Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson Ranks Among Nation's Best
Peruse a list of the top point guards in college basketball and you won’t have to dig far to find Irish junior Demetrius Jackson’s name.
Kris Dunn at Providence heads most experts’ lists, with DraftExpress.com projecting him (as of March 8) to be the No. 5 overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft. Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, Maryland’s Melo Trimble and Iowa State’s Monte Morris are also names that come to the forefront.
Right in that highest level, though, sits the Notre Dame captain.
“Top five or six,” ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said when asked by Blue & Gold Illustrated where Jackson ranks nationally among point guards. “I’d put him up there with Kris Dunn, Melo Trimble and Monte Morris.
“He’s an attack guard that can score. He plays low. He can beat you off the dribble, he’s powerful and he can make contested shots. He has three-point range, and he guards.
“He’s a really good player, and he can take over the game. He can go out and give you 30, but then give the ball up.
“He’s a hell of a player.”
Endorsements like that are one of the reasons it was a bit perplexing to not see Jackson’s name included in the ACC Player of the Year discussion. It was one thing to not tab him as a favorite for the award — which is fair considering that Notre Dame didn’t hold the best record in the league (20‑10 overall, 11‑7 ACC through March 9) and Jackson didn’t boast the most dominant stats heading into the postseason — but not even in the mix?
Through 30 games, Jackson paced the Irish in scoring (15.9 points per game), assists (5.0 per contest) and steals (1.3 per game) — totals that ranked 11th, second and 10th, respectively, in the ACC. He also ranked second on the Irish in minutes played (35.4 per game) and fourth in rebounding (3.4 per contest), while shooting 45.5 percent from the field, 33.6 from beyond the three-point arc and 79.1 percent at the free throw line.
Sports Illustrated published an article Feb. 19 that featured North Carolina’s Brice Johnson, Duke’s Grayson Allen and Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon (who ended up winning) as the frontrunners for the award. North Carolina State’s Anthony “Cat” Barber — who boasted averages of 23.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game heading into the ACC Tournament — was also mentioned but declared “unlikely” to win the award because of the Wolfpack’s subpar record (15‑16 overall, 5‑13 in the ACC).
No reference of Jackson anywhere.
“I’ve always been a believer that the player of the year should come from a team that’s in contention, an NCAA Tournament team, a team that is winning.” Irish head coach Mike Brey said. “I’m a big believer in that.
“The year [former Irish forward] Luke Harangody was a part of a team that I think was 7‑9, it was hard for me to say, ‘He should be player of the year,’ and his numbers were great. I’ve been on both sides of it.”
True to his nature, Jackson takes the high road when asked if he should be mentioned more for the award.
“I’ve never been one for personal stuff,” Jackson said.
“I feel like there’s a lot for me to improve on individually. There’s still room for me to raise my level of play, so maybe when I could do that it’d be a bigger discussion for me.”
Regardless of what titles or awards he picks up, Jackson is earning him praise where it might ultimately matter most — with professional scouts. DraftExpress.com projected Jackson as the No. 11 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, if he decides to leave school early. That’s much higher than Allen at No. 29, Brogdon at No. 35 and Barber at No. 57.
It’s still no guarantee, though, that Jackson will decide to leave school early. One of the reasons he could come back is the number of starters the Irish could return.
Only senior forward Zach Auguste exhausts his eligibility. And while that leaves a big hole in the middle, Notre Dame is recruiting two five-star big men that could plug it right away, including Mono (Ontario) Orangeville Prep center Thon Maker. The 7-0, 210-pound big man isn’t part of Rivals’ position rankings because he plays in Canada, but many recruiting analysts consider him a top-10 prospect in the class of 2016.
Jackson plus returning veterans Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and Bonzie Colson — and a big man in the middle with the talent of Maker — has the makings of a team that could do something special.
“Being able to make a smart and educated decision for what’s best for me would include looking at all the variables,” Jackson said. “I think that would definitely play into it.”
Conversely, Maker’s camp is keeping an eye on Jackson’s decision, too. The five-star’s guardian, Ed Smith, told Blue & Gold Illustrated in October that the direction Jackson is leaning could have an impact on Maker’s college decision in April.
“That would be a big thing, having a player of that caliber on the team,” Smith said. “You want to see who’s there; you want to be able to see how big a run you can make with this thing. You don’t want to go to a place where you aren’t going to be able to make a run.”
Those business decisions will have to wait for the Irish junior. For now, his focus lies with his current squad — with the goal of winning an ACC championship and advancing as far as possible in what many experts consider a wide open NCAA Tournament field.
“I just try to go out and do the things I know I can do,” Jackson said. “All in all, I just want to win games and win a championship.”