UNC basketball: Jackson impressed with current team’s competitiveness

Former UNC Basketball National Champion Justin Jackson spoke on his new show with Inside Carolina about the competitiveness of this year’s team.

As part of a new show on Inside Carolina, former UNC Basketball player and National Champion Justin Jackson is hosting “Shooting It Straight with Justin Jackson” this season. The show will follow along with the upcoming UNC Basketball season, and Jackson will give his opinions on how the team is performing from a former player’s perspective.

The first episode hit on several different points, but one in particular should stand out to UNC Basketball fans, and that is the competitiveness that has been shown by the 2023-2024 Tar Heels in practice and their first exhibition game against St. Augustine’s.

While the backcourt is smaller than normal with six-foot guard RJ Davis and six-foot-one guard Elliot Cadeau, Jackson doesn’t believe that it will cause any issues this season because they are so competitive.

He referenced last season, and it felt like there were nights when players were just going through the motions during some games and not having any competitive desire on a nightly basis. On the flip side, this year’s 2023-2024 team feels on the opposite end of the spectrum. Jackson, along with several others around the UNC Basketball program, have mentioned they are competing extremely hard in practice.

The versatility of the roster, despite having smaller guards, was another topic of discussion with how well-rounded this team can be with the size of Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan being able to defend multiple positions.

You can view the entire episode of Shooting It Straight by clicking here.

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