By R.L. Bynum

Five-star Class of 2024 UNC commit Ian Jackson scored nearly a point a minute, and the United States looked impressive in their opener of the FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup.

The 6–5 guard scored 17 points in just over 16 minutes as the Americans rolled to a 136–69 victory over Madagascar at Fönix Arena in Debrecen, Hungary, putting up a record point total by an American U19 team.

Jackson, who collected three rebounds, three assists and two steals, was 7 of 11 from the floor, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range.

Tre Johnson, No. 1 in ESPN’s Class of 2024 rankings and uncommitted, led the United States with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Mark Armstrong, a rising sophomore at Villanova, added 19 points and five steals.

The USA shot 58.6% from the floor and outrebounded Madagascar 56–22 in the first meeting between the countries.

It was the American’s 16th consecutive U19 Men’s World Cup victory dating back to 2017. The U.S. has won the competition eight times, including three of the last four (2015, 2019 and 2021). The Americans are 106–14 all-time in U19 men’s competition.

All 12 U.S. players scored in the first half as the team led 60–38 at halftime.

Jackson, who is a rising senior at Cardinal Hayes in The Bronx and ranked by ESPN No. 5 in the Class of 2024, is part of UNC’s class that includes four-star and No. 34-ranked 6–5 wing Drake Powell and four-star and No. 45-ranked James Brown.

The Americans play two more pool-play games in Group B, facing Slovenia at 2 p.m. ET Sunday and Lebanon at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The round of 16 is Wednesday, the quarterfinals Friday, the semifinals Saturday, July 1 and the championship is Sunday, July 2.

Slovenia won its opener Saturday over Lebanon 74–58, led by 20 points from UCLA commitment Jan Vide.

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Key events, dates

Saturday, April 27, was the deadline for players to submit their names to the NBA draft
Wednesday — Transfer portal closes
May 11–12 — NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago
May 12–19 — NBA Combine in Chicago
May 17–19 — Evaluation for high school players at NCAA-certified events (EYBL in Indianapolis is one of those)
May 29 at 11:59 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 16 at 5 p.m. — Deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft

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UNC schedule so far

Nov. 8 — at Kansas (final AP rank No. 20; final NET ranking No. 19)
Nov. 22 — at Hawaii (final NET ranking No. 172)
Nov. 25–27 — Maui Invitational — Auburn (final AP rank No. 18; final NET ranking No. 5), Colorado (unranked; No. 25), Connecticut (No. 1; No. 2), Dayton (No. 24; No. 23), Iowa State (No. 8; No. 6), Memphis (unranked; No. 75), Michigan State (unranked; No. 24)
Dec. 14 — vs. La Salle (final NET ranking No. 195)
Likely in late November — Opponent TBA in ACC/SEC Challenge
December — vs. UCLA (final NET ranking No. 107) in CBS Sports Classic (date, location TBA)
December — vs. Florida (final NET ranking No. 29) in Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center (date TBA)
— Games home and away against Duke, N.C. State and Pittsburgh
— Home games vs. Boston College, California, Georgia Tech, Miami, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
— Road games vs. Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Note: 2024 NCAA tournament teams are in bold.

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Potential 2024-25 UNC roster

No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
—	Freshman	James Brown (4 star)	5	6–8	225
—	Freshman	Ian Jackson (5 star)	2	6–4	180
—	Freshman	Drake Powell (5 star)	2	6–5	185
2	Soph.	Elliot Cadeau	PG	6–1	180
1	Soph.	Zayden High	4	6–9	225
—	Junior	Cade Tyson	3	6–7	203
13	Junior	Jalen Washington	5	6–10	230
0	Junior	Seth Trimble	2	6–3	195
5	Graduate	RJ Davis	PG	6–0	180
		Eligible for fifth season
24	Graduate	Jae’Lyn Withers	4	6–9	215
		Walk-ons eligible for 5th season
14	Graduate	Creighton Lebo	PG	6–1	180
22	Graduate	Rob Landry	2	6–4	190

Photo courtesy of FIBA