Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Class of 2024 No. 2-ranked prospect Ian Jackson recaps UNC visit, Arkansas up next
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Class of 2024 five-star guard Ian Jackson wrapped up a visit to North Carolina over the weekend with a trip to Arkansas upcoming.
Jackson, the 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard from Cardinal Hayes (NY), was on campus at UNC on January 6, calling his visit “great.”
“Coach [Hubert] Davis’s message was to let me come in and be myself, play to my strengths without too much of leash, letting me play through mistakes, and hopefully win a national championship,” Jackson told ZAGSBLOG. “Then, go on to chase my dreams to get to the NBA.”
North Carolina now has three 2024 commits in point guard Elliot Cadeau, small forward Drake Powell and big man James Brown, who committed January 3.
Jackson has long been linked to Kentucky, and saw the Wildcats play last month against UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Star studded group at Christ the king against cardinal Hayes including Carmelo, coach Cal and Shaheen Holloway pic.twitter.com/b9aNDWXK2g
Kentucky coach John Calipari and assistant and top recruiter Orlando Antigua watched Jackson play against Stepinac on Dec. 18, the day after the UCLA game.
“Coach Cal thinks I can go to the NBA/ be a one-and-done player,” he said. “I could be someone who plays on the team as a freshman and possibly win a championship.”
Next up for Jackson is a trip to Arkansas on Wednesday, January 11 for the Razorbacks’ contest against Alabama.
Ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2024, Jackson told Rivals recently that a decision is “coming soon” and a source close to the situation told ZAGSBLOG it could happen before the end of the month.
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
