Who is he?
Ian Jackson, born on February 4, 2005. The Bronx, New York native stands at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds. Jackson enters Chapel Hill as a five-star recruit. He lists eighth nationally, fourth at the shooting guard position and second in New York. Jackson is coming off his senior year where he starred on Overtime Elite’s Jelly Fam squad. He finished the season averaging 31 minutes, 23.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He also tacked on 1.9 steals too. Jackson’s C-RAM or in other words, “Context Metric,” stood at 8.9 for the season.
Per Cerebro Sports, his performance is underneath the AllStar category. The C-RAM is measured based on the performance in comparsion to the average at hand. Besides the normal points, rebounds and assists stats — Jackson shot 49 percent from the field and converted 2.1 threes per game.
At this year’s 2024 McDonald’s All American game, Jackson scored 21 points on 43 percent field goal shooting. His scoring output was the second highest on the East team right behind Derik Queen’s 23 points (Queen will be playing for Maryland this fall) and third highest overall for the entire game. Rutgers’ Dylan Harper produced 22 points of his own for the West team.
Scouting Report
Jackson is a three-level scorer. He possess the ability to shoot, create in the mid-range area and get downhill to the cup for a layup. An athletic guard who has great body control while in the air — not afraid to finish through contact. Away from the rim, Jackson has a deep bag of tricks to sort through against his defender. Despite his scoring nature, he has an eye for his teammates — making the right pass while driving to the cup or aroudn the perimeter.
His decision-making coming off ball-screens is quick and decisive. Jackson knows when to dump off to his teammate in the dunker-spot or take it all the way himself. In transition, it’s off to the races. A speedy guard who does not slow down for anyone — going end-to-end in a hurry.
Defensively, Jackson has the ability to stay in front of his man — forcing steals (his stats provide evidence from the previous section). However, as he progresses to the next level in college this area of his game is something that he needs to work. Especially against bigger and stronger players.
One key aspect Jackson needs to hone in on is his ability to play off-ball. At UNC, he will be playing with arguably the best backcourt in college basketball with sophomore Elliot Cadeau who’s primed for breakout year, AP All American RJ Davis and rising junior Seth Trimble who’s a pest on the defensive end. The ball will not be in his hands as much like in high school. It will be important for him to be comfortable along the perimeter without it.
Freshman Year Prediction
North Carolina begins the year as a top ten team in the nation. Its backcourt containing Cadeau, Davis and Trimble will need as much help as they could get. Jackson will be a great piece off the bench (or perhaps starting, that remains to be seen) for coach Hubert Davis. A scoring guard to relieve the duties of Davis while he’s off the court or vice versa while Cadeau is taking a breather.
Cadeau at the point guard spot and Davis as the primary scoring guard — it will be important for Jackson to be effective in other ways. His ability to cut to the rim, create space through UNC’s offensive scheme and make the right pass will be crucial for his playing time.
However, the moment he becomes accustomed to the college game — do not be surprised to see his minutes increase. Jackson’s skillset is elite, no question about that, but this is not high school anymore. It’s only a matter of time and whether or not it happens.
NBA Draft
I predict Jackson will average eight points, two rebounds and two assists as a freshman. But I hope he proves me wrong and exceeds those numbers. Although it’s important to remember the other great players his surrounded by on a game-to-game basis. Not to mention, the frontcourt consists of shooting big man Jalen Washington, interior presence Ven-Allen Lubin and a athletic high-flyer in Jae’Lyn Withers.
The former five-star recruit is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. A big freshman year will increase his chances to stay in that range — boosting his stock. Jackson will be a vital piece to this UNC team — a roster that lost the all-time leading rebounder in school history Armando Bacot, a sharpshooter in Cormac Ryan who fired off 31 points and made six three-pointers against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium as well as versatile forward who could do it all in Harrison Ingram (averaged 12.2 points 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists).
All hands on deck — Jackson will be a do just fine in the world of college basketball.