Duquesne guard Aaron Jackson still has a small scar on his wrist, the result of being shot after a campus dance in the fall of 2006.

It's a constant reminder of how lucky he is to be alive.

"Everyday when I wake up, I say, 'Thank you, God, for blessing me and giving me another day to breathe,' " Jackson said. "It's still in the back of my mind all the time.

"It's something that happened, it was a traumatic experience, but it made me who I am today."

Jackson, a 6-foot-4 senior, was one of five Duquesne basketball players shot by two non-students after an argument following a Sept. 17, 2006 dance at the student union.

He got hit in the hand as he rushed to the aid of former teammate Stuard Baldonado. Jackson scooped up Baldonado, carried him to his car and took him to the hospital.

Jackson, Shawn James and Kojo Mensah were treated, and Baldonado eventually recovered from his gunshot wounds. Sam Ashaolu overcame life-threatening injuries, but he still has bone fragments in his head.

He still attends Duquesne and is Jackson's roommate, but Jackson is the only one of the five left on the team.

"Sam is not the same kid he was before the shooting, but he's doing OK," Jackson said. "We both know we were lucky. We know we could have been killed."

Jackson will be honored for his resiliency today as the Dukes (17-9, 8-5 Atlantic 10) face Rhode Island (21-8, 10-4) at the Palumbo Center on Senior Day. Guard Phillip Fayne, who was forced to skip his senior season after being diagnosed with Still's disease -- a form of arthritis rare among adults -- also will be recognized.

"It should be a special day for Aaron," Duquesne coach Ron Everhart said. "He's been special for this basketball program since he got here."

Jackson, the lone senior and only Danny Nee recruit remaining on the roster, had to endure a 3-24 record as a freshman and then the shooting incident six months after the end of that dreadful season. Jackson thought about transferring at various times, but chose to stay.

"I couldn't be a coward and leave Duquesne or leave my teammates after the bad season or the shooting," he said.

Jackson, who hit it off with Everhart from the start, is the hardest worker on the team. A four-year starter, he has developed into one of the best guards in the Atlantic 10.

He leads Duquesne in scoring (18 ppg) and assists (5.7) and is second in rebounding (5.6) and steals (1.6). He never has missed a game, playing in 112 in a row.

Jackson was named MVP of the 2008 Pittsburgh Basketball Pro-Am summer league. His competition included Pitt's Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields; Robert Morris' Tony Lee and Jeremy Chappell; and West Virginia's Joe Mazzulla and Alex Ruoff.

"You hate to look back on any tragedy such as the shootings and think how bad it was, but it was bad," said Everhart, who was hired to replace Nee in March 2006. "Aaron didn't handle it very well at the time, emotionally or physically.

"But after a two or three months, he developed a little bit of mental and physical toughness. And because of a lot of that stuff, he really grew up.

"He has really made himself into a very good player and he's become a great leader for us."

NOTES -- The Duquesne women (18-10, 8-5 A-10) will play the opening game of the doubleheader against Rhode Island (9-18, 2-10) at 1 p.m. ... This year marks the first time in school history the men and women will finish with winning records in the same season.