North Carolina's Justin Jackson will withdraw his name from the NBA draft and return to the Tar Heels, the school announced Monday.
Jackson, a 6-8 rising junior from Tomball, Texas, has started started 75 of 78 games in his career and averaged 12.2 points a game last year as the Heels made it to the NCAA title game, falling to Villanova on a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Jackson joins 6-10 senior-to-be Kennedy Meeks, who earlier decided to withdraw from the draft to return to school.
“I’m glad I had the chance to enter the Draft and attend the Combine where I was able to meet with a number of NBA executives and test my game against some of the top players in the country, but after discussing it with my parents and coaches and praying over this decision, the best choice for my basketball future is to return to school and play for the Tar Heels next season,” Jackson said in a statement. “My dream certainly is to play in the NBA and going through the draft process this year was another step toward reaching that goal, but I’ve loved my first two years at Carolina and am excited about the upcoming season. It’s going to be a fun year, I will be another year closer to earning my degree and can continue to develop as a person and a player.”
The Tar Heels should be a contender for the title again next season.
North Carolina lost stars Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige to graduation, but with Meeks, Jackson, Isaiah Hicks, Nate Britt and Joel Berry II the cupboard's far from bare. Coach Roy Williams also will bring in a top-10 recruiting class headlined by big man Tony Bradley and guards Brandon Robinson and Seventh Woods.
