Today in Boston Celtics history, Demetrius Jackson was born in South Bend, Indiana, in 1994. Jackson played his NCAA ball with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and in that stint, made second-team All-ACC honors and was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
The Indiana native was picked up by the Celtics with the 45th overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, and signed with the storied ball club soon after. He spent much of his only season with Boston going to and from the Celtics and the Maine Red Claws — Boston’s developmental affiliate in the NBA’s G League (now Maine Celtics) as he worked on his skills, hoping to secure a longer contract.
That wasn’t in the cards with the Celtics, however. The team cut Jackson the following summer. He averaged 2 points per game at the NBA level with Boston.
Birthdays
Jackson shares his birthday with ex-Boston big man Jack Hewson, who was born today in 1924 in Waldick, New Jersey. A graduate of Temple, Hewitt was a member of the Celtics in its Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor to the NBA) days, playing in 24 games for the team in 1947-48. Hewson logged 2.7 points per game in his time with Boston, and afterward was part of the United States Army Medical Corps deployment to Europe after World War II.
UConn and Celtics fans are familiar with the next Celtic born today, Toby Kimball. Born in 1942 in Framingham, Massachusetts, Kimball was taken 26th in the 1965 NBA Draft by the Celtics, and played 38 games in the 1966-67 season. He was drafted away by the (then) San Diego (now Houston) Rockets in the 1967 NBA expansion draft, held for that team and the Seattle Supersonics. Kimball averaged 2.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a Celtic.
Finally, all three share their date of birth with former Celtics center Clyde Lovellette, born in Petersburg, Indiana in 1929. Near the end of his career, the big man had his rights sold to Boston in 1962 by the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks after stints with the (then) Minneapolis (now, Los Angeles) Lakers and (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).