"The Markward Award was special to me because it was another Philadelphia honor," Jackson said before the ceremony. "This is incredible because I didn't think I'd even be considered because I only played 2 years at Temple."
When he got the call from Al Shrier, Jackson told him: "This is Marc Jackson. This ain't Mark Macon."
Jackson scored 1,001 points in those two seasons on North Broad. His teams were 40-14. He was a double-double machine. He played seven NBA seasons.
Jackson's little brother showed him the case with all the Hall of Famers' names.
"It was funny because I used to break into these gyms," Jackson said. "I actually used the front door, the first time ever. I usually came in through the nooks and crannies just to get on the court, just to play basketball because that's how bad I wanted it."
In his speech, he remembered walking every Sunday from Germantown and Lehigh to the Camden YMCA to do drills for 2-to-3 hours.
"I never wanted to spend time," Jackson said. "I only wanted to invest it. I invested it in basketball."
Jenn Beisel said: "I'm not good at speeches," so she proceeded to recite a poem she wrote. It included a line about holding a ball in a baby picture as she talked about the influence of her five older sisters and one older brother.
One of those sisters, Kathie (also Villanova) preceded Jenn into the Hall by exactly 20 years, making them the first pair of sisters in the Hall.
Melissa Coursey was a terrific three-point shooter for the Hawks, twice making nine in a game.
"I was just a small-town kid from Jersey with dreams and goals," she said before she thanked one of her youth coaches who gave her a chance to be "the only girl on a boys basketball team."
