By R.L. Bynum
Incoming UNC freshman small forward Ian Jackson scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half Tuesday night to help the East team beat the West 88–86 in the McDonald’s All-American Game at Toyota Center in Houston.
Cooper Flagg, the 6–9 forward who is the No. 1-ranked player in the Class of 2024 and headed to Duke, was only 3 of 9 from the floor and scored eight points.
Jackson, a 6–4 five-star recruit ranked 16th in the class out of Bronx, N.Y., started, played 25 minutes and was 9 of 21 from the floor and 1 of 5 from 3-point range with two assists and a steal. Last season, Jackson, who was the East’s point guard for much of the game, averaged 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the Overtime Elite League.
Fellow future Tar Heel Drake Powell, a 6–5 shooting guard ranked No. 13 in the class out of Northwood High School in Pittsboro, played 17 scoreless minutes off the bench but showed that he’s a dogged defender. He missed all three shots, including a 3-point attempt, but he pulled down four rebounds, swiped two steals, and had an assist.
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Powell’s +/- of +11 was second only on the East team to the +13 of Kentucky recruit Boogie Fland, who scored 17 points.
Powell averaged 20.2 points and eight rebounds last season for Northwood.
Powell and Jackson were on the floor in the final minutes as the East pulled out the viotry.
Jackson, Powell and 6–8 four-star forward James Brown make up what 247Sports ranks as the No. 8 freshman class.
Maryland recruit Derik Queen collected 23 points and eight rebounds for the East and was the co-MVP along with the West’s Dylan Harper, a Rutgers recruit who scored 22 points.
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC two under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 | |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Key offseason dates
Wednesday (11:59 p.m.) — NCAA early-entry withdrawal deadline
June 13 — Deadline for international players to withdraw from NBA draft and maintain college eligibility
June 23–24 — NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn
Nonconference schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 or 2 — vs. SEC team in ACC/SEC Challenge (announced last year on June 12)
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
November or December — vs. Butler
Photo courtesy of USA Baskeball
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