North Carolina's Justin Jackson Opts For Winning Over One-And-Done

For the most part, University of North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, one of six participants in Portland’s sixth and final pre-draft workout held on Monday at the team’s facility in Tualatin, has all the skills you’d want in a modern NBA player. At 6-8, 200 pounds, he can guard all three perimeter positions while also holding his own in the post against power forwards. While not necessarily a dead-eye shooter, his percentages from the field, three-point line and free throw line area are respectable. He can handle the ball in all situations and is adept at initiating offense and setting up his teammates. And perhaps most importantly, he’s proven himself to be a winner while playing in the most difficult conference in college basketball. Jackson started all but four games over the course of three seasons at North Carolina and would eventually win ACC Player of the Year honors while leading the Tarheels to the 2017 NCAA National Championship after returning for his junior season. “I think it also helped just kind of playing the best teams in the country and playing the best players in the country, being able to guard them and having a little bit of success against them,” said Jackson of his play during the tournament. “I think overall, I’ve always said team accomplishments always help individual accomplishments, so the longer that we played, I think it definitely helped me.”