How a fourth-straight city championship epitomizes Whitney Young star Destiny Jackson's dominance
Whitney Young eyes a state title run behind star Destiny Jackson
Whitney Young is a four-time city league champion. That's thanks to star guard, No. 1 ranked player in Illinois and Illini commit Destiny Jackson.
There's only one way to describe Whitney Young senior, Destiny Jackson.
"Pure dominance."
And no one who knows her better than her high school coach Krissy Harper.
"The way she looks at life," Harper said. "She looks at it with no fear."
Jackson described her coach, "Like a second mom to me."
Together, the two accomplished an incredible feat. They won four straight Chicago Public League Championships.
"We finally accomplished something that we wanted to accomplish since I stepped foot into the door," Jackson said. "To finally get that done, I needed that moment to embrace her because she believed in me since I stepped foot in the door. To finally check off one big accomplishment we set for each other and our team it was one of the best moments of my high school career."
Harper added, "To be able to come in now as a senior and say I won four against the kind of competition we do have here in Chicago is a pretty amazing feat."
To make it even more amazing, Jackson dropped 42 points in their CPL win against Kenwood.
When she woke up that morning, she felt like it was going to be a big day.
"First thing in my mind was just to win," Jackson said. "Then my mom told me I would have a Juju [Watkins] type performance because Juju had like 38 points. She was like I know you're going to get like 40 today and it ended up happening."
Even Harper was surprised, "I was like she dropped 42 today. That is amazing! I'm not sure if that's a record, I mean if it is, she marked her name in the history books twice."
Jackson called game. This wasn't surprising for those who know the Illinois commit who also eclipsed 2,000 career points and is the No. 1 recruit in Illinois.
She had 14 Division One offers in eighth grade.
"Knowing that came with whatever I was going to do on the basketball court, that gave me a little bit extra motivation," Jackson said. "Knowing I needed to stay grounded throughout the whole process."
Harper was the one to get the most out of Jackson.
"I hope to leave the everlasting legacy of knowing I was a great player, but I also was a great person on and off the court and helped my teammates out, helped my coaches out and just was an uplifting person to be around."
Harper laid out her legacy, "She's the reigning city champion. Undefeated. And that's a title she can carry with her forever."
While Jackson is 4-0 in the city championship, there's still another goal she wants to achieve.
The Dolphins want to win their first 4A State Championship since 2014.