Bolingbrook alum Trent Jackson: 'Best player to ever play here'

BOLINGBROOK — Trent Jackson is the best player to play boys basketball at Bolingbrook, but he only allows himself to take a fraction of the credit.

"It's an honor a lot of people had a hand in bringing to life: my parents, my teammates, the student body, coaches, teachers," said Jackson, a 1985 grad who went on to play at Wisconsin and professionally overseas. "A lot of people literally had a hand in lifting that jersey up to the rafters."

Jackson's No. 32 jersey was officially retired in a halftime ceremony Friday during Bolingbrook's game against Joliet West. In a speech during the ceremony, he thanked his parents (for moving the family from the West Side of Chicago to the suburbs), Luke Austen, his eighth grade coach at Jane Addams Middle School, and Bob Mitchell, Bolingbrook's coach from 1978 to 1995.

He also thanked all of his teammates, with a special shoutout to the late Jay Lomas, who, along with Jackson, formed a formidable guard duo on the 1985 Bolingbrook team that made it to the Sweet 16.

"I can truly say that without Jay Lomas, there would be no Trent Jackson," he said during his speech. "He was very important to my career, and I think his jersey should be next."

Bolingbrook didn't just honor Jackson at halftime. The Raiders' boys team also honored him with a big 71-58 win over the Tigers. The Raiders stayed on the court for the retirement ceremony at halftime, then used a solid second half to pull away.

"We talked about that before the game," Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. "We said we were going to pay respect to the best player to ever play here."

Jackson now is the chief development officer for ROUGH Sportswear in Madison, Wis., according to his LinkedIn profile.