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The incoming five-star got honest about his high school recruitment.

Ian Jackson said he “wanted” to play college basketball at Kentucky and “thought” he would end up in Lexington during a recent episode of his podcast, The Captain Jack Podcast. However, the five-star prospect committed to North Carolina on Jan. 15, 2023, and cited Hubert Davis was the main reason why.

“Hubert Davis,” Jackson said regarding why he picked UNC. “I wanted to go to Kentucky. It was Hubert Davis. He’s just like a family guy. He’s a good, genuine guy that you want to be around. Not saying Coach (John) Calipari isn’t. Coach Davis is a good coach.”

Jackson said Davis understands his intentions of being a one-and-done and said he’d help him get to the league as soon as possible.

“[Coach Davis] understands what I want to do,” Jackson said. “He knows my plan. He’s like, ‘Alright, I’m with it. Let’s get you out of here. You come here, do this and that, and get you out of here…’ I could average 15-16 points (per game). Averaging 18 (ppg) isn’t hard, though.”

Jackson is rated as the No. 8 overall prospect and No. 4 shooting guard in the class of 2024 and took official visits to Kentucky, Oregon, LSU and Arkansas. Though those schools made his top five, he said UNC’s campus stood out over the rest.

“There’s something about the campus and how much history the school has,” Jackson said. “Why wouldn’t you want to be there? It’s Carolina.”

Jackson said Duke showed interest in him early in his high school recruiting process, but head coach Jon Scheyer backed off when he said he was adamant that he land at Kentucky.

“No,” Jackson said regarding whether he considered Duke. “We don’t jack Duke, bro. I talked to Coach Scheyer a few times. He didn’t offer officially because when he came in, I was already saying who I was going to pick. I thought I was going to UK, though.”

Jackson capped his high school career with a huge outing in the McDonald’s All-America game last month. He finished with 21 points (9-21 FG, 1-5 3FG), two assists one rebound and a steal. He pumped in 17 of his points after halftime, helping his East squad overcome a 17-point first-half deficit to pull out an 88-86 win in Houston. With his prep career in the books, Jackson said he can’t stop dreaming about suiting up in Carolina blue.

“I think about [making my UNC debut] every day,” Jackson said. “I’m going to college with the mindset that it’s the hardest basketball ever played. When I get there, I’ ‘m going to train so hard. I don’t want to go in there thinking that it’s high school and I can do this or that. I want to over-psyche myself so when I go in there I’m like, ‘Maybe this isn’t that bad.’ I don’t want to get humbled.”

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