St. John's Ian Jackson scores 20 points off bench in rout of Bucknell
St. John's guard Ian Jackson passes the ball against Bucknell in the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Ian Jackson found himself in the spotlight again on Thursday night — this time for all the right reasons.
The North Carolina transfer, a sophomore from the Bronx, turned in his best performance since joining St. John’s with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers as the 14th-ranked Red Storm pounded Bucknell, 97-49, before a sellout crowd of 6,250 at Carnesecca Arena.
It was a welcome change of storyline from his inconsistent start and being relegated to coming off the bench.
St. John’s has scored more than 90 points in each of its first four games for the first time in program history and might have the momentum needed to go into the toughest stretch of the non-conference portion of its season.
The Red Storm will next be in action in the loaded 18-team field at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. They will play three games in three days, beginning with Monday’s matchup against No. 16 Iowa State. They will face Baylor on Tuesday, and the third opponent will be determined by how they play in the first two games.
“I think we’ll play well, but look, this is 18 great teams and we’ve got one of the tougher teams in the first matchup,” Red Storm coach Rick Pitino said. “So we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
“For us to go out there and play against teams like Iowa State and Baylor, it’s a true test to see where we are early on in the season,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be great. I think we’re going to be ready for what is to come.”
Bryce Hopkins also had 20 points and shot 3-for-4 on three-point attempts. Ruben Prey had 14 points and Joson Sanon added 10 points and six rebounds.
But outside of Jackson, Dillon Mitchell was the biggest difference-maker with 10 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. Pitino said Mitchell “defensively was a demon.”
St. John’s shook off a poor first seven minutes, closed the first half with an 18-5 run for a 41-25 lead at the break and then accelerated away from the Bison (2-4) in the second half.
The Red Storm deployed a fullcourt press extensively and forced 24 turnovers that they converted into 36 points. They made a season-high 10 three-pointers in 26 attempts (38.5%).
Fair or not, Jackson has been the subject of undesired scrutiny. He didn’t play well in the two exhibition games and was a starter for only the season opener.
Pitino said after the weekend win over William & Mary that he brought Jackson and Sanon in for a conference in which he told the two wings — considered the players with the highest ceilings on the roster — that it would be how they perform in practices, and not their reputations, that would get them playing time.
Jackson may have started Thursday night on the bench, but he had the kind of solid all-around game that every Red Storm fan hopes will be a regular occurrence. He shot 6-for-13, including a pair of three-pointers, and defended well. In his 21 minutes on the floor, St. John’s outscored the Bison by 33. Perhaps most importantly, he didn’t play as if he were thinking about making mistakes.
“I was just doing what I needed to do to impact the game on both ends of the floor — I was just out there playing,” Jackson said. “Tonight, no turnovers [and] three assists was something that me and Coach was big on. And to get it done, it feels good. It’s a testament to my hard work and my focus on doing the little things and trying to get better.”
“It feels good to know that he’s staying level-headed with everything,” Mitchell said of Jackson. “[He’s] just going out and doing what he has to do, doing what the coaches need him to do, and just get better every day. Ian’s younger, but he takes everything in and he listens and he wants to get better.
“Everybody knows he’s a great scorer and I think, right now, he’s trying to figure out other ways to impact the game.”
Pitino was pleased with Jackson’s play and also liked that the Red Storm were more connected on defense and more physical than the Bison.
“I think we’re going to get better and better and better and better,” Pitino said. “We’re not there yet because we have four new [starters]. We’re a deep team with a great attitude.
“If we go 3-0 [in Las Vegas], we’re not going to embrace it. If we go 2-1, we’re not going to be disappointed. We’re just going to play and get better.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
