‘She’s my everything’: How WSU’s Clarence Jackson and his mother saved one another
Take notice of the pink shoes when Clarence Jackson takes the floor for Wichita State the rest of this season.
Pink isn’t a flashy fashion choice to try to stand out. The color pink means something to Jackson. Everything in fact.
Because every time Jackson puts on those pink shoes, he’s reminded of his mother. But to call Juanita Durham simply a breast cancer survivor in this story would be to not fully understand her importance in Jackson’s world.
Before she was a cancer survivor, Durham had to endure the struggle of watching her baby boy fight for his life. There was one time she feared she had lost him. Through this struggle, the mother and son formed an unbreakable bond.
“She’s my everything,” Jackson said. “Just seeing everything she’s gone through and everything she’s done for me. She’s my inspiration. I know I’ve overcome so much just to get here and that I’m going to continue to overcome so much.”
That’s why Jackson swapped with a teammate last week for the pink shoes worn by the Shockers in last season’s pink-out game, so he could wear them for last Saturday’s game against Central Florida because he knew his mother would be in attendance at Koch Arena.
Tears welled up in Durham’s eyes when she saw Jackson emerge from the tunnel with the pink shoes. Then her heart swelled with pride after she watched her son bring the Shockers back to life with his unmatched energy and timely rebounds to spur a 93-88 overtime victory.
“Oh my gosh, it brought back so many memories,” Durham said of seeing her son’s tribute to her. “He has always been God’s gift to me. He’s always been my biggest fan. He’s helped take care of me. He’s encouraged me. I’m just so thankful for him.”
‘A miracle baby’
From the time he was an infant up until he was a middle-schooler in Dublin, Georgia, Jackson suffered from medical problems that centered around seizures.
When he was a baby, doctors said Jackson’s tonsils were swollen to the size of a silver dollar, which was blocking his airways and the source of the seizures. During the surgery to remove his tonsils, Jackson lost more than 60% of oxygen to his brain and suffered a stroke and a grand mal seizure.
Doctors were required to perform life-saving techniques on him.
“He really is a miracle baby,” Durham said. “He never gave up. I never gave up.”
But just because Jackson survived didn’t mean there weren’t complications. The stroke left him dragging his right leg. It also affected his speech and hearing. He had learning disorders early in his development. Jackson needed speech and physical therapy to get on track.
For years, Durham and Ryan Jackson, Clarence’s father, sacrificed to make sure their son received the medical care he needed. It wasn’t easy — Jackson’s condition required full-time attention — but they always found a way.
Jackson still recalls all of the different ways his mother cared for him when he was young.
“I remember being admitted to the hospital and I had my favorite blanket and I had like no energy, no power,” Jackson said. “So my mom put me on her shoulder and carried me into the hospital. I still remember that. And I was like a big kid, too. But she put me completely on her shoulder and carried me.”
Despite the medical challenges of his childhood, Jackson became a standout athlete in football, basketball, baseball and soccer. He worked hard to become a good student in the classroom and despised when his mother would inform his teachers of his medical history.
He didn’t want anyone’s pity or need special attention. He had been a fighter since birth and that undeniable determination to thrive never left him.
“He never wanted me to tell anybody what he was going through because he never wanted to be treated different,” Durham said. “He is the type if you tell him he can’t do something, he’s going to give you 110 reasons why he can get the job done.”
‘I found my strength from him’
It was right around the time when Jackson’s seizures had finally subsided when his world was rocked again, this time by the revelation that his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I tried to keep cool and keep my feelings in when she told me and my sister,” said Jackson, who was 12 at the time. “But once I got to my room, I started crying. Boo-hoo crying.”
After his mother had sacrificed so much to care for him, Jackson was eager to pay it back.
He was diligent in cleaning her room, making sure everything was sanitized. If she needed a drink or food, he was always there by her side to get it. Following his mother’s first chemotherapy treatment, he helped pull chunks of her hair out so his uncle could shave it off.
“You want to know where I really get my fight and determination from, it was from seeing her fight on a daily basis,” Jackson said. “Seeing her go through all of the pain really opened up my eyes to the stuff that she did on the daily for us.”
Durham was determined not to let her diagnosis control her. She even went back to work during her treatment. It wasn’t long before she was declared cancer-free.
Some qualities are unmistakable characteristics passed down and there’s no doubt there’s a special level of determination that runs in the family. Like mother, like son.
“I found my strength from him,” Durham said of her son. “I never wanted to give up because of him. Watching him as a child fight through what he did, I knew that I could never give up. I could never stop pushing.”
