Plenty of high school basketball coaches dream about coaching on the college level. At age 27, DiMario Jackson has made the leap.
Jackson was hired as the head men’s basketball coach at NAIA LSU-Alexandria on Thursday, less than two months after leading Port Allen High to its second straight boys basketball as head coach. At LSUA, Jackson succeeds the coach who started the program nine years ago, Larry Cordaro.
“From the day I got into coaching and knew this was my calling I knew this is what I wanted to do … one of my dreams was to get to the college level,” Jackson said. “And to be a head coach on the college level.
“LSUA plays in the Red River Conference and the objective is we want to win today. I am talking about winning conference championships and national championships. We’re going to build with discipline, character and toughness. Winning also means winning in the classroom and the community.”
Jackson, a 2013 Brusly High graduate and former Panther star, played at Northeast Mississippi Community College where he earned all-conference and all-America honors. He finished his college career at North Alabama.
Prior to his two-year stint at Port Allen, Jackson spent three seasons as an assistant at Brusly and one at Zachary. Brusly made the LHSAA’s Class 3A semifinals appearance during his time there and he was an assistant on a Zachary squad that won the 2021 Class 5A title.
Jackson came to Port Allen ahead of the 2021-22 season. The Pelicans (29-6) won their third straight Class 2A title in his first season. PAHS moved up to the Class 3A ranks and won a Division III nonselect title with a 29-4 record in March.
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