Buzz surrounding freshman forward Isaiah Jackson and his status as an immediate-impact standout for the Kentucky Wildcats continues to grow.
Listed as the No. 30 overall prospect and No. 7 center in the 2020 247Sports Composite Rankings, Jackson came in as a likely role player off the bench, contributing as a solid shot-blocker and rim-runner in limited minutes. Behind graduate transfer Olivier Sarr and sophomore forward Keion Brooks Jr., there wasn’t a genuine need for him to produce from day one, at least significantly.
Back in October, though, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein turned heads with a report noting that Jackson had been impressing in early practices and was going to have a “big role” for Kentucky this season.