North Carolina Tar Heels: Justin Jackson to the Rescue
The North Carolina Tar Heels have found an interesting scoring anchor in junior forward Justin Jackson.
Late in the ACC conference schedule, the North Carolina Tar Heels are about where they would want to be. Their win last night over Louisville puts them in first place with a head above water on the rest of the conference. Duke was kind enough to drop a last second game to Syracuse to drop a little further back themselves.
If we look at how the Tar Heels got to this point, we may not have been able to piece together the path entirely. When the year started, it was understood that the Tar Heels had a senior laden front line and not a lot of proven shooting. By all common reason, the Tar Heels’ season should been laid on the shoulders of Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks.
Meeks had fourteen points, ten rebounds, and two blocks in the 74-63 win over the Cardinals. Hicks has had his moments over the course of the year as well. Yet neither of them have been the true difference maker on the roster.
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At the beginning of the year it seemed that Joel Berry would be the one to carry the team to the next level. Berry’s heat has worn down over the course of the conference season. He has not been as dangerous a scorer as he was at the beginning of the year. He can still produce, but he is more streaky of late.
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No, the steady hand has been the scoring of Justin Jackson (21 points against Louisville). Jackson has put to use an improved shooting stroke. He also still has those short range playground shots in his arsenal as well. If any member of the roster is to reach the twenty point barrier, it has been Jackson. Unlike Berry or Meeks, he is a tough matchup for the other teams in the ACC to account for. Guard heavy lineups are too small, and there just aren’t enough Jackson-sized threes in college.
Jackson’s development has been a godsend for the Tar Heels this season. The 30% three point shooter of years past might have doomed the Heels in certain moments. Jackson is currently rocking a near 40% from the back stripe. If he keeps this up, it gives the Tar Heels a little bit of room for error. That is something they need since they aren’t perfect, but they are good enough.