Demetrius Jackson has been on NBA radars for years.
After three seasons at Notre Dame, he’s turning pro.
Jackson is expected to sign with an agent and will not return to Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility in 2016-17.
Jackson projects to go in the middle of the first round.
He’s a quality athlete who uses his slashing and passing abilities to dictate an efficient offense. Good things tend to happen with the ball in his hands.
But Jackson will turn 22 before his first NBA season begins. How much did his physical advantage – which he put to good use, mind you – stem from being older than most of his competition? That won’t be the case in the pros. At the next level, Jackson’s size (6-foot-1) could become more of an issue, too.
The big question: Why did his outside shot regress after looking more promising his first two college seasons? If NBA teams believe he can score efficiently from beyond the 3-point arc, it’s much easier to get past concerns about his quickness through traffic translating to the next level. Otherwise, his stuck could fall a bit.