Men's Basketball | 2/11/2025 12:05:00 PM
Warsaw, POLAND – Former North Carolina A&T men's basketball standout Ronald Jackson, Jr. – more than four years later – remembers the exact day. He left on August 24, 2020, to begin his overseas pro hoop adventure.
"After college, I picked an agent, and he landed me a good job in the first league in Germany," according to Florida native Jackson, 27.
Since then, the former All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) player has also played in Argentina, Italy, Slovenia, the United Arab Emirates, and Hungary.
"Some challenges playing overseas can be the shift in cultures," Jackson said. "Different food, different way of life, different weather. Sometimes it can be lonely, and sometimes you may have colleagues that are difficult to work with, but it's all part of the journey."
This season, 6-foot-8 forward Jackson is playing for Anwil in Wloclawek, a city of about 110,000 people in central Poland. It was founded in the ninth century and is the birthplace of Jerzy Engel, the former coach of the Polish national men's soccer team.
"It gets dark early here. It was pretty cold in Hungary, too," Jackson said in a telephone interview. "But I am in a smaller city. There is not too much to do, but basketball keeps me pretty busy."
MANY CHALLENGES
The life of an American playing overseas can be a challenge, to say the least. There have been times when he has not received payment. One horror story he recalls was getting relegated in Hungary and not receiving his last paycheck. The season did not go well; the team struggled toward the end of the year, so his team got relegated.
"I switched agents this summer and had a financial goal that I wanted to reach," Jackson said. "And this new agent had an opportunity in the Middle East, so I went out there in September."
Jackson was only there for approximately a month and described the experience as cut-throat. "They might not take basketball as seriously as they do in Europe," Jackson said. "It is how things went. I got cut from there and went back to Italy and stayed in Italy for a couple of weeks, so I didn't have to go all the way back home. And then my agent, with Basketball International Group, who is based in Croatia, got an offer for me in Poland."
Many Americans spend their whole career overseas just in Europe. However, Jackson has experienced hoops in South America and the Middle East. Europe has better competition and a higher standard, according to Jackson.
"I spent half a season in Argentina, but that was during COVID also," he said. "There is talent there as well. I played in the Champions League, so we played Brazilian competition. I also played in Italy, in the Second Division, and that was pretty good as well."
He averaged 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in his first four games in Poland this season. Off the court, as time allows, he watches YouTube and game film and makes sure to get rest to allow his body to recharge.
GOOD START IN POLAND
Other Americans on the Anwil roster in the fall of 2024 were Ryan Taylor, who ended his college career at Northwestern; DJ Funderburk (North Carolina State); Luke Petrasek (Columbia), who also has Polish roots; and Justin Turner, who ended his college career at Bowling Green in Ohio in 2021.
The top league in Poland requires that there is always at least one Polish player on the court for both teams. According to eurobasket.com, about 70 American men were playing in pro hoop leagues in Poland early in the current season.
"The season has gone well. We are currently in first place, and of course, ideally, we want to finish in first place," Jackson said. "I joined the team late so I'm trying to get acclimated as best as possible. The team provides an apartment, a car, and a round-trip flight for me back home. This team takes care of business well and shows us their concern. We have a good staff and managers that take care of you."
Jackson is no stranger to challenges. He didn't play basketball as a sophomore at his high school in Florida – because he got a C in Spanish. His parents required that he get all As and Bs to play hoops. By the time he was a senior, Jackson was a key player, leading to two seasons with Hillsborough Community College, also in Florida.
Jackson was an All-MEAC performer for the Aggies in 2019-20, averaging 15 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest in his last college season. Nearly five years later, he is getting to see the world through basketball.
"A couple of years ago, I visited Rome for Christmas, and it was very nice," he said. "I had nice tours in the Vatican, the Colosseum, and other famous architecture in Rome. Milan was pretty cool as well."
Editor's note: Virginia native David Driver is the author of "Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas." He is also the former sports editor of papers in Baltimore and Virginia and has interviewed American men and women hoopsters in more than 15 countries for stories for Division I websites, alumni magazines, and major US papers. Driver, who has lived in Hungary and currently resides in Poland, has covered the CAA for more than 30 years and can be reached at daytondavid.com and davidsdriver@aol.com.
