To kick off our Davis on the Draft series, we’re taking a look at rising North Carolina freshman Ian Jackson and how he has quickly emerged as a primary contributor for the Tar Heels.
Nearly two months into the season, North Carolina’s campaign hasn’t unfolded as hoped. The preseason top-10 Heels looked solid in a close loss at Kansas in November. But a forgettable showing in Maui, a blitzing at the hands of Alabama and a narrow defeat versus Florida left them with five losses before Christmas.
However, a bright spot emerged in that lopsided loss to the Tide: Freshman Ian Jackson, who turned in a then-career-high of 23 points. Since that outing, Jackson has averaged 17.3 points while shooting 52 percent from the floor (38.7 3P%). The 6-4 rookie lives in attack mode, looking to get to the rim and exploit mismatches one-on-one. A second-half stretch against the Gators, where Jackson scored in iso on three straight possessions, perfectly encapsulates his skillset.
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Jackson’s strengths
The first thing that sticks out in Jackson’s game is his ability to create offense with his handle and footwork. For instance, he loves using hesitation moves to keep defenders on their toes, whether driving to the basket or pulling up for a jump shot. When he identifies a mismatch, Jackson’s dribble package becomes all the more lethal. The Florida sequence illustrate this point, as does the following clip against UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau. He blows by the Bruin big man with a crossover into a hesi, then finishes strong, drawing the foul.
In addition to his iso scoring, Jackson has turned his transition game into a strength. His long strides allow him to get to the hoop for an easy look, particularly on euro-steps and high pick-ups. Plus, the freshman has vastly improved his finishing from the start of the season. After shooting 6-for-14 at the rim through Carolina’s first six games, he has shot 25-for-35 on such attempts through its last eight, including a perfect 4-for-4 against UCLA and 6-for-6 against Campbell.
Moreover, off-ball play was among his biggest question marks heading into the season, but he has started to quiet some of those concerns. The rookie is shooting 16-for-35 on catch-and-shoot 3s on the season and has shown promise at finding the open window.
Jackson’s areas for improvement
Thus far, the most glaring hole in Jackson’s game is his playmaking (or a lack thereof). At the time of publishing, he had logged just eight assists on the season. Developing in this area remains pivotal for his pro career since the NBA has no shortage of guards his size who can score.
Now, some of these shortcomings might be attributed to a lack of reps. Per Synergy, North Carolina has utilized Jackson in just 17 possessions as a pick-and-roll ball-handler (he has averaged a solid 1.18 points per possession in such instances). Regardless, improving his feel and his passing would earn him a longer runway at the next level. Jackson might never be especially efficient, but he could elevate from a bench scoring specialist (like the Pistons’ Malik Beasley or the Clippers’ Bones Hyland) to a multi-dimensional offensive weapon (like the Nets’ Cam Thomas or the Rockets’ Jalen Green).
Another area for improvement is his defense. Jackson has the length and athleticism to be disruptive on that end, but he isn’t forcing many turnovers. (To be fair, UNC hasn’t forced many turnovers as a team during Hubert Davis’ tenure.) On-ball, the freshman struggles to navigate screens and sometimes gets pushed around; off-ball, he loses focus, leading to slow rotations and poor close-outs.
These issues appear fixable, but Jackson will want to show growth defensively between now and draft day.
In their own words
“I can adapt. Playing off the ball wasn’t something I had always done, but I’m a basketball payer. I can adapt to a situation and thrive in it,” Jackson told Heat Check CBB after the Dec. 29 win over Campbell.
“We knew coming into this year [that] Ian is a prolific scorer,” fifth-year guard RJ Davis added. “He’s able to heat up quick, he gets out in transition, he’s able to knock down 3s. It definitely relieves some tension from me in terms of teams being able to guard me [because] now you have to guard him as well.”
Image courtesy of Maggie Hobson/UNC Athletics