Former Cardinal Troy "Escalade" Jackson dies at age 35

According to multiple reports, former Louisville basketball player Troy "Escalade" Jackson passed away in his sleep last night in Los Angeles. He was 35-years-old.

Jackson appeared in just 20 games at Louisville from 1996-98. He averaged 3.0 points and 1.6 rebounds but was more known for his size (6-9, 350 lbs.) and surprising agility, a pair of qualities which helped him gain notoriety while playing streetball for the AND 1 Mixtape Tour.

Jackson's nephew, Mark Jackson Jr., is currently a walk-on for the Cardinals.

When I was in 7th grade, we were preparing for the city tournament and through some connection ended up practicing at U of L. Troy was there by himself - apparently working on getting his weight down - and ended up coming out to the gym and shooting around with us. It was pretty cool and he was hilarious.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.