Isaiah Jackson honored by SEC

Kentucky Wildcats freshman forward Isaiah Jackson has been named to the SEC All-Freshman and All-Defensive teams, the league announced Tuesday.

Jackson becomes the 28th freshman under John Calipari to earn All-SEC Freshman Team honors and the 29th first-year player during his tenure to earn an all-league honor overall. However, this is the first time since 1989 that neither of the coaches’ All-SEC teams included a Wildcat.

A Pontiac (MI) native, Jackson has blocked 63 shots on the season to lead the nation’s No. 1 blocking team. He leads the SEC with 2.6 blocks per game and is 14th nationally through games on March 6.

Jackson has led the Wildcats in blocks in 19/24 games and has 3+ blocks in nine games this season. With a block percentage of 12.8%, he ranks seventh in the country in that category.

For the season, Jackson is averaging 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Over the last six games, he’s averaging 14.3 points and 7.5 boards per game and reached double-figure scoring in every outing. Jackson has two double-doubles on the season, both of which have come over the last six games. He’s also shooting 62.0% from the floor over that span.

Additionally, Jackson ranks seventh in the league for defensive rebounds per game (4.5), eighth in the league for total rebounds per game (6.8), and 10th for offensive rebounds per game (2.2).

In Kentucky’s win over LSU, Jackson had 15 total rebounds in just 16 minutes. It was the most rebounds by a UK player since Nick Richards grabbed 16 vs. Arkansas on Feb. 26, 2019. According to STATS, Jackson became the first player with 15 or more rebounds in fewer than 20 minutes played against a major conference opponent since VMI’s Eric Mann had 17 boards in 19 minutes against South Carolina on Dec. 28, 2000.

Jackson and the Wildcats begin action at the SEC Tournament on Thursday against Mississippi State. That game will tip at noon ET on SEC Network.