It's no secret the Cincinnati Bearcats have added a ton of talent to their roster for 2009. With the addition of players like Lance Stephenson, Ibrahima Thomas, and JaQuon Parker, the Bearcats have put themselves in position to make a strong run through the Big East conference.

What you may not know is that the Bearcats added another key piece to the puzzle this offseason as well -- not on the court, but rather on the sidelines. Head coach Mick Cronin, in his never ending quest to improve his team, decided to hire Cincinnati native George Jackson as a member of his coaching staff for the 2009 season. Now, just a few months into his tenure, the Bearcats are seeing that decision pay dividends.

"Jack (Jackson) has a lot of experience," said Cronin. "One thing I believe in as a head coach is to get the best people you can on your staff, and to me he's one of the best assistant coaches in the country. He's nationally renowned as a big man coach, but he's also a great recruiter. Combine that with the fact that he's from Cincinnati and it's a perfect fit for us."

Jackson, who made a name for himself in the high school ranks as the head coach at Withrow High School, is making his return to the Queen City after spending the last 2 years as an assistant coach under his good friend and mentor Louis Orr at Bowling Green State University.

Prior to their arrival at BGSU, Orr and Jackson also worked together on Seton Hall's coaching staff. Orr, the head coach of the Pirates at the time, hired Jackson to be the team's administrative assistant. After holding that position for four years, Jackson was promoted to the position of assistant coach for the 2006-2007 season.

Jackson has experienced some success at the college level, including leading Bowling Green to a 31-17 record in 2007-2008, his first year with the team. That season, the Falcons earned a share of the conference title, the number one seed in the conference tournament, and an eventual bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). But, as mentioned before, it was during his years as the coach of Withrow High School's men's basketball team that he really made a name for himself.

During his 20 years as head coach, he racked up and incredible list of accomplishments. He led the team to a 311-146 record during his tenure, including 12 Queen City Conference-Metro championships, eight sectional championships, and five district championships. His accomplishments do not end there. He also took his team to two regional championships, and made two appearances in the state semifinals.

The number of players coached by Jackson who went on to continue their careers at the collegiate level is almost too high to count, and 3 of his players (Brandon Hunter, Ricky Calloway, and Tyrone Hill) even went on to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

So for someone so successful at the high school level, the question begs -- why leave it behind. The opportunity, Jackson says, came at just the right time.

"My best friend Louis Orr got the position at Seton Hall, and he had been on my staff when I was at Withrow," said Jackson. "He got to the college ranks, and once he decided that was what he wanted to do, he told me he would like me to join his staff if he ever got a head job. It didn't work out with his first job (Sienna for one season), but once he got to Seton Hall he was able to bring me a long."

He continued on,

"Initially when I got into coaching I wanted to get to the college ranks for sure. But once I got into the high school ranks we were successful, I enjoyed it, and I stayed with it for a long time. But I had the opportunity to work with my best friend and I had the itch to get to the next level. So there was really no better opportunity than to get into coaching with your best friend"

Now, as an assistant coach for the Bearcats, Jackson is looking to add even more to his ever-expanding list of achievements. Judging by his list of responsibilities with the team, it's clear he is willing to do whatever it takes.

"Of course we all recruit," said Jackson. "On top of that I also do game scouts and coach the big men."

He continued on, speaking about recruiting (something he does very well, specifically in Ohio) and just how much his previous experience at the high school level helps him in that area.

"Yeah, initially it does help," said Jackson. "It's always good to have previous relationships with people when you're coming to recruit their kids. So that's beneficial. I really didn't get a lot with 2010 because I just started this year, but hopefully it's going to help pay dividends in 2011 and other years to come."

There is little doubt that Jackson is a great recruiter and mentor, but his real bread and butter is his flat-out ability to "coach 'em up." If you ever see coach Jackson with a player, recruit, or any other player who wants to improve his game and he ISN'T busy teaching that player a lesson that is going to improve his game, consider yourself lucky. Jackson has built himself a reputation as one of the best big man coaches in the game -- and he's done it with a simple philosophy.

"Beat 'em and great 'em," says Jackson. "In four seconds or less, we want to get up and down the floor and have a fundamentally physical mindset on offense and on defense. Beat 'em down the floor on offense, and then greet 'em on the other end of the floor on defense. Which means you beat your man down there and hopefully you can catch it around the rim area and you're one on zero or one on one. Defensively, you want to beat them down the floor and greet them and keep them from going where they want to go."

With the his impeccable record as a coach at all levels, I think it's safe to say coach Jackson and his Bearcat big men will do a very good job of keeping the other team's offense from going where they want to go. And -- if all goes well -- they may just get the Bearcat's basketball team back where they do want to go.