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Ridgewood (N.J.) basketball player scores 30 points amid cancer treatments

Collin-headshotby: Collin Ginnan12/23/24
Syndication: The Record
Jan 27, 2024; Tenafly, New Jersey, United States; Tenafly plays Ridgewood in the Bergen County Jamboree boys basketball tournament at Tenafly High School on Saturday afternoon. From left, T #11 Zach Shammash, R #4 Johnny Jackson and T #20 Jake Yanofsky.

Despite a cancer diagnosis and ongoing chemotherapy treatments, Ridgewood (N.J.) High School basketball player Johnny Jackson is still fighting toward his career 2,000-point milestone.

Last Thursday, Jackson scored 30 points in Ridgewood’s season-opening win over St. Joseph Regional (N.J.) and now stands at 1,494 career points. His 30-point performance came just three days after his 10th chemo treatment, according to Jersey Sports Zone.

Jackson is battling Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma after being diagnosed in July, per NorthJersey.com.

“It honestly just meant everything to me,” Jackson told Jersey Sports Zone. “I’ve been working my tail off for about four or five months now and going through just the roughest point of my life. Getting diagnosed with cancer isn’t easy but I just made it my goal to get back by the first game and I thought I did pretty well.”

Jackson hit five three-point shots en route to his 30-point performance and was 7-of-9 from the foul line.

“Back in August, we went to dinner and I ordered him a coach’s polo [shirt] because he wanted to be on the bench with us,” Ridgewood coach Mike Troy told NorthJersey.com. “And then he’s been working out, and working out, and then we talked again, and he said, ‘I’m not missing a game.’”

Up next for Ridgewood is a crosstown shootout with Glen Rock on Dec. 27.