Jackson Loge, a 6-foot-9 senior big man wing from Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta, is one of the top players in the state
Loge is the son of former Gopher Kevin Loge, who signed with Minnesota in the fall of 1995. He redshirted the 1996-97 season when the Gophers made the Final Four.
Jackson Loge helped lead the Tigers to a 19-3 mark this past season, losing to eventual Class AA champion Waseca 83-58 in the first round of the state tournament.
Loge scored a career-high 51 points in a 93-79 win over Benson in March. He was 19 of 34 from the field, including seven of 12 from three-point range. Loge added 17 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
Loge, in that game, became the Tiger program’s all-time rebounding leader surpassing Eric Staebler with 977 boards. Loge also passed Staebler for third on the all-time scoring list with 1,720 points in that contest.
Loge later passed Brett Winkelman (who later starred at North Dakota State) for second place and will pass his father Kevin Loge (1,938 points) early in the 2021-22 season.
GopherHole caught up with Loge at the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association D1 Showcase to learn the latest on his college recruitment and upcoming senior year.
Gopher Hole: This was the first time you got to play in front of college coaches for over year. What was this experience like?
Jackson Loge: It was good. It’s a lot of fun to play in front of them and I’ve been waiting a long time and it was good to get back and play in front of them.
GopherHole: I know talking to some of the coaches and they said that they were just as excited to see you guys as you were to see them.
Jackson Loge: Yes, exactly. It sucks. COVID screwed up everything. I’m glad to be back.
GopherHole: You have been playing a lot of AAU ball this spring and summer. How pleased are you with how well you’ve been playing?
Jackson Loge: We’ve been playing really well, actually. I think 17-4 is our record and two of the losses, we were within two points, so it came down to the final seconds. We’ve done well this year.
GopherHole: You have a big year this past season. You had 51 points in one game and are close to breaking your dad’s record. What is that going to mean to pass him as the all-time leading scorer in school history?
Jackson Loge: It will just be kind of funny. It’s not a big deal to me. I just want to win games. I want to get back to the state tournament, but if I got to score points to do that, that’s what I’ll do.
GopherHole: Does he ever give you a hard time about that?
Jackson Loge: No, he encourages me. He wants me to break it. He’s open to that. We play a little different. He had a really good team. They went to the state championship game. It’s just a different era.
GopherHole: Your expectations are to get back to state. What is it going to take to get back to there and have some success?
Jackson Loge: We are going to have to work hard, for sure. We just have to tighten up and just improve from last year and work on things that we struggled with. I would say that we have to get in the gym this summer as a team and put up a lot of shots and take it seriously.
GopherHole: Do you have a lot of your starters back from last year?
Jackson Loge: We have our same starting lineup as last year. We only lost three seniors. They came off the bench. We started five juniors last year and we’ll start five seniors this year.
GopherHole: How offers are do you have right now?
Jackson Loge: North Dakota and Toledo. I’m hearing from William & Mary, Clemson and a bunch of others.
GopherHole: What about the homestate school, the Gophers?
Jackson Loge: I’ve talked to Coach Thorson a few times.
GopherHole: What are they saying to you?
Jackson Loge: Coach Thorson keeps telling to work hard, keeping doing what I’m doing. It will come
GopherHole: Is that something that appeals to you, the homestate school? It’s obviously where your dad started his college career.
Jackson Loge: Yeah, it would be awesome, if they offered me. That would be like a dream come true, but I just have to keep working hard and show them what I got.
GopherHole: What schools are you hearing from the most besides the two schools that have offered you?
Jackson Loge: William & Mary, Clemson, IUPUI, Belmont and Green Bay.
GopherHole: You come from a basketball family. What is it going to mean to step on the court for your first game as a college freshman?
Jackson Loge: It’s going to be a dream come true. First college game would be amazing. I’m looking forward to it.
GopherHole: What things are you really working on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Jackson Loge: I get shots up every day. I’ve been working on my three-point shot. I’ve improved a lot. I shot 50% last year for high school and I want to keep it that way. Just working on my ballhandling and perimeter defense, so I can guard guards out on the perimeter.