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The St. John’s Red Storm and head coach Rick Pitino have been aggressively looking to add talent to their roster. On Monday, they were able to do just that.
According to a report from Joe Tipton of On3 Sports, Pitino has landed a commitment from transfer portal guard and former North Carolina Tar Heel Ian Jackson.
Jackson has been connected to the Red Storm for awhile now. St. John’s was expected to be a top contender to get him when he originally entered the portal.
Now, the move has been made official. Jackson will be playing for Pitino during the 2025-26 college basketball season.
Coming out of high school in the 2024 recruiting class. Jackson was a five-star prospect, according to 247 Sports. He was ranked as the No. 4 shooting guard in the nation, the No. 8 player in the nation, and the No. 2 prospect in New York.
Interestingly enough, the Red Storm were among the teams who offered him as a high school recruit.
During the 2024-25 college basketball season at North Carolina, Jackson played a key role. He appeared in 36 games throughout the course of the year, starting in 12 of those appearances and averaging 23.8 minutes per game.
In those appearances, Jackson averaged 11.9 points per game to go along with 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists. He shot 45.6% from the floor and knocked down 39.5% of his 4.2 3-point attempts per game.
He will bring scoring and shooting to the table for Pitino. Those are areas St. John’s needed to improve.
Pitino and the program picked up a big win on Monday by landing a commitment from the former Tar Heels guard.
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