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.
Potential UNC roster
(Next season’s classes listed)
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman | Caleb Wilson (5 star) | 4 | 6–9 | 205 | |
| Freshman | Isaiah Denis (4 star) | CG | 6–5 | 175 | |
| Freshman | Derek Dixon (4 star) | CG | 6-3 | 190 | |
| Freshman | Luca Bogavac | W | 6-5 | 201 | |
| Sophomore | Jonathan Powell | G | 6-6 | 191 | |
| 2 | Sophomore | James Brown | 5 | 6–8 | 225 |
| 1 | Sophomore | Zayden High | 4 | 6–9 | 225 |
| Junior | Luca Bogavac | W | 6-5 | 201 | |
| Junior | Jaydon Young | 2 | 6–4 | 205 | |
| RS junior | Henri Veesaar | 5 | 7–0 | 235 | |
| Junior | Kyan Evans | 1 | 6–2 | 175 | |
| Junior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–11 | 215 | |
| 7 | Senior | Seth Trimble | 2 | 6–3 | 195 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 15 | Sophomore | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 14 | Junior | Russell Hawkins | 2 | 6–1 | 175 |
| 6 | RS Senior | Elijah Davis | 2 | 6–4 | 197 |
UNC players entering portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Cadeau | Junior | PG | 6–1 | 180 | Michigan |
| Jalen Washington | Senior | C | 6–10 | 235 | Vanderbilt |
| Ian Jackson | Sophomore | G | 6–4 | 190 | St. John’s |
| Cade Tyson | Senior | F | 6–7 | 200 | Minnesota |
| Ven-Allen Lubin | Senior | C | 6–8 | 230 | N.C. State |
UNC schedule
Late October, date TBA — Exhibition vs. BYU at Delta Center in Salt Lake City
Nov. 3 — vs. Central Arkansas (finished 9–24, 349th in KenPom; first meeting)
Nov. 11 — vs. Radford (20–13, 151st; UNC leads series 3–0)
Nov. 14 — vs. Kansas (21–13; 24th; lost to Arkansas in first round of NCAA tournament; series tied at 6)
Nov. 17 or 18 — vs. Navy (15–19, 276th; Navy leads 14–6)
Nov. 25 — vs. St. Bonaventure (21–11; 97th; lost to Kent State in first round of the NIT; UNC leads 1–0) in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Nov. 27 — vs. Michigan State (30–7; 7th; lost to Auburn in Elite Eight; UNC leads 13–4) in Fort Myers Tip-Off
Likely December (TBA) — vs. Georgetown (18–16; Georgetown leads 5–4)
Likely Dec. 2 or 3 — ACC/SEC Challenge game (opponent TBA; likely a road game)
Dec. 13 — USC Upstate (6–26, 340th; first meeting)
Dec. 20 — CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta against Ohio State (17–15; 37th; UNC leads 13–3)
Dec. 22 — vs. East Carolina (19–14; 176th; UNC leads 4–0)
Date TBA — vs. N.C. Central (10–19; 319th; UNC leads 3–0)
Two other nonconference games
Likely Feb. 1 or Feb. 8 — vs. Duke (35–4; 1st; UNC leads 145–120)
Likely March 7 — at Duke
ACC games
Home and home vs. Duke and Syracuse
Other home games against Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Other road games against California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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