By R.L. Bynum
Ian Jackson will go home to play his sophomore season at St. John’s, according to multiple reports.
Voted to the ACC All-Freshman team after averaging 12.3 points at Carolina as a freshman, mock NBA drafts had Jackson going anywhere from 16th overall or 25th overall in the first round to 45th in the second round.
Jackson grew up in the New York City area, and the Red Storm lost RJ Luis, the starting guard and the Big East Player of the Year, to the transfer portal. Jackson also visited UCLA.
Coming out of high school, Jackson picked UNC over Kentucky, Oregon, LSU and Arkansas.
Jackson is one of five Carolina players who entered the transfer portal, along with guard Elliot Cadeau (who committed to Michigan), center Jalen Washington (who committed to Vanderbilt), Cade Tyson and Ven-Allen Lubin, who says he intends to return to UNC.
A seven-game stretch from Dec. 21 to Jan. 15 during which Jackson scored at least 20 points six times highlighted Jackson’s only season at North Carolina. His best game was when he scored 27 points in the Tar Heels’ 74–73 victory on Jan. 4 at Notre Dame. He became the first UNC freshman to score at least 23 points in four consecutive games (UCLA, Campbell, Louisville and Notre Dame).
Jackson led all freshmen in the country in fast-break points per 40 minutes (5.2) and transition field goals (53), according to CBB Analytics.
Jackson scored multiple 3-pointers 15 times, at least three 3-pointers nine times, and five 3-pointers three times, all on the road: in the 63–61 win over N.C. State on Jan. 11, the 88–82 win Feb. 15 against Syracuse and the 91–59 win March 4 at Virginia Tech.
All 12 of Jackson’s starts came consecutively from the Dec. 29 97–81 win over Campbell, when he scored 26 points, to the 67–66 home win Feb. 8 against Pittsburgh, which was one of his two scoreless games. After he scored 19 points at Virginia Tech, Jackson combined for only 25 points in the final six games, going 5 of 19 from 3-point range.
While his ability to score was impressive in many games, his playmaking ability was inconsistent at best, and he wasn’t much of a rebounding contributor.
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 one 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 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| 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 | |
| 1 | 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 |
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 — vs. Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
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
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
