Sam Vecenie reveals where Ian Jackson’s draft stock stands

North Carolina G Ian Jackson is developing more and more into the prospect that Sam Vecenie expected him to be.

Vecenie, a draft expert at The Athletic, recently spoke about Jackson during the ‘Game Theory Podcast’. He noted his liking for his mindset and ability as a scoring guard coming out of the preps to college basketball.

“So I liked Ian a lot in high school. I loved the aggressiveness and the mentality and the confidence,” said Vecenie. “I think he’s a very real scorer. I’ve always loved the aggressive mentality that he brings to the table.”

Jackson had his struggles in coming to Chapel Hill, though, especially over his first month or so in college. However, over the last month since, he has settled in as that kind of player and scorer for the Tar Heels.

“Early this year, I was, like, I’d gotten some reports that, like, he wasn’t playing super well in practices and that it didn’t look like he was going to be quite as impactful as Drake Powell and as the two guards, (Elliot) Cadeau and Seth Trimble, and, obviously, RJ Davis as well being a senior there. And that kind of bore itself out early in the season. Like, you know, you look at the games he played? Like, five against Elon, you know, five against Dayton in Maui, nine against Auburn in Maui,” said Vecenie. “They had the overtime against Michigan State where he starts to play well. And then, right around the start of December, he’s really picked it up. He had 23 against Alabama, he had 24 in the CBS Sports Classic against UCLA, 26 against Campbell, 23 against Louisville, and then 27 against Notre Dame.”

Jackson posted 8 points (44% FG, 58.3% 3PT) and 1.8 rebounds a game over his first five with UNC. Then, over his 13 since, Jackson has averaged 17.9 points (48.9% FG, 36.4% 3PT), 4.4 rebounds, and an assist. That improvement now has him, overall on the season, as their second-leading scorer and three-point shooter.

From here, as for the next step in his growth, Vecenie does want to see Jackson become a better passer with him giving out less than one a game on average.

“At some point, I would like to see him pass the ball just once,” said Vecenie. “Passing would be good, in my opinion.”

Jackson was one of the best prospects in this freshman class as a Five-Star+ recruit in 2024. That has since started to show with a player that Vecenie has a projected first-round selection come June.

“Yeah, right around the late first right now is where I would have him,” Vecenie said.