Justin Jackson is off to the NBA Draft and finished with his Maryland basketball career. After testing the process last offseason and deciding to return, he’ll enter his name in the pool once again, he announced Wednesday.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givnoy was first to report the move. Here’s Jackson from Maryland’s release:
“After talking with my family and weighing my options, it’s my desire to turn my full attention to preparing for a career in professional basketball. I loved my teammates, many of them will be my brothers for life, and I will truly cherish the times I had playing in College Park. I also want to extend my appreciation to our great fans and all the support they showed for me. I will be a Terp for life.”
Unlike last season, this time he’ll sign with an agent, despite only playing 11 games this season before being shut down with a torn labrum. However, the sophomore was still Maryland’s top rebounder and third-leading scorer when he went down, averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds on 36.6 percent shooting. He impressed during his freshman season as Maryland’s second-leading scorer with 10.5 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field and from beyond the arc.
The Canadian started the season projected to go in the lottery of a number of mock drafts, before dropping off most lists post-injury. He is currently DraftExpress’ No. 42 ranked prospect, which is around the lower range of his projections last offseason. However, he should have little issue convincing an NBA team to take a flyer on his versatility and pre-injury potential.
Jackson is expected to be recovered enough to play competitive basketball at May’s combine and available to participate in private workouts. However, being 6’7 with a 7’3 wingspan will still turn a lot of heads at the combine and the dip in shooting percentages could be explained by the injury. While he isn’t likely a 43-percent three-point shooter, he also is better than last season’s 25 percent clip showed; the truth is likely somewhere in between.
With Jackson off to the draft, the Terps will need to look for reinforcements fast. However, his leaving frees up an additional scholarship for Mark Turgeon and staff to work with.
Note: This story has been updated with Jackson’s quotes from ESPN.