Next Hoop Phenom?

YELL CO., ARK (SP) -- With today's announcement that Texas frosh phenom Kevin Durant would declare himself eligible for the NBA draft, all eyes turned to the sports next savior: The most highly recruited basketball player in U.S. history is set to hit the hardwoods … in 2023.

The prodigy, “Fetus” Jackson, is due to be born on May 1.

According to hospital records, a who’s who of NBA and NCAA basketball coaches, sports agents and representatives from sporting goods and shoe companies have signed in as visitors at the Yell County Medical Center outside of Jessieville, Ark., to follow the progress of the unborn, and yet unnamed, son of Embrio and D'Wanda Jackson.

"We haven't decided on a name for the boy. Right now, it's just 'Fetus.' We may stick with that -- Fetus Jackson. My granddaddy's name was Cletus, so I reckon that would be a nice tributary to my gramps," says the child's father, a 6-11 roofer for a local construction company.

Mike Panek, vice president of marketing for Nike, said signing Fetus was a no-brainer for the company. "We’re going to enter the pre-school market in a big way with a line of Fetus Jackson shoes. I mean, these toddlers need new shoes about every two-to-three months. Ka-ching! Ka-ching!"

For college coaches who can only count on a premiere player for two years before the big money of the NBA beckons, spotting and recruiting good talent early has become more and more important. Texas Tech’s Bobby Knight, then a coach at Indiana, raised eyebrows when he started scouting an eighth-grader named Damon Bailey. While NCAA regulations forbid official contact with potential recruits until their junior season of high school, most coaches say the rule does not apply to Fetus.

"Technically, the child is still in his mother's womb, so it is impossible for a coach to have actual contact with the child," says Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who, according to records obtained by Sooner U, actually visited three days before Fetus was conceived.

According to hospital sign-in records, Krzyzewski, Knight, Arizona’s Lute Olson, Kansas’ Bill Self, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and 12 NBA scouts have seen film of young Fetus in action. Cell phone records indicate that indicate that Indiana's Kelvin Sampson placed 431 calls and text messages in the first trimester alone.  More than two dozen D-1 coaches were in attendance to watch a second trimester sonogram on Jan. 14. All marveled at the size of the child's hands and his quick reactions.

"Just when I thought I was able to tell the difference between the boy's head and his butt, he switched positions -- zip -- just like that. You can't coach speed," said Texas Rick Barnes.

"He obviously has good hands," Knight readily admitted. "Does he have the discipline to play within our system? That remains to be seen. Character is important at Texas Tech. Fortunately, Fetus comes from a good family."

Embrio Jackson averaged 15.5 points and 10.1 rebounds a game during his senior season at Arkansas State University -- and he's not the best player in the family. Jackson's 6-10 wife is a local legend, having once scored 75 points in a state high school championship game for Jonesboro High School as a junior. A severe knee injury during her senior season ended her career. Many thought she might have been the best female basketball player -- ever. Nonetheless, not all coaches are sold on Fetus' abilities.

"A lot of hype," groused a coach from a perennial East Coast powerhouse. "Sure, he looks good in the womb, but does he have a perimeter game? We won't know until he comes out in six months."

Still, the coach said he intended to offer Fetus a scholarship. "You never know. Better to have him playing for us than playing against us."

The road to recruiting Fetus, as you might expect, was filled with obstacles. College coaches received a scare last fall when rumors spread that the Jacksons were leaning toward announcing that the as-yet-unborn basketball prodigy would enter the draft.

"He might come out early," his elated mother-to-be told close friends. According to sources, the Jacksons gave serious consideration to holding a press conference to announce Fetus' decision.

The rumors shocked and surprised the dozens of NCAA and NBA basketball coaches who had set up camp near the Yell County Medical Center for the past seven months.

Knight, who had been recruiting Jackson since shortly after conception, expressed concern over the unborn child's decision to skip college. "He has all the raw skills, no doubt," he said. "What he lacks is big game experience. Hell, he lacks any kind of game experience."
If the Jacksons had followed through with a decision to go pro, the unborn Jackson would have been the youngest player to ever enter the NBA. In fact, he would have become the first player in league history to bypass college, high school, junior high, Little League and living room competition and go directly to the NBA.

Some expressed doubts as to whether a newborn was up to the rigors -- and temptations -- of the nomadic celebrity life of an NBA player.

"The NBA life is hard, different city every night. Women. Booze. He's going to have to learn what 'no-no' means, quickly," says Minnesota Timberwolves Coach/General Manager Kevin McHale, one of several NBA representatives on hand to view a pre-draft sonogram workout.

"The NBA's history is littered with players who had more money than sense and had it taken from them by unscrupulous advisors," says one veteran NBA scout. "With Fetus, it'll be like taking candy from a baby. And I'm not speaking metaphorically here.

And then there were questions about contact with an agent, a violation of NCAA rules for players who have actually been born. While sources have told Sooner U that the Jackson family has made inquiries to agents regarding the unborn child’s earning potential as a professional basketball player, NCAA officials ruled that this was not an NCAA violation as Fetus is not yet born.

Super agent David Falk told Sporting Press that Fetus' earning potential as a professional is enormous.

"We're talking about untapped and unlimited endorsement markets -- diapers, baby food, strollers," says Falk. "And the kids, his fans, will grow up with him. So he could be a spokesbaby for toddler wear, pre-teen fashions, teen fashions -- we're talking probably 35-plus years of Fetus Jackson as a viable pitch person and role model."

Still, the contact was enough to scare off some athletic leagues. In October, Jackson, still in the midst of his third trimester, was declared ineligible by the Greater Yellville Youth Basketball League according to a report in The Yellville (Ark.) Post-Bugle-Standard-Evening-American.

“We was left with no choice in this heah mattah," said Bull Wallace, commissioner of the Greater Yellville Youth Basketball League, who issued an edict today banning Jackson from league competition. "Rules is rules. It done broke my heart to do this, but we cain't have none o' our boys makin' deals with them dad-gum Yankee lawyers."

The Jackson’s ultimately decided against the NBA draft after long conversations with NBA officials. Jackson initially had been viewed as a lottery pick, but subsequent sonograms revealed a lack of projected toughness could work against him, and his stock fell among NBA scouts.

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