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Does milk help you grow? Suns' Josh Jackson grew 2.5 inches during 2017 offseason, credits milk

Posted at 2:34 PM, Jan 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-11 16:34:43-05

Does milk really help you grow? Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson grew 2.5 inches during 2017 offseason and credits milk for the growth spurt! 

When the fourth overall draft pick this summer went in for his physical before the 2018 season, he was listed at 6' 8". Doctors recently measured him at 6' 10.5" and he says, if you can imagine it, he still feels like he is growing. 

What could possibly be the cause of a 20-year-old grown man sprouting up?

"I don't really think I gained a couple inches. It's probably just the hair. Every day I wake up and I just feel like my hair probably got a little longer and makes me look a little taller. I got my major growth spurt probably 7th grade going into 8th grade. I went from 5' 9" to 6' 2."

The big kid at heart favors any kind of chocolate milk but he's not picky if regular milk is the only option. "I was a big fan of milk growing up. My mom didn't like to cook a lot when I was a kid so I pretty much survived off milk and cereal."

On Thursday, Jackson surprised middle school students with a pep assembly at Tempe Academy of International Studies. The forward will be announced as the star player on this season's Arizona Milk Producers growth poster. Each student will receive one of the posters to take home.

When growing up, professional athletes visited stadiums and saw star players they looked up to. Now Josh is being presented with the exact opportunity to be a role model for so many other kids.

"It means a lot. I feel like I owe a lot of kids out there. I owe my family members. I owe it to basketball itself. Just being able to think about, like you said, me being that kid once looking up to somebody else. I just feel like I have to come back and give a little bit of wisdom and knowledge to kids and give them the courage to believe in themselves."

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