It has been a long journey from the first time he shot his Pizza Hut mini ball, to his regional championship in high school to his NCAA tournament trip all the way to leader of the Panthers.

When Eastern head coach Rick Samuels was recruiting senior center Jesse Mackinson from Pontiac High School about four years ago, the first thing he noticed was his size.

Samuels would later find out Mackinson is much more than just tall.

“He’s a tireless worker,” Samuels said. “That’s an encouragement to the team to work hard and when Jesse gets on his teammates, no one questions him.”

Mackinson’s tireless work may have been contagious in high school as he and two of his teammates averaged 15 points per game. Those three players helped propel Pontiac to their first regional championship at the class AA level.

Mackinson grew up on a farm and attributes his work ethic to his parents, and the chores they gave him to do every day.

“I have always believed that hard work builds character,” Mackinson said. “My parents weren’t afraid to give us chores and I didn’t mind doing them.”

Mackinson remembered the first time his hard work paid off for him on the court. He was playing at the boys and girls club in Pontiac and he got three offensive rebounds, back to back to back and then finally put the ball in the hoop.

“After the game people were telling me good game and nice effort,” Mackinson said. “Those compliments made me enjoy the game more and more.”

Mackinson said he is the first one in his family to play big time college basketball. He said his uncles and his dad were involved in athletics but never made it as far as he did.

“His uncles are very big men,” Samuels said. “I think both me and Jesse are a little disappointed he hasn’t been able to put those pounds on throughout his college career.”

Mackinson said his most memorable basketball moment was when the Panthers went to the NCAA tournament his freshman year.

“He was a consistent contributor off the bench for us that year,” Samuels said.

That was not always the case.

“Jesse was in a deep freshman fog in the early October practices,” Samuels said. “We were strongly considering red-shirting him because we just didn’t think he would get any playing time. But the week before our first game, a light bulb went on and he picked it up.”

Eastern lost in the opening round of the tournament to Arizona, who eventually lost the NCAA championship game to Duke, but Mackinson learned a lot from the experience.

One thing that surprised Samuels was Mackinson’s ability to acquire a jump shot. Samuels said Mackinson’s jumper is a big part of his game now and feels more comfortable 15-18 feet out than with his back to the basket.

Mackinson credits his seventh grade basketball coach for teaching him how to shoot. He even gets compliments from opposing coaches from time to time.

“Just knowing the opposing team is talking about me in the locker room gives me more of a competitive edge,” Mackinson said.

Eastern is 5-18 on the season but Mackinson knows it’s far from over.

“I’ve practiced with these guys since October and I know what they’re capable of,” Mackinson said. “I know where we could be if we played up to our capabilities all year. Why we haven’t gotten to that point yet causes me mass frustration.”

Mackinson said he looks forward to helping his team get into the OVC Tournament.

“It’s a question of how bad we want it,” Mackinson said. “I know once you get to Nashville anything can happen.”