By R.L. Bynum
It was always assumed that Ian Jackson, as a five-star recruit, would have a big season and leave North Carolina after one year, but it didn’t work out quite as expected.
Jackson did move on, but instead of heading to the NBA, the Bronx native will play his sophomore season close to home at St. John’s and expects Coach Rick Pitino to “let me rock.”
After a season that included an impressive midseason stretch but ended with Jackson coming off the bench, he concluded that UNC wasn’t for him, and he wanted a new opportunity.
On an episode of his “Captain Jack Show” podcast, he explained why he left while calling Carolina “great, great people.”
“It just wasn’t for me,” Jackson said of playing at UNC, where he averaged 11.9 points in 36 games while shooting 45.6% from the floor and 39.5% from 3-point range but struggling defensively after coming to UNC as the No. 7 player in the Class of 2024. “It was some things that I couldn’t show, I couldn’t do on the floor that I feel like I could have done. But it’s a journey. Just a different opportunity.”
Jackson, who showed elite skills and the ability to beat just about any defender off the dribble, felt that transferring was best for him.
“For me, it was just about who’s going to let me go and go play. Let me be me,” Jackson said. “Let me go make plays, be Ian Jackson. That was big for me, especially this year, [it] is going to be a big year. I just wanted to be somewhere where I could be free and just play and win games. For me, St John’s is important.”
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Jackson never mentioned UNC coach Hubert Davis during the podcast, but he had praise for his Carolina experience.
“I’m gonna miss it there, bro,” Jackson said. “Carolina was great. The school itself was great. The kids, the fans — it was lit.”
When he was finishing his academic year at UNC after making his decision, he heard from fellow students as he walked on campus.
“It was different,” Jackson said. “Everybody on campus knew. So, just going around campus, going to class, everybody’s like, ‘Yo, don’t leave. Don’t leave.’ Asking, ‘Why you leaving?’ It was regular.”
Jackson is one of five players on last season’s team who transferred, along with Elliott Cadeau (who will play at Michigan), Jalen Washington (Vanderbilt), Cade Tyson (Minnesota) and Ven-Allen Lubin (N.C. State).
It looked like it was all coming together for Jackson and UNC when he scored 24 points in a win over UCLA on Dec. 21 at what will be his home court next season, Madison Square Garden. That was the start of six times in a seven-game stretch when he scored at least 20 points, with the Tar Heels going 6–1 during that stretch.
He started 11 consecutive games, but came off the bench for the rest of the season after going scoreless in 22 minutes of UNC’s 67–66 home win over Pittsburgh on Feb. 8. He only topped 20 points once the rest of the season (23 in an 88–82 win Feb. 15 at Syracuse) and combined for only 23 points in the last five games.
Jackson expects a different season playing for Pitino.
“Being home, and then Coach Pitino? Legendary,” Jackson said. “He understands the game. He understands what it takes for a player to get to the next level, which is still ultimately the goal. He understands what it takes to win. Coach P — he’ll teach me a lot. I’m gonna learn a lot, and he’s going to let me rock. We’re gonna build something.”
The Red Storm went 31–5 and won the Big East title before losing 75–66 to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
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
