Life has come full circle for Seton Hall transfer Tray Jackson. A Detroit native, life didn't exactly work out to where he could play for his favorite team growing up in Michigan. Instead, he went to Missouri and would later transfer to Seton Hall.
Upon graduation, he entered the transfer portal wanting to show the world what he was capable of if he was put in the right position. Then, Juwan Howard and the Wolverines came calling and he answered the call to come home.
"It means everything, man," Jackson said on the latest episode of the Defend the Block podcast. "Growing up, I've always been a fan of the Michigan Wolverines, always wanted to come here. Having the chance to play in front of family and friends, it's a dream come true, honestly.
"I used to come to the games when Caris LeVert played, Charles Matthews, that group. I came to a few games, and that's when I really started getting into basketball and taking it serious. Those were my best memories."
Now, getting the chance to walk the same halls as the players he watched, playing on the same floor he loved in his primitive years, Jackson is motivated now more than ever to put himself in a position to be successful.
And he believes he will do just that.
"That has motivated me a lot," Jackson said. "Definitely motivated me. Just can't wait, honestly. I have a fire burning inside of me to really show what I can do. Not even prove people wrong but prove myself right and just show the people that put me in positions that were less than what I was capable of. Show them that, yeah, this is what I really do."
While he came back home to Michigan with the hopes of being able to prove he belongs, he also wants to see the program be successful, too.
It's been well-publicized about the state of the basketball program after missing the NCAA Tournament last season.
He wants to get the program back to its winning ways before he departs.
"It means a lot because just being a competitor, that's what you want to do at the end of the day," Jackson said. "Just win. I know when we win, I win, the coaches win and all the players win at the end of the day, too. It helps them and their career moving forward also. That's one of my main focuses, too. Just winning, winning at a high level and going to get some hardware. That's what I need before I get up out of here. That's what I need."
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