Ian Jackson showed up to practice Friday looking like a new person.
The sophomore guard cut off the long dreadlocks he had sported since the seventh grade, going instead with a closely cropped look.
“It was crazy, nobody recognized him when he came to the locker room the first day,” teammate Oziyah Sellers said with a laugh. “We all joked, now he can see the rim and stuff when he’s finishing.”
Jackson asked Rick Pitino his opinion on the matter, and the Hall of Fame coach said he grew up in the hippie generation when players had hair down to their ankles. But you still have to see.
“The other thing, there’s an old actor named Billy Dee Williams,” Pitino recalled. “He was one of those dashing, hot guys in Hollywood. That’s who he looks like right now, Billy Dee.”
Saturday, the new haircut certainly didn’t hurt in the No. 22 Johnnies’ 91-64 rout of Iona University at the Garden.
The 6-foot-5 Jackson, a former McDonald’s All-American and top-10 high school prospect from The Bronx, moved into the starting lineup at point guard for the first time this season, and produced 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 27 minutes.
Pitino made the change, replacing Dylan Darling with Jackson in his starting five, because he felt Jackson had earned it with his improved play in practice and progress in a number of different areas other than scoring.
Jackson did commit five turnovers Saturday, though he appeared to get more comfortable as the game went on and finished strong as St. John’s put Iona away.
“Ian is a really good basketball player and he can go from good to great in a short period of time, because of his willingness to learn, grow, get better — great teammate, great guy,” Pitino said. “Everything about him spells greatness down the road. And by the way his defense has improved immensely.”
Added Jackson: “I think today was a step in the right direction.”
As for the hair, Jackson said he was after a “fresh start.” At the time of his visit to the barber, the high-ceiling guard wasn’t aware he was going to start Saturday.
“Just a different look, I wouldn’t say a restart,” he said. “But I wanted to give myself something fresh and something new.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
