North Carolina commit Ian Jackson working on point guard skills, eyeing gold medal with USA U19 team

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Ian Jackson has already won two gold medals with the USA Basketball U16 and U17 teams.

Now he’s eyeing a third with the U19 squad.

“It would feel amazing, it would feel amazing,” the 6-foot-6 guard from Cardinal Hayes in The Bronx said by phone from Colorado Springs, Colo. after being named to the 12-man roster for the USA U19 team that will compete in the U19 World Cup in Hungary beginning June 24.

“Being able to travel the country and compete against talents from all over the world and then winning the gold medal facing those talents, that would be great,” he added. “The past two times I did it, it was also a great feeling so this time I assume it will be even better.”

The 12-man roster also includes Jackson’s former Hayes teammate, Tennessee forward Tobe Awaka, and New Jersey natives Mark Armstrong (Villanova) and fellow Class of 2024 guard Dylan Harper. A fifth New York-area player, Archbishop Stepinac guard Boogie Fland, was invited to camp, but opted not to attend.

“It shows that the East Coast is really [going] in the right direction, really,” Jackson said. “Being able to have four guys from the East Coast, great guys that compete on this team and play on this team and be selected, it shows that great talent is coming from that area and hopefully we keep producing great talent.”

The work will show.

Just the clips from inside 🇺🇸 #USABMU19 training camp in Colorado Springs 👇 pic.twitter.com/pwRmwYrAkG

— USABJNT (@usabjnt) June 14, 2023

As a veteran with USA Basketball, Jackson has been more of a vocal leader with his teammates. He said head coach Tad Boyle (Colorado) also wants Jackson, a natural scorer, to play more at the point.

“He asked me to embrace my role and be a point guard, be a leader, kind of guiding the guys that’s new here and play like that, just be a leader and a point guard,” he said.

2x gold medalist @22_captainjack is providing leadership & experience at 🇺🇸 #USABMU19 training camp ✊ pic.twitter.com/gDiAJd1bpa

— USABJNT (@usabjnt) June 12, 2023

Jackson hopes to hone those skills going forward for when he enrolls at North Carolina in 2024.

“It’s definitely something that I feel I can adapt to and become a better player at playing the one,” he said. “Not taking away from my natural skills, but just being able to expand my games a little bit.”

North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis told Jackson before he committed that he could “go in there and positions 1-3 and be good at playing each position.”

Said USA Basketball youth coach Don Showalter: “Ian had a very good U19 training camp. I know he would like to expand his skill set enough to be a lead point guard at least some of the time. He shot the ball extremely well, and his defense has certainly improved. He will be counted on heavily as a scorer and ball handler for our U19 team.”

Jackson is the latest Tar Heel to compete with USA Basketball, following Seth Trimble (U18, 2022), Harrison Ingram (U19, 2021), New York City native Cole Anthony (U18, 2018), Armando Bacot (U18, 2018) and Coby White (U18, 2018).

The Tar Heels added a point guard for the 2023-24 season when New Jersey native Elliot Cadeau, who played for the Swedish National Team this spring, reclassified and enrolled this summer. Jackson wishes him the best but doesn’t think they’ll play together in college now.

“I think it was great,” Jackson said. “For him it was the best decision from what he told me, so I’m proud of him for that. Hopefully he gets to go to the NBA after his first year, so I’m rooting for the best. Hopefully everything goes right for him. And I’ll be watching, I’m cheering for Elliot.”

https://t.co/Sksi3iw3rM!!!! ❤️#uncmbb pic.twitter.com/LUX4blmU8k

— Michelle Cadeau (@thecadeaus) June 13, 2023

Another New Jersey point guard, Simeon Wilcher, decommitted after the Cadeau news and has since signed with Rick Pitino and St. John’s.

“I feel like as a player, you kind of know what’s best for you, you kind of feel like you have to do what’s best for your career, and what you feel will best suit your career and your goals and your path,” Jackson said. “So him going to St. John’s being with Coach Pitino, I feel like he’ll definitely be great there [with a] great coach. I thought he made a good decision.”

Pitino appeared in the Cardinal Hayes gym multiple times this spring after landing the St. John’s job, but Jackson has insisted he remains committed to North Carolina.

Jackson has considered reclassifying but says “my plan after talking with my family and things like that is to definitely finish out my high school career and do my last year at Hayes and then go on to go to college.”

In the immediate future, Jackson and his U19 teammates are set to leave Saturday for Chicago and then for Hungary, where the tournament runs June 24-July 2.

From there, he will head back home to play in the Adidas SSSB championship in Rock Hill, S.C. with his Wiz Kids AAU team. Harper will be equally busy, heading to the Nike Peach Jam with the NY Rens.

“Extremely busy, extremely busy,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be a big adjustment period for me learning how to take care of my body a little bit better because the few weeks ahead is going to be a long few weeks with USA and then trying to back to AAU and compete at a high level, so it’s going to be a hard few weeks but I understand how my body works and the things to do to try to keep it in tip top shape.”

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