University of North Carolina Athletics
One on One with Justin Jackson
January 7, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Turner Walston
Freshman Justin Jackson led the way with 13 points as the Tar Heels passed their first ACC road test with a 74-50 win at Clemson. Before the team left Chapel Hill, Jackson sat down with CAROLINA's Turner Walston for this exclusive Q&A.
Turner Walston: Is your freshman year going like you thought it would?
Justin Jackson: I don't think it's going as well as I think all of us planned it. We obviously would love to get some of those losses back but I think we're starting to get things clicking, and ACC play's starting. We're trying to start off pretty well.
TW: What's the transition been like for you, going from being the best player on your high school team to a team where everybody was the best player on their high school team?
JJ: It's definitely an adjustment for anybody. You've got to put yourself aside. Everybody on the team kind of has their own motives, things that push them through each day, but you have put yourself, your own selfish desires aside and try to do what you can for the whole team.
TW: Obviously, Coach Williams recruited you because he thought your style of play fit his system. Now that you're here, how do you find your fit with your teammates and his coaching style?
JJ: That was the main reason I came here, because it does fit my game. Coming out of high school, you definitely have to change your game a little bit, because of the type of players that are around you and the system that we run. I think my game definitely fits in there, I just have to pick and choose my spots and just be aggressive the whole time.
TW: How did you begin to love playing on the wing? Did you start out on the perimeter and keep growing?
JJ: I've always been a wing player. In high school, I was the tallest guy on our team, so I had to guard the big man and play down low a little bit, but as far as AAU, I've always played the wing, so it's not much different.
TW: How have you found the intensity of the college game? Do you establish yourself in a game or respond to the game?
JJ: That's kind of a hard adjustment coming out of high school. In college, you have to be intense. You've got to be into it every single play. For me there's a lot of picking and choosing, when to be aggressive, when to pass the ball . . . but I think the intensity level has to always be there and I'll be fine.
TW: You're a finesse player, finding the spaces when you can sneak in and get the ball up. How did that develop?
JJ: I've always been like that. Obviously I'm not some strong brute, so I'm not going to go in and just hit bodies and try to get contact. As I grew up, I just always tried to find ways to be able to score and that was the best way I was able to do it.
TW: OK, but as an alumnus, sometimes I just want to see you dunk it. Do you hear that a lot?
JJ: (Laughing) I've heard that ever since I was in high school. I've never been somebody who just dunks the ball all the time. Obviously, that definitely comes with aggression, but I've never been that type of player.
TW: Does that bite you sometimes? I would imagine if you miss an opportunity, Coach might get on you about it.
JJ: Yeah. There are definitely times when Coach tells me to go up stronger, whether that's dunking the ball or just going straight up and trying to finish at the rim. I think that would definitely help me out a lot, but I've just never been that type of player.
TW: As the consistency of opponent increases in ACC play, do you think you'll have to respond to that?
JJ: Definitely. It's a huge task. ACC play, I've just seen it from afar. I'm definitely going to have pick my game up. Everybody is going to have to, but me coming in as a freshman and not really knowing the true competition level, I'm going to have to step out there from the get-go and be aggressive and give all I can.
TW: Certainly you knew the history and tradition of Carolina before you got here, but you're about to wear that jersey on the road in the ACC. What are your expectations for what that will be like?
JJ: It's going to be a challenge, but that's what I came here for, to be able to go on the road and play the best of the best in the ACC. So, I'm really looking forward to it, and I'm just going to try to get out there and do my best, try to help our team win.
