NCAA analyst claims Rick Pitino and St. John’s “didn’t want” Ian Jackson as starting guard: “They tried to get another guy”

Former North Carolina star Ian Jackson entered the transfer portal last week from the Tar Heels and was the No. 1 guard and No. 8 overall player in the portal according to 247Sports. On Monday, Jackson announced that he had committed to coach Rick Pitino's St. John's Red Storm.

During Monday's segment of the "Field of 68" podcast, analyst Jeff Goodman claimed that Jackson was not Pitino's first choice to be the Red Storm's point guard next season (0:50).

"I don't think St. John's wanted him to play the point. I mean, they tried to get another guy who ended up in Gainesville. They didn't want Ian Jackson, that was not their top option at the point.

"It was Jackson coming off the bench as a combo guard or maybe starting as a combo guard. But now, if you look around, there just aren't a lot of top point guard options. So, they had a pretty good chat with Jackson all the way along."

The player referenced by Goodman as Rick Pitino's first-choice to play point guard is former Princeton Tigers star Xaivian Lee who was one of the best guards in the portal and who committed to the reigning national champions, coach Todd Golden's Florida Gators last week.

Lee will replace Florida standout Walter Clayton Jr. after averaging 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the Tigers last season and is a two-time first-team All-Ivy League selection. He visited the Red Storm and the Kansas Jayhawks before opting to join the Gators.

Analyst reveals why Ian Jackson joined St. John's

Ian Jackson averaged 11.9 points on 45.6% shooting from the floor and 39.5% shooting from beyond the arc, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists for the North Carolina Tar Heels last season despite only starting 12 out of 36 games for coach Hubert Davis.

During Monday's segment of the "Field of 68" podcast, analyst Jeff Goodman revealed why Jackson joined the St. John's Red Storm (1:27).

"Now you wonder if at the end of the day if you're Jackson you're thinking like, 'My best shot at the next level is to be a scoring point," Goodman said. "So now I have an opportunity to do that at St. John's.' And as I said, I just don't know if this is the best case scenario for St. John's.

"Maybe it is if they win a national title next year. To me, he's a scorer, we have seen him play enough. He's not a point guard who looks to distribute the ball. Now, he's got arguably the best coach in America right now tutoring him on how to become a point guard but I think it's gonna take time."

Ian Jackson visited St. John's on April 13 and 14 before committing to Rick Pitino's team. He has three years of eligibility remaining.