Rick Pitino has reeled in one of the biggest fish left in college basketball’s transfer portal sea.
North Carolina guard Ian Jackson has announced his commitment to St. John’s. The 6-foot-4 star out of Our Saviour Lutheran School in the Bronx has elected for a homecoming after his freshman year at Chapel Hill, where he earned All-ACC honors after averaging 11.9 points per game on 46% shooting from the floor and 40% from 3-point territory.
[MORE: Ranking the best players available in the college basketball transfer portal]
For the Johnnies, who went 31-5 this past year and won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles before a disappointing second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Arkansas, shooting and explosive scoring were the areas to address in the offseason. As good as St. John’s was defensively and on the glass, its shooting woes led to its downfall in the first weekend of the Big Dance — and a player like Jackson can lead the efforts in solving that.
In 12 games started at UNC in his freshman season, he averaged 15-plus points per game while going through a seven-game stretch early in the season in which he totaled 22.7 PPG on 54% shooting from the floor and over 41% from 3. Ranking as one of the top freshman in the country in transition, Jackson’s first step is really difficult for defenders to keep up with, and his ability to score from both the perimeter and on the attack as a rising sophomore gives him major potential.
“He’s a big-time scorer and a terrific athlete,” said FS1 college basketball analyst and former Clemson star Terrence Oglesby. “Ian is a much better shooter than he got credit for this past year and is at his best when his foot is on the gas on both sides of the ball. I love the fit for Jackson at St. John’s from a toughness perspective.
“He was not handled correctly at North Carolina and will be even better for Pitino.”
Jackson’s commitment to St. John’s locks up the Red Storm with an incoming transfer class that’s among the five best in the country, with Jackson joining All-Big East star Bryce Hopkins (Providence), rising sophomore shooting guard Joson Sanon (Arizona State) and rising senior guard Oziyah Sellers (Stanford). All three have averaged in double-figures as well and boast versatile skill sets and strong shooting ability, reflecting the vision of St. John’s general manager Matt Abdelmassih and Pitino in constructing the 2025-26 roster, which is tracking to be top-tier.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.
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