HOUSTON — It hardly feels like being home.
The duties that come along with preparing for the NCAA championship game have kept Justin Jackson, the Tomball, Texas, native who starts at small forward for North Carolina, from reuniting with friends or enjoying the city where he grew up.
He says the ratio of time spent with reporters to time spent with family has probably been 4-to-1. Besides that, he has school to deal with; after scoring 16 points in the Tar Heels’ 83-66 Final Four win, the sophomore went back to the hotel to try to catch up on homework.
And many of his friends in the area weren’t in attendance for the game because tickets are too expensive. He hoped to see some of them Sunday, if there is any free time the night before Monday’s meeting with Villanova for the title.
Jackson played for the Homeschool Christian Youth Association Warriors, a Houston-based program that gathers home-schooled players from throughout the metro area and plays games against public and private schools, locally and nationally.
The program requires players and parents to agree to a code of conduct, and players are held to a strict dress code. The HCYA adheres to a statement of belief that begins, “The Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God and constitutes completed and final revelation,” though it also says it does not discriminate based on religion.
“These are kids who usually are homeschooled because their parents love Jesus,” said Mike Decker, the program’s “chief cook and bottle washer” as well as basketball coach. “It’s a ministry, so we have a lot of high-caliber kids.”
Jackson entered the program when he was 11 years old after his parents moved from Ohio. He was already tall, and athletic and it was clear he’d be one of the better players to go through the program.
“He’s got a lot of God-given talent,” Decker said. “But if that’s all he had, he wouldn’t be where he is. He was also one of our hardest workers.”
Jackson was named home-school player of the year after his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He averaged 31.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocks in 40 games in is final year, and was co-MVP of the McDonald’s game along with current Philadelphia Sixers forward Jahlil Okafor. He was ranked No. 8 in the country by ESPN, which considered him the No. 2 small forward — three spots ahead of fellow Houston prospect Justise Winslow, who won a national title last year with Duke and now plays for the Miami Heat.
Jackson first drew Williams’ attention when he attended the coach’s summer camp.
“He was in my camp as like a seventh grader. I walked through the gym, saw this skinny kid make this nice little pass,” Williams said. “I stood there and watched him. He made a couple other really good plays. I'm leaving that gym and going to check another gym, and coach Steve Robinson came in. I said, 'Watch the little skinny kid.' ”
As one of the country’s best — and most dynamic — scorers, he had offers from top schools but said he felt most at home in Chapel Hill.
He had a solid freshman season but slumped earlier this year; Williams pulled him from the starting lineup against Boston College on Feb. 9, and he responded with 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting in a reserve role.
The night before that game, former Tar Heels and current Golden State Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes had reached out with advice.
"Some of the things he told me, some of the things he said I needed to go out there and do, really helped me,” Jackson said. “That right there shows the family that Carolina has even when players leave.”
Jackson has scored in double figures in every game but one since then, and he has improved in other areas this season. He’s passing and taking care of the ball better.
It was Jackson, after all, who squeezed a pass through a Syracuse trap on the baseline to Marcus Paige so the senior guard could make one of the game’s most memorable plays by quickly slapping the ball to Kennedy Meeks for a dunk early in the second half.
Jackson also broke free for dunk with just more than 3:30 left that pushed North Carolina’s lead back to 12 and forced Syracuse to give up on the press defense that had helped it come back against Gonzaga and Virginia earlier in the tournament.
Williams has said he expects Jackson to become the “natural” shooter he was predicted to be out of high school; he hit just under 28% of his threes this year, down from 30% last year. He’s been better in the tournament, hitting six of 15. But for now his shooting is secondary to his ability to get open to be on the receiving end of drive and dumps — and his readily improving defense. His length and athleticism should make him especially valuable against a Villanova team that hit 71.4% on too many clean looks against Oklahoma.
“That’s hard to do when you’re just shooting by yourself,” Jackson said.
Though it’s not shooting touch that intrigues Jackson most about the Wildcats. He knows Philly basketball is considered physical and hard-nosed. Jackson, all 6-8 and 200 pounds of him, relishes the thought. That the Tar Heels were considered soft early in the year is a slight he hasn’t gotten past, bringing it up several times last week.
“This year has been interesting,” he said. “The fact that all the things that have been said about us that have not been great, individually and as a team, and the fact that we’re in the national championship, it feels pretty good.”
FINAL FOUR HIGHLIGHTS
