Justin Jackson had played 71 minutes of Division I basketball. He had started one game. To deem him ready for the NBA draft? After just three Maryland men’s basketball games? That seemed, well, premature, like predicting an aced final exam a week into the start of a 400-level class.
But after the Terps’ fourth game, a tense 71-66 win Sunday over Towson at Xfinity Center, Tigers coach Pat Skerry joked about the Canadian freshman forward’s future, and how he wished his team hadn’t been a part of it.
“I was hoping he was going to declare for the draft before the game,” Skerry said after Jackson had 21 points and five 3-pointers on just 13 total shots in 36 minutes, along with four rebounds and two blocks.