I had just finished interviewing Marc Jackson in the Golden State Warriors' locker room and reached out to shake his hand and say thanks for the time.

	Jackson finally got his NBA chance due to injury, and he's making the most of it.

"No, thank you for interviewing me," Jackson said. "You have a great day now, sir."

He walked off.

I fell over.

What the hell?

When I pulled my stunned face off the carpet, I looked around to see who was playing the joke on me.

Thank you for interviewing me?

The last time I heard that, I was talking to a high school gymnast who had just gotten a 2.8 on the uneven bars and looked more suited to be a bobblehead doll than an athlete.

"You have a great day now, sir."

You can buy a $347,000 house, and you're more likely to hear the real estate agent tell you to pound sand than tell you to have a great day now, sir.

	JACKSON BY 2000-01 MONTH
	Month	PPG	RPG
	Nov.	2.8	1.2
	Dec.	15.3	7.9
	Jan.	17.2	9.8

So I walked over to a Warriors media relations staffer.

"What was that all about?" I ask.

"That's the way he is," I was told. "He's a quirky guy."

Not sure what that says about the state of the NBA, that a player who treats others with dignity and respect is considered "quirky," but it sure is a nice change of pace from the usual fare of an NBA locker room.

A cynic would say it's only a matter of time before Jackson becomes more acutely attuned to how NBA players are supposed to act.

But this guy Jackson, who is almost certain to garner Rookie of the Year honors in a year that clearly is a disappointment among first-year players, he could be different.

That's what happens when you get perspective by playing three years in Turkey and Spain, a place he chose to play because his family, who grew up in the projects of Philadelphia, needed the money.

"I appreciate maybe the littlest things that you may not appreciate here," Jackson said. "When you go to Europe, it's different. You can walk down the street in Turkey and 5-, 6-, 7-year-old kids are just walking the streets, homeless, with mouth decay, their skin is really dirty, gangrene. We don't really appreciate things like they should be appreciated."

And now that he's in the NBA, he's killing 'em with kindness.

"Thank you, Mr. Ewing, for allowing me to blow by you and dunk on your dome."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wallace, I didn't mean to bust that J right in your mug."

"I apologize, Mssrs. Duncan, for knocking you down. But you were, after all, trying to drive down the lane."

So you've never heard of Marc Jackson.

Don't worry. You will. The guy's for real.

No, not in the way that Michael Olowokandi is for real, a lot of skills and potential that need to be brought out over the course of 10 seasons. Jackson already has skills. His potential is that he becomes a regular 20-point, 10-rebound-a-night guy, because he already is averaging 13 points and seven rebounds, much, more more as a starter (17.6 ppg, 9.5 rpg in 25 starts). He was named Rookie of the Month for each of the last two months.

You know the name Wally Pipp? Erick Dampier has become basketball's version of that cat.

Dampier signed a seven-year, $49 million deal with the Warriors, then has sat out almost every game thereafter with something like a torn toenail. His official injury is "hurt feelings" after his teammates ripped him earlier this season for failing to provide $49 million worth of talent. Truth be told, he has not provided $49 worth.

So there's Jackson, sitting on the end of the bench, and coach Dave Cowens calls on him to fill in for Damp.

And after he does, the Warriors are probably thinking they should have called on him WAY sooner than that. He's the one bright spot in a season that has gone awry for the Warriors.

They drafted him in the second round, 38th overall, in 1997, out of Temple. Being a second-round pick, he wasn't guaranteed any money, so he went to Europe, toiled around, got his game in NBA shape, got his 300-pound body in better shape, then came back this season and asked for a chance.

The Warriors obviously didn't believe in him. Because he worked out with Miami and Sacramento. Didn't stick. Came back to Golden State. Now he's sticking.

The Warriors like to tell this story about Jackson.

Early in the year, Golden State is playing in New York. Jackson buys 29 tickets for family, friends, teachers from Temple, everybody he knows. Pays $2,100 for the seats at Madison Square Garden. And Cowens does not play him.

Ouch.

Six weeks later, after Dampier goes down, the Warriors are in New Jersey to take on the Nets. Same deal. Twenty-nine tickets, $2,100.

		The Warriors obviously didn't believe in him. Because he worked out with Miami and Sacramento. Didn't stick. Came back to Golden State. Now he's sticking.

Except not the same deal. Jackson goes in. In front of all those people that he cares about and care about him, he scores 29 points, and he is on his way. His game is not flashy, nor is it pretty. But he's the kind of guy that basketball fans can appreciate, can love.

He works hard, he runs the floor, he bangs bodies, he understands nuances, and he has a sweet jump shot that is going to take him very, very far. Look where it's gotten Horace Grant. Only Jackson is more mobile than Grant ever was.

"He won't beat everybody in a sprint or touch the top of the backboard," Warriors general manager Garry St. Jean said. "But he's one of the first guys to practice every day, asking good questions. He is the classic case of a kid working hard and not knowing when his opportunity might come."

It's here -- and this summer, more opportunity will come. Other teams certainly could use a guy his size, with his shooting touch and his outlook, particularly in the Western Conference.

Fortunately for Golden State, the league recently ruled that Jackson is their restricted free agent, meaning they can match offers made by other teams. It puts them in something of a quandary, though. What do you do with Dampier?

Cowens already has said Jackson is their starting center, even when Dampier gets back. How do you pay Dampier and not pay Jackson?

That's for the Warriors to figure out. They gave Dampier the money, after all.

For his part, Jackson is making it as easy as possible. Says he loves playing for Cowens. Will remain loyal to the Warriors. Wants to be back, no matter which teams offer him contracts.

He's staying true to his nature.

We hope he does for a very long time.

Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.