ACC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

4. Justin Jackson

A 6’8 wing originally from Tomball, Texas, Jackson was a Top 10 recruit who did it all in his collegiate recruit. He picked North Carolina, arriving in Chapel Hill back in 2014, and spent three seasons starring for the Tar Heels. By the time he’d leave college, Jackson was a national champion with a ton of both personal and team-based accomplishments that some players merely dream about.

Jackson was a major factor in all three seasons at North Carolina, already averaging 10.7 points per game as a freshman. He’d have a number of nice performances as a sophomore and helped lead the Tar Heels all the way to the national championship game. His junior season was the real moneymaker, averaging 18.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, emerging as North Carolina’s leading scorer as they won the national championship in 2017. He’d average 19.5 points during that title run, shooting the ball at a decent clip.

Walking away from college basketball as national champion is impressive enough, but Jackson was also named a First Team All-American and ACC Player of the Year after that junior season. Much of the talent from their title game run during his sophomore season left Chapel Hill, but Jackson more than made up for the gaps, becoming one of the ACC’s very best offensive weapons in the process. There’ll forever be a banner up in North Carolina that represents Jackson’s importance at the college level.