Isaiah Jackson was a member of both the SEC All-Defense and All-Freshman team in his lone season at Kentucky. As a freshman, Jackson played 21 minutes per game and averaged 8.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.6 BPG, and 1.5 TOPG on shooting splits of 54/0/70. Below is his full scouting report:
Name: Isaiah Jackson
Height/Weight: 6’10 ½ / 206
Wingspan/ standing reach: 7’2 ½ / 9’0 ½
Hand size: 9 ½
Position: C
College: Kentucky
Tools: Athleticism, shooting upside, defense
Pros:
- High defensive upside
- Strong on closeouts
- Athletic big helps him move on the perimeter or challenge shots at the rim
- Projectable jumper
- Upside to shoot off of 1-2 dribbles
- Outstanding finisher at the rim
- Quick first step
- Flashes of using both hands comfortably
Cons:
- Must defend without fouling
- Often in bad stance defensively
- Doesn’t create for others
- Should learn one or two creative moves to get into his own shot
- Needs to be more consistent offensively
- Settles for bad shots, especially towards the rim
- Must reduce turnovers
Overall:
Isaiah Jackson is a modern big with an excellent ability to score at the rim, rebound, defend multiple positions, and potentially shoot jumpers. Jackson has outstanding touch at the rim, and shot just under 70% at the rim. This number could have been higher had he been a little wiser in shot selection and forcing up contested shots under the basket. A lot of Jackson’s early career scoring will come from inside the restricted area, whether it’s off of offensive rebounds, cuts, or drives that he creates for himself on. As a slasher, Jackson has shown potential to use his quick first step functionally to beat his defender 1-on-1. He needs to add more creativity to his drives in terms of dribble moves (he already has strong creativity as a finisher) in order to win isolations more often in the NBA. Jackson’s jump shot is a swing skill for him; he showed flashes of being comfortable taking jumpers off the dribble, but wasn’t very successful in hitting them, and it was oftentimes not pretty to watch. If Jackson can develop his shooting, his offensive value will skyrocket.
Defensively, Jackson projects to be a plus defender based on his tools alone. He was often out of stance defensively at Kentucky and ball-watched a lot, so improving the mental habits on the defensive side of the ball are a top priority for whichever team drafts him. Jackson has a unique blend of rim protection ability & ability to switch onto guards, making him a textbook modern big. Look for Jackson to be taken in the middle of the first round.
NBA Comparison: Precious Achiuwa, current DeAndre Ayton, Derrick Favors
Projected draft range: 11-22
Games seen: Arkansas 2/9, Ole Miss 3/2, Vanderbilt 1/5, @ Georgia
Expected role: Starting center with defensive value and some scoring upside
Unplayable if: He never shakes his raw stage and inconsistencies offensively, while also never learning team defense in the NBA.
Exceeds expectations: Jump shooting and self-creation come along, and he learns to make his teammates better defensively.
Best fits:
- Houston Rockets
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Orlando Magic
- Denver Nuggets
- LA Lakers
Shot chart:
