You can expect Luke Jackson to be in good spirits when he shows up at South Medford High School this morning to serve as one of the instructors for the Focus Basketball Camp.

Directing the three-day camp for fourth-graders through high-school seniors is Josh Jamieson, a former assistant coach at South Medford, Oregon and the University of Portland.

Jackson missed all but 10 games of his rookie year with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season because of a bulging disc in his back. The former University of Oregon standout underwent surgery last November and considers himself to be 100 percent healthy.

Jackson, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who has spent much of the past eight months lifting weights and going through conditioning drills, has helped the Cavaliers summer league team to a 5-0 record. He’s averaged a team-leading 33.8 minutes, 11.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists.

"It feels really good to be pain-free and healthy again," says Jackson, the 10th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. "The surgery was something I had to get done. I wanted to fix my back before it became a bigger problem."

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Jackson injured himself during a summer league practice last year.

"I was in a real weird position and got bumped pretty hard," he says. "It was a freak deal."

Jackson believes he can be a significant contributor to the Cavaliers next season, where he’s expected to log most of his minutes at the shooting guard spot. Superstar Lebron James occupies the small forward position that Jackson played in college.

"I think I can be the deadly shooter they’re looking for," he says. "I’m excited to go out there and prove myself."

Jackson built a friendship with Jamieson during their days at Oregon. Jamieson was a graduate assistant coach with the Ducks from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2003 before taking a job at Portland.

"Josh and I used to work out together at the UO," says Jackson, who lives in his hometown of Creswell during the offseason. "He knows a lot of basketball and I’m happy to come down and work at his camp."

The three-day camp, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon for incoming fourth through seventh-graders and from 12:30-3:30 p.m. for eighth-graders through seniors, will stress advanced fundamentals, Jamieson says.

"We’ll be doing some extra work on areas we feel are important and yet get overlooked," he says. "Screening, moving without the ball — things that kids don’t typically work on these days.

"But we’ll also spend time on shooting, ball-handling and passing and we’ll break into 2-on-2 and 3-on-3 groups. It’ll be a fun camp."

Jay Anderson, who played with Jackson at Oregon and is now performing in Europe, will also assist at the camp, Jamieson says.

Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail dhunt@mailtribune.com.