Louisville basketball: 5 under the radar transfers for Cards
By Jacob Lane
Vance Jackson – PF
New Mexico, RS junior (6’9, 220-pounds)
2019 stats: 11.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg
Way back in the class of 2016, Vance Jackson was one of the most sought-after wings of the entire class, committing to Kevin Ollie at UConn over programs like UCLA, Arizona, Maryland, Oregon, and Washington.
He looked destined to become a star for the Huskies, but after one season in which he played a fairly large role for Ollie’s team, at least enough to earn All-AAC freshman honor, he announced his intention to transfer. No one could blame him. The program that had just won a championship a few years earlier had way underachieved even with recruits like Jackson and was hit with a flurry of bad publicity, mostly surrounding head coach Kevin Ollie who was fired in 2018.
Surprisingly, Jackson transferred out west to play at New Mexico, joining forces with several other high-major transfers on a team that was a fixture in the NCAA Tournament for quite some time. After sitting out his sophomore season due to NCAA transfer restrictions, Jackson was finally eligible in 2018-19, and quickly became one of the better forwards in the conference averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per game, while jumping that average to nearly 26 and six during the Mountain West Tournament.
Jackson may be one of the most unique players available on the transfer market due to his size and positional versatility. Much like Louisville had with Jordan Nwora, Jackson is a 6’9 guard/wing who plays mostly inside because of his height but is more than capable of handling the ball and scoring from outside.
Over his career, Jackson has proven to be a more than capable scorer at the four position shooting 41 percent from the field and an incredible 36 percent from three (443 attempts overall). While the teams he played on at New Mexico and UConn both underachieved, that has more to deal with the circumstances at hand (injury, transfers, etc) more so than his play.
Jackson has decided to transfer for his final season of eligibility, as he’ll be a graduate transfer with the ability to play right away where ever he lands. There’s been nothing yet that has connected Louisville to Jackson, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mack get involved especially after missing on Yale big man Jordan Bruner.
While Bruner would’ve been able to play at the four and the five, providing more rebounding and defensive pressure, Jackson would be more of a hybrid big man/wing playing a similar role to what Nwora and Dwayne Sutton played in 2019.
Jackson’s size and shooting ability would give Chris Mack another weapon on the perimeter as well inside who can score, rebound, play defense, and most importantly provide leadership and experience to a young team.
** Editors note: Within an hour of this piece being published, Vance Jackson committed to Arkansas.”