Following three seasons with the North Carolina Tar Heels, Justin Jackson is headed to the pros.Jackson announced the move Thursday in an interview with Scout.com's Sherrell McMillan.When asked about the difficulty of passing up his senior season with UNC, Jackson discussed what he'll miss about being a Tar Heel:It kind of hit me last night. I think the biggest thing is my two roommates, Luke (Maye) and Kenny (Williams). I'm going to miss those guys like crazy. We do pretty much everything together- if we're not doing school work or playing basketball, it's going to eat or going to the movies or whatever. Knowing that I'm not going to be around here and they're going to be doing their own thing- it's sad. I'm going to miss them and I'm going to miss all my teammates.Yesterday I was walking through the coaches offices just walking through. I didn't have anything to say, and they asked me "why are you just walking around here'" In my mind, I was saying I don't have many more chances to actually do that, to walk through here.The 2016-17 ACC Player of the Year, Jackson averaged 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three as the centerpiece of the Tar Heels attack.He was also a key cog in North Carolina's run to the national championship, netting 16 points in the title game against Gonzaga."We went through a very difficult ACC schedule, and Justin gave our players a lot of confidence knowing that he would consistently be putting up 18-20 points, about five rebounds and some key assists each game," head coach Roy Williams said in a press release in March."He listened to our coaching staff last spring about how to improve as a player and was determined to get better and stronger, which through his hard work and sweat, he is now reaping the benefits."While Jackson was a solid role player during his sophomore season with UNC, he flourished as a junior thanks to a refined stroke from beyond the arc. His 37.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc compared favorably to a mark of 29.2 percent the year prior."Early in his career, Jackson could be seen toeing the three-point line and trying to guide the ball to the rim, but thanks to his increased role and more polished stroke, the lanky wing is now regularly pulling up from beyond NBA range with far more confidence than he's ever shown in the past," Draft Express' Mike Schmitz wrote.Thanks to those developmental strides and his 6'8" build, Jackson projects as a true NBA small forward who could evolve into a legitimate three-and-D threat.Jackson also shot a robust 66.7 percent at the rim, per Hoop-Math.com, which bodes well for his pro prospects.Assuming he can continue to stroke the ball efficiently from deep while knifing his way to the bucket with regularity, Jackson should make a team that drafts late in the lottery quite happy.In his latest NBA draft big board released Wednesday, ESPN's Chad Ford ranked Jackson as the No. 26 overall prospect in the 2017 draft class.
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