Reggie Jackson walked through the doors at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North expecting to surprise patients with his visit.

However, as Jackson entered the facility, the Denver Nuggets guard flashed his patented smile and extended his arms to greet a slew of people from his past.

A handful of Jackson’s high school teachers and coaches at Palmer connected with the former Terrors basketball star during his visit at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North on Thursday during his trip to Colorado Springs.

“I thought I was making out old faces and putting them on people’s bodies,” Jackson said. “Seeing former teachers and former coaches and teammates, that made my day. I was already going to have a good day coming in here to see everybody at the hospital, but that raised my energy and made the trip even more worth it.”

Jimmy Grantz, Jackson’s former coach at Palmer, last visited Jackson during the Denver Nuggets’ ring night ceremony last October at Ball Arena.

During the ceremony, while Grantz, Grantz’s son and several of Jackson’s high school teammates soaked in the event, Jackson ventured toward the bunch and said, “Hey man, here’s our ring.”

Emphasis on “our.”

“That was special,” Grantz said. “No matter where we go … our experience at Palmer will always be something that ties us together in an awesome way. I’m incredibly proud and super lucky to be part of the Reggie Jackson story. It’s a dream that he can come back here and play in Denver and be on a team that is awesome and still be connected to Colorado Springs.”

Brandon Deese, who was a freshman on varsity in 2008 when Jackson helped the Terrors reach the Final Four, said his former teammate “is great for the community.”

Deese’s presence at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North was happenstance.

Deese arrived the night prior as he awaited the birth of his daughter. He said he’ll cherish the memorable 24-hour experience.

“I might have to buy a lotto ticket,” Deese said. “Having Reggie here is big not just for me getting to see him in such a crazy way, but it’s also so important for Colorado Springs. It’s awesome for us and what he was able to do for us at Palmer and how he continues to help the city.”

After Jackson met with his former coaches and teachers, he still exuded plenty of vigor as the Nuggets guard ventured from floor to floor greeting staff and patients.

For more than an hour, Jackson signed memorabilia, posed for selfies and left video messages for friends of workers at UCHealth Memorial Hospital North.

Even if Jackson couldn’t enter a room, he managed to make patients smile or laugh by complimenting their haircuts or attire from afar and even offered to bring one out to a Nuggets game upon their recovery.

Jackson also engaged in friendly banter with the staff.

Heather Maccarelli, a registered nurse at the hospital, shook hands with Jackson, and, while doing so, joked with him and said, “I thought you’d be taller.”

The 6-foot-2 guard’s response?

“I’m tall in regular life, but I’m short on the court,” he said.

As Jackson prepared to leave for visits to other floors, Maccarelli delivered another jest.

“I promise not to tell people you’re short,” Maccarelli said.

Jackson replied:

“Eh, it’s OK,” he said. “More people will want to play (basketball) if they know the truth.”

Hospital staff and Jackson laughed at the back-and-forth.

Lindsay Keller, Jackson’s 10th grade English teacher, said he still knows how to entertain company.

“He was a jokester and mischievous but always in a sweet way,” Keller said. “You see his social media and he’s still that person now and it’s how I remember him from his teenage years. … As a teacher, we’re always happy to see our students’ dreams come true. For Reggie, he knew that talent only takes you so far, but at a certain point, you have to show up and do the work. Reggie always exhibited that.”

Jackson thanked Keller for her ability to help him hone his focus in the classroom and show him his potential as a student.

He also thanked Keller for her tolerance.

“I’m glad being a class clown didn’t stop me from being able to be here today,” Jackson said. “With days like this, I get to see how my personality is infectious. I’m going to keep it here and get all of the giddiness out so I don’t bring it to (Nuggets coach Michael) Malone and get in trouble.”

Jackson added: “Being a good person is important. I’ve been taught that if you’ve been blessed then you should be a blessing back. And that’s what (Thursday) was about.”

The Nuggets will play at home at 7 p.m. Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves and hope to extend their lead as the Western Conference’ top seed.

Including their tilt with the Timberwolves, Denver has 9 games left before the postseason and its road to back-to-back NBA titles.

Sorry, Nuggets fans, Jackson couldn’t offer any guarantees of a repeat.

“I guarantee that we’re going to give it our best shot,” Jackson said. “All we can do is pray for good health. We’ve been working hard all year and have a great group of guys. There’s not another group of guys I’d want to go into battle with and I look forward to this playoff push.”