Tavares Jackson served as the recruiting coordinator and an assistant women's basketball coach at Youngstown State from 2010-13 under head coach Bob Boldon.
Jackson was brought on board prior to head coach Boldon's first season, and the Penguins have improved significantly in their two seasons. Behind a motion offense that is geared toward shooting open 3-pointers and driving for lay-ups, YSU has become a very dangerous team in the Horizon League. The Penguins convincingly beat second-place Detroit in 2011-12 and took the other teams that finished in the top four to overtime. One of those teams was Green Bay, which finished the season 31-2 and was ranked No. 11 in the nation when YSU lost a heartbreaker in overtime.
Perhaps the most obvious indicator of YSU's improvement is its scoring margin. The year prior to Boldon's arrival, YSU lost games by an average of 25.8 points and lost 16 Horizon League games by double digits. In 2011-12, YSU's average margin of defeat was one possession - 2.9 points. That is a 22.9-point improvement from what Boldon's staff inherited.
The 2011-12 campaign was YSU's best on the offensive end in several seasons. The Penguins' 38.4 percent field-goal shooting was its best in six years, and their 33.7 percent shooting from 3-point range was its highest in seven years. Their scoring average of 64.6 points was the highest in 10 years and 18 points higher than it was the year prior to Boldon and Jackson arrived.
Most importantly, Jackson and the rest of the staff have created a feeling in the locker room and in the stands that had not existed for years - the Penguins can win every time they step onto the court.
With Boldon and Jackson on the bench, YSU has broken almost every one of the program's 3-point shooting records. In 2011-12, the Penguins set school and Horizon League records in 3-pointers made (275) and attempts (828) for the season, and their 16 3-pointers at Loyola set a new school mark and tied the league record. YSU made 188 3-pointers during conference play, which shattered the previous Horizon League record by 58. The Penguins finished the season ranking fifth in the nation with 9.2 3-pointers made per game, and they were one of just 10 teams in the country to make at least 16 3-pointers in a game during the year.
YSU finished the 2010-11 campaign winning three of their final seven contests. The three wins in that four-week span matched the program's win total of the previous two seasons combined. Overall, the Penguins went 6-24 for the campaign for a six-win improvement from the previous year. YSU improved its scoring margin from 2009-10 from minus-25.8 to minus-10.6. That 15.2-point improvement was the second best in the country.
Jackson and the rest of the staff have placed a high emphasis on player development. Brandi Brown has developed from a promising low-post player to one of the best combo players in YSU's history. She has earned Second-Team All-Horizon League honors in each of the last two seasons and is on her way to finishing among the top three in school history in both points and rebounds. Kenya Middlebrooks led the Horizon League in 3-pointers per game in 2011-12 after making 26 treys combined the two seasons prior to when Jackson and the rest of the staff arrived on campus.
In addition to his duties as recruiting coordinator, Jackson assists with on-floor coaching, game preparation, scheduling and the program's camp series.
"Tavares is genuinely passionate about the game of basketball," Boldon said. "He is a tireless worker and an outstanding recruiter. I am excited to have him on our staff.
Jackson came to YSU having spent the previous six seasons less than an hour east of Youngstown at Slippery Rock University. He's been developing relationships in the recruiting world for nine seasons as a collegiate assistant.
With Jackson as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator at Division II Slippery Rock, the Rock advanced to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament, and three student-athletes earned All-PSAC recognition. Jackson oversaw recruiting efforts that led to signing two NJCAA All-America selections, five NCAA Division I transfers, four All-Ohio honorees and a Pennsylvania all-state pick. He also assisted with post play, game plan preparation, opponent scouting, budgeting, alumni activities and compliance issues.
Jackson got his first Division I experience at Austin Peay State University during the 2002-03 season as the Governors posted their best season in school history. The Governors went 27-4 that season, won both the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles and played North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. Jackson worked primarily with Austin Peay's guards as well as assisting with scouting, offseason workouts, game preparation, academic progress, team travel, fundraising and community service.
Jackson also coached in the OVC the following season at Eastern Illinois, helping two Panthers receive second-team all-conference honors. He focused on guard development and defense as well as team travel, conditioning, academics and summer camps at EIU.
He got his start in college coaching as a graduate assistant at Bemidji State from 2000-02.
Jackson's coaching career began at Division II Bemidji State University in Minnesota as a graduate assistant. He played two years at Division II Minnesota, Crookston after a two-year junior college playing career at Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin.
Jackson earned bachelor's degrees in both sports and recreation management and applied studies from Minnesota, Crookston in 2000. He is nearing the completion of his master's in sports studies from Bemidji State.
