Heel Tough Blog: Former Five-Star Recruit Enters Transfer Portal After One Season at UNC

After much rumor and speculation, Ian Jackson officially entered the transfer portal earlier today, and won’t be back with the UNC program for next season. At the end of the season, Jackson was one of the Tar Heels who had a decision to make about his UNC, with not only transferring an option but going to the NBA Draft, even after his draft stock took a hit the second half of conference play. In his lone season in Chapel Hill, Jackson was the second leading scorer for UNC, averaging 11.9 points per game, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, on 46% shooting from the field, and 40% shooting from behind the arc. 

Jackson arrived at UNC, as a heralded five-star prospect, who was expected to raise Carolina’s level of play in the backcourt. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen outside of a stretch of games in early January, where he scored 20 points or more, in 5 of 6 contests. While he played in 36 games and played nearly 24 minutes per contest, his role did diminish down the stretch, ironically as UNC made its push to make the NCAA Tournament, where Jackson only played 10 minutes in the season-ending defeat, and was nowhere to be found late in critical games. 

It’s never easy to see a McDonald’s All-American, let alone a five-star prospect choose to go play college basketball elsewhere, but this move was thought to be that took place all off-season long, and now we’re finally here. With the way that Carolina has targeted the guard position in the transfer portal, you could tell that Hubert Davis and new GM Jim Tanner were expecting the move. Now with Jackson gone, Davis has a clearer message to send to players in the transfer portal, in terms of minutes, role, etc, but it also raises the pressure on him to land a guard or two, that can elevate the backcourt, after the departure of RJ Davis after five years with the program, and now Ian Jackson, who will seek a new college basketball home. 

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