‘Tomorrow could be a better day’
It wasn’t hard to predict that Jackson, affectionately known as “Monzy” — a family nickname in reference to his middle name of Le’Mon — would become a fan favorite at Koch Arena.
He is chaotic energy in the form of a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward who hasn’t seen a rebound he doesn’t think he can grab. His unbridled passion is evident the moment he steps on the floor. He’s the type of player who teammates love to play with and opponents hate to play against.
“In practice when he’s on the floor, you have to match his energy or he’ll grab the rebound over you,” WSU junior center Morris Udeze said. “Monzy brings that energy all the time and that’s what I love about him.”
Energy was exactly what was missing for WSU when it faced a 74-66 deficit to UCF with less than four minutes remaining in last Saturday’s game. So even though a back injury had limited Jackson to an average of 8.4 minutes in WSU’s last five games, WSU interim coach Isaac Brown trusted Jackson to deliver the missing ingredient for the Shockers with the game on the line.
“You know why I turned to Monzy is sometimes I feel like we don’t have energy on the floor,” Brown said. “He might make some mistakes, but he’s out there clapping his hands and he’s going to the offensive glass and he just brings energy. He don’t always execute, but he always plays hard and that’s what I’m starting to love about that kid.”
It wasn’t a coincidence that WSU ended regulation on an 11-3 run to force overtime when Jackson entered the game. He finished the game with 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals, including a pair of crucial offensive rebound put-backs in overtime for the Shockers.
“He saved us,” said WSU star Tyson Etienne, who tied his career-high with 29 points. “On that shot we missed and he got the rebound and the and-one, that goes from a shot we missed to now we’re going to the line about to get three points. Just for him to do that and to play the way he plays, it gives energy to everybody to see someone play that hard.”
For the first time since Rashard Kelly graduated in 2018, Wichita State has a legitimate junkyard dog in Jackson. Sometimes that’s a job that players don’t necessarily seek out at the Division I level, rather it suits them over time.
Jackson is a rare breed: he desired for nothing but that role for the Shockers from the beginning. And he’s delivered, as he’s averaging 13.8 rebounds per 40 minutes — the best rate on the team.
“I’m going to do my job and my job is to do everything that other people don’t want to do, which is grab rebounds, play defense, bring energy and effort,” Jackson said back when he signed with WSU last spring.
Jackson’s hustle plays have been a highlight during the Shockers’ surprising 9-4 start to the season, as they look to remain in second place in the American Athletic Conference with a win over Tulane in Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game at Koch Arena streamed on ESPN+.
Nothing about Jackson’s first season at the Division I level has been a surprise to his mother.
“Anything he’s ever set his mind out to do, he has always put in the extra effort to get it done,” Durham said. “He’s always made things happen. He’s never waited on anybody to do anything for him in his life.”
That’s something he learned from his mother and lacing up those pink shoes reminds Jackson of that, which is why he plans on wearing the pair for the rest of this season.
He said he will always remember that feeling of running out of the tunnel for the first time, looking up in the stands and seeing his mom beaming with pride.
“I could feel the love,” Jackson said. “I know that as long as I remember where I come from and the foundation in which I was raised, I just have to keep pushing and keep chopping wood and tomorrow could be a better day.”
Tulane at Wichita State
Records: TU 7-5, 2-5 AAC; WSU 9-4, 5-2 AAC
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Koch Arena, Wichita
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM
Series: WSU leads 4-0 (3-0 in Wichita)
Projected starting lineups
| Tulane | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
| Jordan Walker | G | 5-11 | 170 | Jr. | 12.7 | 2.3 | 3.8 |
| Jaylen Forbes | G | 6-5 | 185 | So. | 15.5 | 4.8 | 0.9 |
| Sion James | G | 6-5 | 185 | Fr. | 5.2 | 4.1 | 2.1 |
| Tylan Pope | F | 6-6 | 220 | Fr. | 5.8 | 4.4 | 0.4 |
| Kevin Cross | F | 6-8 | 240 | So. | 6.8 | 4.8 | 1.2 |
Coach: Ron Hunter, second season, 19-23
| Wichita State | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
| Alterique Gilbert | G | 6-0 | 180 | Sr. | 9.5 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| Tyson Etienne | G | 6-2 | 192 | So. | 17.6 | 3.7 | 2.3 |
| Dexter Dennis | G | 6-5 | 207 | Jr. | 8.0 | 3.5 | 0.8 |
| Trey Wade | F | 6-6 | 219 | Sr. | 5.4 | 5.5 | 1.8 |
| Morris Udeze | C | 6-8 | 240 | Jr. | 10.1 | 3.3 | 0.4 |
Coach: Isaac Brown, first season, 9-4
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 8:53 AM.
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