### The LATEST on Ian Jackson: From UNC Transfer Drama to St. John’s Homecoming Star – Yes, the Red Storm Were Always the Frontrunner
QUEENS, N.Y. – As the 2025-26 college basketball season tips off this week, all eyes in the Big East – and across the country – are locked on Madison Square Garden and Carnesecca Arena, where Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm are loading up for what could be a historic run. At the center of the hype? Sophomore guard **Ian Jackson**, the Bronx native and former five-star recruit who shocked the sport by entering the transfer portal after one rollercoaster year at North Carolina. The April saga, dissected endlessly on podcasts like Field of 68’s “The LATEST on Ian Jackson | Is St. John’s still the frontrunner?”, ultimately ended exactly as most insiders predicted: Jackson coming home to play for Pitino, turning St. John’s into a legitimate national title contender.
Back in mid-April 2025, when Jackson hit the portal, the recruiting world exploded. The 6-foot-5 scoring machine – ranked as high as No. 7 overall in the transfer rankings by 247Sports and On3 – had just wrapped a freshman season at UNC where he averaged 11.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and shot a sizzling 39.5% from three on over 150 attempts. He earned All-ACC Freshman honors, dropped eight 20-point games, and even became the first Tar Heel rookie ever to score 23+ in four straight contests during a holiday heater that had NBA scouts salivating.
But inconsistency plagued him in Chapel Hill. Buried on the bench at times behind veterans, Jackson’s explosive athleticism and downhill attack often felt underutilized in Hubert Davis’ structured system. Defensively, lapses crept in, and his playmaking remained raw (under 1 assist per game). Whispers grew that the New York kid never fully bought into Carolina blue – especially after rumors surfaced years earlier that Pitino, fresh off taking the St. John’s job, had nearly flipped him from UNC during his high school days at Our Saviour Lutheran in the Bronx.
Enter the portal on April 8, 2025, and the Field of 68 crew – Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster, and Terrence Oglesby – wasted no time breaking it down. “Is St. John’s still the frontrunner?” became the burning question. From day one, the answer was a resounding yes. Travis Branham of 247Sports called the Red Storm the “team to beat,” citing Jackson’s NYC roots, Pitino’s history of developing NBA guards, and the massive NIL opportunities in the Big Apple. Arkansas (under John Calipari, who finished runner-up in Jackson’s original recruitment) and Kentucky (now with Mark Pope) lurked as threats, with some chatter about Alabama and NC State. But as Goodman put it on the pod: “This kid’s from the Bronx. Rick Pitino’s building something special at St. John’s after that Big East sweep last year. Why go anywhere else?”
Jackson scheduled visits quickly. First up: St. John’s on April 14-15, where he was wined and dined by Pitino and GM Matt Abdelmassih. Sources described the visit as “electric” – Jackson touring campus, linking with local legends, and envisioning himself running point in Pitino’s up-tempo, guard-friendly system. Rumors of other trips (to Fayetteville or Lexington) fizzled. By April 21, it was official: Jackson committed to the Red Storm, posting a photo in St. John’s gear with the caption “Back home 🗽.”
Pitino didn’t hold back. “We had big shoes to fill at the point,” the Hall of Famer tweeted. “Kadary and Deivon were awesome. The ball is now in the hands of our next great point. Let’s go Ian!” Yes, Pitino – master of repositioning players – declared the shooting guard would slide to lead guard, replacing departed stars Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith.
The commitment catapulted St. John’s transfer class to No. 2 nationally (behind only Michigan), joining elite additions like Providence’s Bryce Hopkins (All-Big East forward rebounding from injury), Arizona State’s Joson Sanon (top-25 freshman scorer), and Stanford’s Oziyah Sellers (39% career three-point shooter). Suddenly, a roster that went 31-5 and swept the Big East in 2024-25 looked even scarier.
Fast-forward to November 20, 2025: Jackson is thriving in Queens. Early scrimmages and exhibitions have him looking like the one-and-done prospect everyone projected out of high school. He’s dropped 25+ in closed-door games, showcasing improved handles, better decision-making, and that same explosive scoring burst – attacking rims, pulling up from deep, and defending with Pitino’s trademark intensity. NBA scouts are buzzing again; one Eastern Conference exec told NJ.com, “Ian is an amazing scorer. I’m not sure anyone in the Big East can guard him one-on-one. This was a brilliant move – Pitino’s going to get him back to lottery status.”
Teammates rave about his fit. Hopkins calls him “the energy guy we needed,” while Sanon says practicing against Jackson’s athleticism has elevated everyone. Off the court, Jackson’s embraced the homecoming – signing autographs for kids in the Bronx, linking with alumni like Jamal Mashburn (another Pitino product from Cardinal Hayes, Jackson’s old high school rival), and soaking in the MSG spotlight.
St. John’s opens the season November 4 against Central Arkansas, but the real tests come quick: Alabama at MSG on November 7, then a loaded non-conference slate before Big East play. Analysts peg the Red Storm as preseason top-10, with Jackson as the X-factor. If he averages 18-20 points with improved efficiency and defense? We’re talking Big East Player of the Year contender and a deep March run – maybe even St. John’s first Final Four since 1985.
The Field of 68 debate from April feels quaint now. Was St. John’s the frontrunner? They weren’t just the frontrunner – they were the only runner that mattered. Ian Jackson’s story is pure New York: a kid leaving the ACC bright lights for his borough, betting on Pitino to unlock the superstar everyone saw in high school. As the Garden faithful chant his name this winter, one thing’s clear – the prodigal son is home, and he’s ready to put the Big East on notice.
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