Lessons Learned from the UNC basketball program's comeback win against UCLA

Ian Jackson continues to impress

Ian Jackson showed out in front of his hometown crowd at Madison Square Garden. He was North Carolina's leading scorer with 24 points. He shot 8/13 from the field, 3/7 from three, and 5/8 from the free throw line. He provided balance with RJ Davis as another shooting threat for Cadeau to pass to, and he was able to attack favorable match-ups.

Jackson was rewarded for his stellar first half with a second half start, as Hubert Davis started a munchkin line-up, with four guards and Ty Claude. He rewarded his head coach's faith by scoring 11 points in the second half, going 4/6 from the field, and hitting tough shots in tight moments.

Jackson still has some wrinkles to iron out. In the first half, he missed the front end of a one-and-one, and then had a bad rotation on defense that led to a UCLA three-pointer. And then when North Carolina was on a 10-3 run late in the second half, he turned the ball over by simply not catching an Elliot Cadeau pass in his belly.

But he more than made up for these miscues by having the courage to take over in the game when the Tar Heels needed him most. Expect more from Jackson as we move into conference play, he's starting to look really comfortable.