Everybody Knows Jack

GEORGIA TECH point guard Jarrett Jack turns heads with his scoring and dishing, but it's his long list of phone numbers that has the basketball world talking. "I meet people, we talk, and guys say, 'Man, let me get your number,'" says the junior who leads the Yellow Jackets with 15.9 points and 4.6 assists per game. "Then we keep in touch." Jack's Sidekick II contains more than 400 entries, including many pro or top college players such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony and North Carolina's Sean May and Raymond Felton. "Every time we talked about a player while we were recruiting [ Jack], he said he knew him or had just talked to him," says Georgia Tech assistant Cliff Warren. "Anytime [one of our guys] wants to know about a player, they say, 'Let's ask Jarrett.'" Adds Jack, "It's not like I'm an agent where the cellphone is going off every two minutes. But it goes off enough, I'll tell you that." Here's a look inside Jack's speed-dial lineup.

LEBRON JAMES, Cavaliers forward
Says Jack: "I met him at a high school all-star game in D.C. in 2003. Now we talk whenever he's free. We've spoken about the NBA hype. He was telling me to stay focused on things I need to be focused on, like school."

CARMELO ANTHONY, Nuggets forward
Says Jack: "We both grew up in Maryland, and we played in tournaments together. I talk to him about life, normal stuff, whenever it's convenient."

CHRIS BOSH, Raptors forward
Says Jack: "We've been close since we came in [to Georgia Tech] in 2002. [He's] my best friend, and we talk three times a week. When he went [to Toronto in '03], he was their only rookie. When [ NBA life] was tough for him, he'd call me."

CHRIS PAUL, Wake Forest guard
Says Jack: "When we played them last year we talked and exchanged numbers. Now we talk three or four times a month, about life. We're both under a lot of pressure, always being asked if we're going to leave school early for the pros."

LOUISE JACK, Mother
Says Jack: "She is the first one on my speed dial. We talk every day. She's at home in Maryland but she comes to all my games, and she takes care of things like making my doctor and dentist appointments."