Ian Jackson calls Kentucky offer “Dream Come True”

While the Kentucky Wildcats‘ 2023 recruiting class is beginning to take shape, securing commitments from Robert Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, they are jumping in early to the class of 2024.

On June 15th, when NCAA rules permitted college basketball coaches to make unlimited calls and texts to recruits entering their junior year, one of their first calls was to Ian Jackson, whom they also offered.

Jackson, a 6-foot-four, 170-pound shooting guard is the No. 2 player in the country and is one of Kentucky biggest’s priorities in the class. When Jackson received a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky, he described it as “crazy” and “a dream come true” in an interview with Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.

“It felt like a dream come true. Being on the phone with Coach Cal and him saying those words: ‘We’d like to offer you a scholarship,’ it was definitely something I dreamed about and had to been waiting to hear for a while,” Jackson said.

Jackson also talked about scheduling a visit to Lexington in the near future, saying, “We are trying to figure out our schedule now, so we both have a good time so I can go and they can show me around campus a little bit. So we’re working on a time and date now.”

Along with Kentucky, Jackson also wishes to visit North Carolina citing that he grew up a fan of Michael Jordan, and Oregon, who has been using their Nike connection to their advantage in the NIL landscape.

Jackson also went into detail about two of the hottest topics in college basketball: new professional options (G-League, Overtime Elite) and NIL.

While Jackson is keeping all of his options open, he says he is, “leaning towards college right now,” and if he does choose the college route, says that NIL is important, but will not be the deciding factor in his recruitment.

“My decision will be more so on where I can play my game, actually thrive, be best at, and get to the NBA. I don’t think NIL will persuade my opinion on anything,” Jackson said.

Rumors are that Jackson is also considering reclassification, and could join Robert Dillingham and Reed Sheppard in 2023. This would help the Wildcats, giving them another elite guard if they lose out on DJ Wagner to Louisville.

Either way, early signs point to Kentucky being in a good position in Jackson’s recruitment.

Be sure to read Joe Tipton’s entire interview with Jackson.

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