In the 1960s, Jack Garder recruited a kid from Georgia named Merv Jackson. He was a two sport athlete. One problem, Merv didn’t know how to read. He was assigned a tutor and eventually leared to read and get his degree. Merv Jackson was a key player on the 1966 Utah Final Four team. He eventually played in the ABA and had a successful career as a stock broker and sports analyst.
I was a friend of his tutor. He said that Merv was committed to learning and left Utah as an acadmeic success. Unfortunately, Merv died in 2012.
Merv would likely not qualify to play NCAA basketball today. But, over 50 years ago – his story was a big success. The problem Merv had was that he didn’t have academic opportunites as a child. When given the opportunity, he thrived.
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