NBA Jackson becomes Kings' most popular player

Bobby Jackson shoots hundreds of 3-point shots and other jumpers in practice before each game.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The cheer rises from the raucous Sacramento crowd whenever Bobby Jackson makes another daredevil drive to the hoop or hits an impossibly difficult 3-pointer.
"Bobby! Bobby!" echoes off Arco Arena's wooden floor in adoration of the undersized journeyman guard who has become the Kings' most popular player. And he doesn't mind admitting he loves it.
"Everybody knows my name," Jackson said with a grin of disbelief.
But nobody is cheering several hours before each game, when Jackson shows up early to shoot hundreds of 3-pointers and jump shots in a ritual that would leave many players too tired to lift their arms later that night. Sometimes, Jackson has no company but work crews and his 12-year-old nephew, Chris, who lives with Jackson during the season.
Jackson's work ethic is a product of everything from his lack of size to his appreciation for good timing.
"But it's only because I love to play," Jackson said. "That's all I want to do with my time. Just play basketball and take care of my family. ... They go together."
Jackson's energy hasn't gone unnoticed in Sacramento, where he became an integral part of the Kings' rotation in his first two seasons with the club. He finished second for the NBA's Sixth Man Award last season for his work at both guard positions.
But Jackson made his breakthrough this fall when point guard Mike Bibby broke his foot in the pre-season. Thrust into the starting lineup for 26 games until Bibby returned on Thursday, Jackson entered the weekend averaging 20.2 points per game and shooting 50 percent from the field -- good numbers for a small guard who does much of his scoring from outside.
He's shooting 39 percent on 3-pointers, and he scored in double figures in 26 straight games. He has shown all the resilience, creativity and talent to be a consistent scorer; as it is, he's just one cog in the Kings' offensive machine.
Loves his role
And most improbably of all, he loves his supporting role.
"If Bobby played for any other team except us and maybe Dallas, he'd be an All-Star," said Kings forward Chris Webber. "I can only think of a handful of guards out there who are as good as him. People compare him to Allen Iverson, and there's a similarity there.
Jackson needed 29 years to find his niche. He grew up poor in North Carolina, where only his mother's influence kept him off the streets. He didn't join a school team until his sophomore year in high school, and he attended a remote junior college in Nebraska.
Jackson then enrolled at Minnesota, where the Golden Gophers made the Final Four in 1997.
His team also was involved in the academic scandal that cost coach Clem Haskins his job and Jackson was among the players accused of turning in papers written by a tutor.
He was a first-round draft pick, but was traded twice in his first year in the NBA. He thought he had found a home during two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they let him walk away in 2000 -- and he landed in Sacramento.