The St. John’s Red Storm basketball program has seen a lot of changes since a surprising loss to Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Some big departures include RJ Luis Jr., who entered the transfer portal while also declaring for the NBA Draft after a poor outing in the loss to Arkansas.
But, head coach Rick Pitino got huge news on the portal front on Monday with former North Carolina star Ian Jackson transferring to St. John’s.
Jackson was a five-star prospect in high school and spent just one season in Chapel Hill before entering the portal.
It’s a big addition for St. John’s, although it will be a sizable loss for North Carolina since Jackson was second on the team in points per game.
After the news came, Jackson’s former Tar Heels teammate, RJ Davis, took to his Instagram story to react to the news.
“Homecoming,” Davis wrote with a sighing emoji face and a photo of Jackson in a St. John’s uniform.
Jackson is from the Bronx, New York and played high school basketball at Our Saviour Lutheran.
The St. John’s campus is less than 20 miles from the Bronx, so it is indeed a homecoming for Jackson.
Davis was North Carolina’s leading scorer with 17.1 PPG and Jackson averaged 12.6, so the Tar Heels are losing the top two options for the 2025-26 season.
St. John’s did offer Jackson originally during his recruitment process in 2022, but he chose to play at North Carolina instead.
