St. John's Dominant Performance: Ian Jackson Lays Out His Case as Starter
Ian Jackson seemed to have finally found his footing off the bench for St. John's, helping the Red Storm trample Bucknell 97-49 in New York on Thursday night.
The Bronx native and North Carolina transfer scored a career-high 20 points, including two three-pointers, while chipping in with four rebounds and three assists. What was more impressive, however, was Jackson's poise and discipline under pressure. He didn't commit a single turnover, showcasing his growth in taking feedback from coach Rick Pitino to heart.
"I was just out there flowing, doing what I needed to do to win," Jackson explained of his performance.
Coach Pitino echoed those sentiments, saying that the 6-foot-5 Jackson began to resemble the player he once was - a high school phenom with an attack-oriented game. The head coach praised Mitchell's defensive efforts, calling him "a demon" in shutting down Bucknell's Jayden Williams.
St. John's depth proved invaluable as the starters struggled early on, prompting Pitino to make several lineup tweaks. It paid off handsomely as the Red Storm outscored their opponents by 43 points over the final 24:43 of action.
The victory serves as a promising omen ahead of St. John's monster week in Las Vegas, where they'll face stiff tests against No. 16 Iowa State and Baylor.
"We're going to be ready for what's to come," Jackson said.
Ian Jackson seemed to have finally found his footing off the bench for St. John's, helping the Red Storm trample Bucknell 97-49 in New York on Thursday night.
The Bronx native and North Carolina transfer scored a career-high 20 points, including two three-pointers, while chipping in with four rebounds and three assists. What was more impressive, however, was Jackson's poise and discipline under pressure. He didn't commit a single turnover, showcasing his growth in taking feedback from coach Rick Pitino to heart.
"I was just out there flowing, doing what I needed to do to win," Jackson explained of his performance.
Coach Pitino echoed those sentiments, saying that the 6-foot-5 Jackson began to resemble the player he once was - a high school phenom with an attack-oriented game. The head coach praised Mitchell's defensive efforts, calling him "a demon" in shutting down Bucknell's Jayden Williams.
St. John's depth proved invaluable as the starters struggled early on, prompting Pitino to make several lineup tweaks. It paid off handsomely as the Red Storm outscored their opponents by 43 points over the final 24:43 of action.
The victory serves as a promising omen ahead of St. John's monster week in Las Vegas, where they'll face stiff tests against No. 16 Iowa State and Baylor.
"We're going to be ready for what's to come," Jackson said.
gotta give props to coach pitino for figuring out the right lineup combos that work for them too 
now let's see how they do in vegas against some top-tier teams...fingers crossed 
Ian Jackson is on FIRE 
! He was finally able to shine off the bench and I'm so here for it 
he just glides onto the court like no one's watching 
. And those 3pts? 
Career high, yaaas! The way he didn't commit a single turnover? 
mind blown. Rick Pitino is on point with his coaching & Mitchell is looking like that HS phenom all over again 
. St John's depth is for real & they're gonna crush it in Vegas 
I got my money on Ian Jackson being the starter now 
. The guy's been quiet all season but he came out firing in that game against Bucknell, showed some serious skills & maturity under pressure 
. Plus Coach Pitino seems to be loving what he sees, so we can bet it won't take him long to give Jackson a solid spot in the lineup 
. The big question is how the starters will bounce back from this thrashing - St John's has some serious depth & they'll need all hands on deck for those tough games in Vegas 
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. And that's awesome for St. John's too, they're showing that they've got depth and can adapt to different lineups which should serve them well in those big games in Vegas 
st john's was basically cruising by bucknell, and that's on the strength of a guy who comes off the bench 
like seriously, 20 points from ian jackson without even having to try? 
it's a good thing they've got that monster week in vegas coming up or else this might be considered a fluke 