By R.L. Bynum
DAYTON, Ohio — Ian Jackson’s Muslim faith means a lot to him, which has meant some challenges that would be daunting for most players in March.
Fasting during Ramadan, first during the ACC tournament and now the NCAA tournament, is routine for the freshman guard.
“It’s not a big deal to me. Fasting for me is what I have to do,” Jackson said Monday before the Tar Heels’ NCAA tournament opener Tuesday night against San Diego State. “I’ll be fine. My faith comes first, so I’m fasting. God allows me to have the strength to go out there and play.”
Much like N.C. State’s Mohamed Diarra during the Wolfpack’s run to the Final Four last season, Jackson is observing Ramadan during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which this year began on Feb. 28 and runs until March 29. That means Tuesday’s game will be his seventh while fasting.
“We support Ian, and we’re thankful for not just Ian, for all of our players and their faith,” Coach Hubert Davis said, “and that’s something that we support in all of our players and all of our staff.”
Doug Halverson, the team’s athletic trainer, said he consulted the Wolfpack staff to ensure that they had considered everything.
“We kind of had a plan in place, but we vetted our plan with a couple pf different people across the country who deal with athletes going through observing Ramadan to make sure we had a good plan for Ian,” Halverson said.
It’s a time for fasting, prayer, reflection and community. The spiritual rewards of fasting are believed to multiply during Ramadan.
“It’s huge, especially this month for us is huge,” he said. “Something to get closer to our God.”
Jackson said his faith is a big part of his life that he chose three years ago even though his parents aren’t Muslim.
Jackson can’t drink or eat from dawn to sunset during Ramadan, making Tuesday’s 9:05 p.m. start at the University of Dayton Arena ideal. The sun will set in Dayton at 7:47, giving him more than an hour to eat and get plenty of fluids.
“I wake up early before the first prayer, and get a meal in … a big meal,” Jackson said. “When a prayer comes in, I can’t eat anymore at that point, so I just fast until the Maghrib prayer comes in [at sunset), and then I eat again.”
After doing it during his last two high school seasons, Jackson is used to the routine, which he followed for about seven games each year.
“Getting accustomed to it was a little bit tough,” Jackson said of doing it for the first time two seasons ago. “I went through it. God allowed me to go through it.
“I’ve got it down to a T,” said Jackson, who follows the schedule that Halverson lays out. “It’s a routine — when to eat and how much I should be eating.”
For all team meals during Ramadan, Jackson joins his teammates at the table and chats with them while he eats. He says it’s not that hard to sit and watch them eat.
Davis laughed when asked if it was hard for Jackson.
“I think it’s quite natural that Ian comes and is talking the whole meal,” Davis said.
Halverson says that on Tuesday, Jackson will eat a selection of what his teammates ate once the sun goes down.
“Maybe he likes chicken and rice from the team meal,” said Halverson, who supplements Jackson’s preferences with fruit, Gatorade or water. “We work a lot off of Ian’s preferences, foods he’s going to be wanting to eat in that moment. [Director of Strength and Conditioning] Jonas [Sahratian] and I are working to make sure he’s getting the right amount of energy so that it sustains him through the game.”
Should the Tar Heels get past San Diego State, Friday will be more difficult since the first-round game would start at 3:05 p.m. CT, and the sun will not set that day in Milwaukee until 7:06 p.m. CT. He’ll likely get a meal before sunrise at 6:54 a.m. CT.
The afternoon games, such as Wednesday and Thursday at the ACC tournament last week, aren’t that different for Jackson from a regular practice day when the team practices around 3 or 3:30.
“We’ve had those kind of similar time frames where basically he has to eat well enough in the morning to sustain him through those activities,” Halverson said. “So, trying to pick slower burning carbs, longer-lasting carbs, in addition to proteins that are going to help sustain that energy as best he can through that activity.”
While the team is in Chapel Hill, Brandwein Bagels — which Halverson says has been “awesome” — provides Jackson with a meal 45 minutes before Jackson starts his first prayers and stops eating.
On the road, Halverson says hotels have done a good job of helping Jackson at all hours.
“We’re able to set those things up in advance,” Halverson said. “They work with us. Usually, they’ll deliver the meal either to the banquet space or to his hotel room, whichever they prefer. They’ve been very flexible.”
