When he was still at Kentucky in 2024, John Calipari finished second in the recruitment of five-star wing Ian Jackson. Now at Arkansas, he’s in danger of earning a silver medal once again in his continued pursuit of the talented scorer.
Jackson entered the transfer portal after averaging 11.9 points as a freshman in Chapel Hill, and immediately Arkansas and St. John’s emerged as the two favorites, pitting Coach Cal against his longtime rival and fellow former Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino. Arkansas fans feared that the New York City native would favor a return home and now with Jackson’s first visit on the schedule, those fears are starting to be realized.
North Carolina transfer Ian Jackson set to visit St. John’s
Jackson quickly set a visit to St. John’s and it could be a perfect fit, as long as the former five-star is interested in a homecoming season because the Johnnies desperately need him. Pitino isn’t doing any high school recruiting this cycle, so he needs to find replacements for Deivon Smith, Kadary Richmond, and RJ Luis Jr. who surprisingly entered the transfer portal and NBA Draft after winning the Big East Player of the Year Award.
Jackson would provide crucial shot-making on the wing, especially after Pitino’s group finished outside the top 300 in the country in three-point percentage. Arkansas took advantage of that weakness in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Razorbacks, who also struggled to shoot it this March, could also use an infusion of outside shooting.
Both Calipari and Pitino have strong track records of developing talented guards into NBA prospects, so the 6-foot-4 rising sophomore who almost certainly hopes to be one-and-done at the collegiate level can’t go wrong. With everything else even and St. John’s just a borough away from the Bronx where Jackson is from, Arkansas will need to pony up a big NIL payment to avoid missing out again.