Rumors sparked on social media this week that new St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino would hit the recruiting trail hard looking for talent in New York, hoping to get players to stay home and play for the Red Storm.
One of the players mentioned is five-star UNC basketball commit Ian Jackson. The No. 5 overall player in the 2024 class is a Bronx native and Pitino could try to lure him to the St. John’s program. But Jackson cleared the air, and it’s good news for UNC fans.
Jackson told Dushawn London of 247Sports that he is 100% committed to North Carolina and that the rumors are false:
“The rumors are not true,” Jackson told 247Sports Thursday afternoon. “Coach Pitino is at St. John’s and is a Hall of Fame coach, but my plan is to stay at North Carolina. I’m 100% committed.”
The rumors spread quickly on Twitter since Jackson is a part of the 2024 class and will not be on UNC’s campus for over a year. And as we saw with the G.G. Jackson situation, nothing is official until that letter of intent is signed. So you can see why there was some worry from UNC fans.
Pitino still plans on visiting Jackson’s high school next week and will likely still pursue him. But it sounds like he has a LOT of ground to make up.
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