Takeaways from the First Weekend of the NCAA Tournament
By John Bauman
Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard/forward Justin Jackson (44) looses control of the ball as he is pressured by Harvard Crimson forward Zena Edosomwan (left) and Crimson guard Agunwa Okolie (right) in the first half of a game in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Justin Jackson is taking huge strides forward
Justin Jackson is taking long, lanky “Justin Jackson” sized steps forward over his past couple games. Against Harvard, he scored 14 points and had an offensive rating of 114. He was even better against Arkansas, shooting 6-11 from the field and dropping 16 points on the night.
His strong play all started after the Duke game on February 18th, when the freshman winger scored just two points on 1-8 shooting from the field. Since that day, however, Jackson has been playing really well offensively, shooting efficiently and scoring a lot of points for the Tar Heels.
Since Duke game on February 18th, Justin Jackson has shot 57.7% on 2P FGs and 40% on 3P FGs. Averaging 13.4 points per game.
— Keeping It Heel (@KeepingItHeel) March 22, 2015
Nobody is 100% certain that Jackson will come back for his sophomore season. He is a projected second round pick by a lot of draft experts and could jump early if he feels that is the best fit for him. But, if Jackson doesn’t leave early and decides to stick around at UNC, one thing is clear — he is ready to break out next season into an All-ACC caliber player for the Heels.
Next: Joel Berry II and Theo Pinson Takeaways