In a world in which the transfer portal consumes nearly every college basketball player, St. John’s is keeping one of its own.
Sophomore guard Ian Jackson announced his return to the Red Storm for his junior season just hours before the deadline to enter the portal after joining the program last spring after spending one year at North Carolina.
It was an up-and-down year for Jackson after he tried to transition to point guard, a position he never played before in his career. He averaged 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.4 turnovers per game.
He started 19-of-36 games while shooting 40.9-percent from the field and 34.3-percent from 3-point range.
St. John’s is undergoing a total roster rebuild after the graduation of Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, and Oziyah Sellers while Dylan Darling, Joson Sanon, Sadiku Ibine Ayo, Imran Suljanovic, and Kelvin Odih entered the transfer portal.
“Ian is a much better basketball player than he's shown this year,” Rick Pitino said of the native New Yorker during the NCAA Tournament. “And the reason he hasn't shown it as much is he's playing way out of position. He's not a point guard. He's had to play that because we don't have a backup.”
Jackson will not be playing point guard nearly as much as he did this season, moving off the ball to his natural shooting guard position after the Red Storm landed British point guard Quinn Ellis.
“He can play. He can play with anybody,” Pitino added. “I wish I could play his normal position. He would look much better out there.”
Ian Jackson will be relied upon to be a much more efficient shooter and scorer than he showed this season while also needing to take on a leadership role on the team given the departures of so many veterans.
“It's special,” Jackson explained of St. John’s success after the team earned a berth in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.
“Me being a kid from New York, a kid from the Bronx, seeing St. John's growing up not really being the most sought-after school, to see what Coach P has built, what we're doing this year and the history we're making, to be able to come home and do something special with this group of guys, with this coach, it's truly special to me.”
Ian Jackson and St. John’s will be looking to win its third straight Big East regular season and tournament title when the season begins in November.
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