**IAN JACKSON WITH AUTHORITY: The Freshman Who Announced His Arrival in Chapel Hill**
CHAPEL HILL – It took exactly one thunderous February night in the Dean E. Smith Center for the college basketball world to learn the name spelled in all caps across the back of Carolina’s white No. 11 jersey: IAN JACKSON.
With 14:32 left in the second half against NC State, the 6-foot-5 freshman from Our Saviour Lutheran in the Bronx rose above the Pack’s veteran front line, caught a RJ Davis alley-oop in stride, and detonated a one-handed tomahawk that rattled the iron so violently the Smith Center lights seemed to flicker. The roar that followed was the kind usually reserved for Michael Jordan posters and Tyler Hansbrough charges. In that moment, Ian Jackson didn’t just dunk on NC State; he served notice that the Carolina wing factory has a new prototype.
“Kid plays like the rim owes him money,” Hubert Davis said postgame, smiling the way only a coach who just watched his five-star freshman drop 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in 28 minutes can smile. “That’s just Ian being Ian. He’s got that New York edge, but he plays with joy. That combination is special.”
Special is the word that’s followed Jackson since he was a lanky 15-year-old torching the EYBL circuit. Once the No. 3 recruit in the 2024 class (behind only Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey), Jackson chose Carolina over Kentucky, Arkansas, and a half-dozen other blue-blood suitors, citing one reason above all: “I wanted to be the next great Carolina wing. Not just another one; the next one.”
Through the non-conference slate, the adjustment period was real. Turnovers in pick-and-roll sets, occasional lapses sliding on screens, the usual freshman tax. But when ACC play arrived, so did the switch. Over the last eight games entering the State matchup, Jackson averaged 17.8 points on 59/44/83 shooting splits, defended the opponent’s best perimeter player every night, and did it all with a snarl that has quickly become appointment viewing on Tobacco Road.
Against the Wolfpack, he was surgical. A silky mid-range pull-up over Casey Morsell. A chase-down block on DJ Burns that sent the senior big man sprawling. A transition euro-step through three defenders that ended with a vicious left-handed flush and a stare toward the State bench that drew a technical; Jackson didn’t flinch when the official T’d him up, he just flexed both arms and screamed toward the rafters as 21,750 lost their minds.
“That tech? Worth it,” he laughed afterward, ice bag on his knee, diamond studs glinting under the locker-room lights. “I play with emotion. That’s me. You not gon’ punk me in my house.”
The numbers only tell half the story. Jackson’s 6-foot-9 wingspan and 40-plus-inch vertical make him a terror in the passing lanes (2.1 steals per 40 minutes). His improved handle has unlocked a devastating one-dribble pull-up going left, a shot that was virtually nonexistent in his high school tape. And perhaps most importantly for Carolina fans desperate for wing depth after the departures of Leaky Black and Pete Nance, Jackson has become the Tar Heels’ best perimeter defender almost overnight.
“Coach Davis and the staff kept telling me, ‘Your offense is going to come, but your defense and your energy; that’s what we need right now,’” Jackson said. “So I just locked in on that end. Once I saw I could guard anybody in this league, the offense started flowing.”
The RJ Davis-Ian Jackson pairing has quickly become the most explosive guard-wing duo in the ACC. Davis, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, has taken the freshman under his wing (literally and figuratively). After every explosive Jackson highlight, the cameras inevitably pan to Davis on the bench, grinning like a proud big brother.
“RJ tells me every day, ‘You’re next, young fella. This is your team soon,’” Jackson said. “I’m just trying to learn from the best. When he talks, I shut up and listen.”
With Armando Bacot gone and Carolina leaning on a committee of bigs (Jalen Washington, Jae’Lyn Withers, and freshman James Brown), Jackson’s ability to guard 2s, 3s, and even some 4s has been a godsend. He spent significant minutes against State chasing 6-foot-9 forward Mohamed Diarra, holding him to 4 points on 1-of-7 shooting.
But make no mistake; this is not just a defender who can score. Jackson’s offensive arsenal is still expanding. He’s shooting 44% from three on 4.2 attempts per game since January, a massive jump from the 31% he posted in non-conference play. The jumper has a lightning-quick release and high arc, the kind that ages well when the legs get tired in March.
“He’s a worker,” assistant coach Brad Frederick said. “Every night after practice, Ian and Elliot (Cadeau) are in here getting up 300-400 shots. You don’t become a 44% three-point shooter by accident.”
The Smith Center crowd has already adopted him. The student section chants “I-AN JACK-SON” in the same cadence they once reserved for “MAR-CUS PAIGE.” The “New York’s Finest” T-shirts started popping up in the concourse two games ago. Even Roy Williams, watching from his usual baseline seat, turned to a friend after the tomahawk and said, loud enough for nearby fans to hear, “Lord have mercy, that boy can play.”
For a program that’s produced wings like Jordan, Vince Carter, Harrison Barnes, Justin Jackson, and Nassir Little, Ian Jackson’s arrival feels different. There’s a swagger to him, a city-kid confidence that reminds old-timers of a young Rasheed Wallace (minus the technicals… mostly).
When asked postgame if he felt like he’d arrived after the State performance, Jackson just smiled.
“Nah, man. This just the preview. The movie coming in March.”
If Saturday night was any indication, Carolina fans better have their popcorn ready.
Because Ian Jackson plays with authority, and he’s just getting started.
(Word count: 1018 | Photos by IC’s Jim Hawkins)
#UNC #GoHeels #Carolina #IanJacksonSZN
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