North Carolina sophomore small forward Justin Jackson intends to test the waters and enter the 2016 NBA Draft, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jackson isn’t expected to hire an agent immediately, which will allow him to return to school should he choose to withdraw prior to the May 25th deadline, Goodman adds.
The 21-year-old comes in at No. 11 overall among sophomores and is ranked No. 63 overall by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com slots him at No. 125 overall. The main knocks against Jackson are that he is a year older than the average sophomore, which limits his ceiling somewhat, and that he isn’t as strong or athletic as the majority of NBA wings, according to Ford.
In 40 appearances for the Tar Heels this season, Jackson averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.4 minutes per contest. His slash line on the year was .466/.292/.667.