Luke Jackson was a swingman for Syracuse basketball for four seasons. Jackson was a solid all-around player who played both the shooting guard and small forward, played solid defense, rebounded well and had a nice jump shot.

Jackson came to Syracuse which had a veteran team and he was part of a talented freshman class that included Lawrence Moten, Anthony Harris and Glenn Sekunda. When Moten emerged as a star, it became hard for any of the freshman, including Jackson to see much playing time.

Jackson would shave his head before his sophomore season and try to renew his confidence. It helped as he became the sixth man, providing the Orangemen with a defensive and rebounding spark when he entered the game. However, with the increased playing time his shooting struggled both on the perimeter and at the free throw line. He would earn a starting position his junior season, and would respond by scoring in double digits. He would score a career high 24 points in a close win at Villanova on January 15, 1994.

Jackson would continue to improve his senior year, and would again average scoring in double digits. He would also lead the team in three point shooting percentage at 38%, and had developed into a respectable free throw shooter. He would score 22 points against Southern Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament, in a surprisingly close game, helping the Orangemen advance to the next round. In the closing seconds of the next game against Arkansas, he would steal the Razorback's inbound pass, which would have sealed the victory for the team. Unfortunately, his teammate Moten called a timeout when the Orangemen had none left, and that allowed Arkansas to tie the game and send it into overtime, where the Orangemen eventually lost.

Jackson was the son of NBA All-Star Luke Jackson, who played eight seasons with the Philadelphia 76'ers. Whereas Jackson's father was a bruising NBA forward, Luke Jr. was more of a finesse player at Syracuse.

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