Thanks to Halverson, Jackson will be ready to go Tuesday night.
NOTES — The Aztecs tied Boise State for fourth in the regular season and lost to the Broncos 62–52 in the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas. … Coach Davis played in both previous Carolina meetings with San Diego State, a 103–92 victory in San Diego on Dec. 29, 1988, and a 99–83 win in the Smith Center on Nov. 24, 1990. Davis scored 16 points in the 1990 win, and Assistant Coach Jeff Lebo had six in the 1988 victory. … Carolina’s open practice was delayed for about 90 minutes because the team’s charter plane was late to arrive at RDU.
UNC season statistics
San Diego State season statistics
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | S.D. State |
| Overall ranking | 33 | 46 |
| Offensive efficiency | 118.9 (22) | 109.8 (111) |
| Defensive efficiency | 99.3 (53) | 93.5 (13) |
| Effective FG% | 54.2 (52) | 50.7 (182) |
| Turnover % | 15.1 (41) | 16.8 (159) |
| Offensive rebound % | 29.2 (204) | 29.3 (201) |
| FTA/FGA | 34.8 (125) | 32.0 (205) |
| Strength of schedule | 41 | 62 |
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at No. 16 Memphis | Exhibition |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 127–63 | vs. Johnson C. Smith | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 90–76 | vs. Elon | 1–0 |
| 8 | Friday | L, 92–89 | at Kansas | 1–1 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 107–55 | vs. American | 2–1 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 85–69 | at Hawai’i | 3–1 |
| Maui Invitational | ||||
| 25 | Monday | W, 92–90 | Dayton | 4–1 |
| 26 | Tuesday | L, 85–72 | No. 3 Auburn | 4–2 |
| 27 | Wednesday | L, 94–91, OT | No. 7 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 5 Alabama | 4–4 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Saturday | W, 68–65 | vs. Georgia Tech | 5–4, 1–0 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 93–67 | vs. LaSalle | 6–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 90–84 | No. 4 Florida | 6–5 |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 76–74 | UCLA | 7–5 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 97–81 | vs. Campbell | 8–5 |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 83–70 | at No. 13 Louisville | 8–6, 1–1 |
| 4 | Saturday | W, 74–73 | at Notre Dame | 9–6, 2–1 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 82–67 | vs. SMU | 10–6, 3–1 |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 63–61 | at N.C. State | 11–6, 4–1 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 79–53 | vs. California | 12–6, 5–1 |
| 18 | Saturday | L, 72–71 | vs. Stanford | 12–7, 5–2 |
| 21 | Tuesday | L, 67–66 | at Wake Forest | 12–8, 5–3 |
| 25 | Saturday | W, 102–96, OT | vs. Boston College | 13–8, 6–3 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 73–65 | at Pittsburgh | 13–9, 6–4 |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | L, 87–70 | at No. 1 Duke | 13–10, 6–5 |
| 8 | Saturday | W, 67–66 | vs. Pittsburgh | 14–10, 7–5 |
| 10 | Monday | L, 85–65 | at No. 10 Clemson | 14–11, 7–6 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 88–82 | at Syracuse | 15–11, 8–6 |
| 19 | Wednesday | W, 97–73 | vs. N.C. State | 16–11, 9–6 |
| 22 | Saturday | W, 81–66 | vs. Virginia | 17–11, 10–6 |
| 24 | Monday | W, 96–85 | at Florida State | 18–11, 11–6 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | W, 92–73 | vs. Miami | 19–11, 12–6 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 91–59 | at Virginia Tech | 20–11, 13–6 |
| 8 | Saturday | L, 82–69 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 20–12, 13–7 |
| ACC tournament Spectrum Center, Charlotte | ||||
| 12 | Wednesday | W, 76–56 | 2nd-round: vs. Notre Dame | 21–12 |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 68–59 | Quarterfinal: vs. Wake Forest | 22–12 |
| 14 | Friday | L, 72–71 | Semifinal: vs. No. 1 Duke | 22–13 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 18 | Tuesday | 9:10 p.m. | First Four in Dayton, Ohio: vs. San Diego State | truTV |
| 21 | Friday | 4:05 p.m. | First round in Milwaukee (with Tuesday win): vs. Ole Miss | TNT |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 