outstanding future."
"It's been a tough thing to deal with," Jack said. "Obviously, I'll miss the competition, the games, battling with the other guys, chattering at the refs, all the little stuff. But I have to focus on my health and make sure I'm okay."
Jack played in four games as a true freshman at Penn State in 1995-96 before suffering a pair of concussions. He suffered his third concussion on the first day of fall practice in 1996 and transferred to A&M at mid-term.
On the third day of fall practice this season, Jack was hospitalized with his fourth concussion, but returned in time for the season opener Nov. 18 against George Washington. Then, on Jan. 13 against Colorado, Jack suffered his fifth concussion early in the game. Earlier this year, he suffered a severely sprained ankle against North Carolina, then a hyperextended knee suffered in the first round of the Rainbow Classic forced him to miss one game and he never returned to full strength. Prior to the Rainbow Classic, Jack was averaging 6.6 points and 6.8 rebounds while making 59.4 percent from the field. He finished the season averaging 4.9 points and 4.9 rebounds.
"I've been disappointed with the year I've had. It seems like I've been banged up the whole year, starting in October," Jack said. "I haven't been able to give my full effort to the team or the guys. But on the other hand, I got 14 extra games that I didn't think I would have. I just have to take a step back and look at it in that way."
Jack thought his career was over after last season, but the NCAA granted him another year of eligibility because of his health problems at Penn State. As a junior, he averaged 8.2 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds and earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors by the league's coaches. He ranked second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.625) and started in 23 of 27 games. In Big 12 play, he made 67.1 percent from the field and averaged 8.9 points.
Jack played in 86 games at A&M, starting in 32, and scored 597 points with 473 rebounds. He was on track to become the 17th player in school history to record 500 rebounds and only the second since 1987.
A three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 pick, Jack posted a pair of double-doubles last season, scoring a career-high 18 points with 10 rebounds against Baylor and adding 14 points and 10 boards against Oklahoma State. He posted a career-best 12 rebounds against Texas Tech. At 24, Jack was the oldest player in the Big 12. His father, Bobby Jack, was an All-Big Eight forward at Oklahoma in 1972 and later played professional baseball.
Jack was an all-state player at Jenks High School in Tulsa, Okla., and earned all-conference honors at Loomis Chaffee Prep School in Windsor, Conn., in 1995 after averaging 25.3 points and 16.2 rebounds per game.
A sports management/business major, Jack is scheduled to graduate this summer.