Ian Jackson responds to critics of how North Carolina got in NCAA Tournament

Ian Jackson is just ready to play basketball for North Carolina, postseason basketball that is. The Tar Heels, controversially, got into the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Sure, the folks in Chapel Hill celebrated and certainly didn’t complain about their placement. But the likes of Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio State and plenty of television analysts scratched their heads.

But he’s not letting the noise affect him. Jackson and everyone else is just ready for North Carolina to compete in the First Four.

“I seen some of it,” Jackson said. “Everybody has an opinion of what should’ve happened or shouldn’t happen. But we’re here. We’re here. Now it’s time to play basketball.”

Jackson has a different challenge to deal with and it’s Ramadan. Ramadan, which is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, lasts a month and the dates of it change annually. For those who observe it, they must fast while the sun is up, making it a challenge to stay nourished and prepared as an athlete.

“For me, I would say it’s been rough,” Jackson said. “How should I say it? This fast is going to be looked at as a burden. This is something that we do to get closer to God. So, for me, it’s been good… This is my third year fasting …

“We fast during the day between sunrise and sundown… You can’t have pork. We don’t eat pork. So, pork is off the table, but we just eat food… Nothing. No, you can’t drink. So, it’s nothing during the day.”

Jackson isn’t the only one hearing the noise. Seth Trimble shared his own experiences as well following Selection Sunday.

“Absolutely. Absolutely,” Trimble said. “I think we’ve all kind of felt the hate, the disagreement, all that, from everybody outside of the Carolina family and fan base … “We’re just running with it. We definitely feel like we’ve got something to prove. We wanted to be better this year, but we deal with the cards at hand. So, absolutely.”

Others on North Carolina have made it clear that they’re aware of how much criticism has been levied against their inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. That includes star RJ Davis.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Davis said. “For us to be considered an 11 (seed) and to have people asking, do you think you’re a tournament team, that irks my soul because I know we are and I know what we’re capable of. It’s really just about proving ourselves right (rather) than people wrong.”

Dan Morrison contributed to this report