The Ian Jackson point guard experiment is making methodical progress.
The Bronx native made his fourth consecutive start at the one on Tuesday night and continued his solid play of late.
His defense was instrumental in St. John’s closing out the first half on a 22-4 run, and he sank four 3-pointers in an 85-59 rout of Harvard at Carnesecca Arena.
“I’m really happy with his growth as a basketball player,” coach Rick Pitino said. “I have to constantly stay on him. He doesn’t understand certain terms of a point guard that he’s getting. It’s not easy to go from scoring guard to a point guard, but he’s doing it in great fashion. I’m proud of him.”
In four starts at point guard, Jackson is averaging 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and 1.5 turnovers in 23.7 minutes.
He has committed just two turnovers in the past three games, and didn’t have one against Harvard.
Jackson is clearly more comfortable now compared to the beginning of the season, when he was frequently overthinking and hesitating.
“I think I’m getting better every day, every game,” he said. “I put in a lot of work on and off the floor, watching videos and preparing myself to get better and do better. The big thing and why I think everything is going in the right direction is my teammates. They instill a lot of confidence in me to go out and be the point guard for us at the start of the game and lead the group in that sense.
“I’m feeding off of them, letting their confidence fuel me.”
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
Former St. John’s star Kadary Richmond attended the win. … St. John’s will be off for nine days before resuming Big East play at Georgetown on New Year’s Eve in Washington, D.C. … Zuby Ejiofor was a team-best plus-28 in 27 minutes.
