Junior Red Storm shooting guard Ian Jackson takes a shot at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby before St. John's season tips off Monday against Monmouth.
Q: What makes you a confident player?
A: The work I put in. I'm in the gym like hours at night. I love the game, I love the craft, I love the feeling of getting better. I'm chasing.
Q: What are you chasing?
A: Everything — greatness, wins, try to be the best player I could be. Always looking forward to getting better at something.
Q: You're in the gym at night?
A: Absolutely.
Q: Here at Carnesecca Arena?
A: Yeah, absolutely.
Q: By yourself?
A: Probably a few of my friends.
St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) dunks the ball against the Drexel Dragons on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Q: What time is this?
A: It varies on what I do the next day. But usually I'll probably be in here from like 7 to like 12. Or if I get in there at 8, I'll probably be there till like the security comes and kicks me out. For real.
Q: You're here without any teammates?
A: Yeah. Yeah. Getting my work in.
Q: Who are the friends?
A: These are my childhood friends.
Q: Want to mention any of them?
A: You got my friend Patrick, you got my friend Ty, John, Louie, Lonny. Got a little crew, yeah.
Q: Those are good friends.
A: Absolutely.
St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) shoots as Drexel Dragons guard Dillon Tingler (23) defends, Oct. 14, 2026, at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Q: Do they go to St. John's or no?
A: No.
Q: You just call 'em up and say, "Meet me here at a certain time?"
A: Yeah, and we get it done.
Q: Have you ever had Zach Braziller rebound for you?
A: Nah (laugh).
Q: Would you consider him if he volunteered?
A: He had to be serious about it and yeah, I'd consider him (laugh).
Q: What should St. John's fans expect from you this season?
A: Lead the group, lead the guys, get everybody on the same page. Get everybody to understand that winning isn't easy. Every game matters and that to be great, everybody has to buy in. Which I think the guys now are understanding early. I feel like I'm doing an OK job leading the group. I got to be better, but I'm there for them. They look to me to lead them, that's what I'm going to do.
Q: What is the one area of your game you still need to improve ?
A: Just making more steals. I got to be a bigger steal guy.
Q: Three-point shooting?
A: It's there.
Q: What drives you?
A: One, my family. And the other one probably is just the fear of just failing. I don't ever want to experience that, so I work extremely hard to where I put myself in the best position where when the time comes. I'm prepared for every situation, and I don't have to experience that.
St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) shoots over Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) during an NCAA Tournament game Sunday, March 22, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Q: Why should a top recruit want to play for St. John's coach Rick Pitino?
A: You're going to get the best out of yourself. He's never going to allow you to be mediocre or not great. He's going to try to get the best out of you whether you like it or not.
Q: Was that tough love last year tough on you?
A: For sure, for sure. It's something not many people can handle or have experienced before, so for me, it was great. I embrace the hard, I embrace the difficult, and I kind of just went along with it.
Q: What was the toughest moment dealing with it for you?
A: For me I think the toughest thing was just trying to get an understanding of who Coach P. is and how he operates and how he looks at certain things. I think early on I had questions like, Why? … But now I think I got an understanding of who he is and how things operate and the standard that he looks for in a player and in himself, it's made things much easier.
Q: How does Pitino motivate?
A: The biggest thing I got from him is just nothing's ever good enough. There's always a "what's next?" There's always a how to make something better kind of mentality and how you keep getting better.
Q: What was that period like for you before you announced you were returning to St. John's?
A: For me, I already knew what it was. I'm the kind of guy who embraces hard, embraces challenge, so for me it was a no-brainer. I trusted Coach P. I knew that he had my best interests at heart and understood what it took for me to get to the next level, what it takes.
Q: Why did you decide to return?
A: I don't run from a challenge. I don't run from the hard. I embrace the hard, I embrace the journey, I embrace the grind, and I believe in Coach.
Q: How do you handle the expectations of being a local St, John's kid from The Bronx?
A: Just block it out. Obviously easier said than done, but for me, I've been in New York my whole life, I've been under that pressure, so it's like nothing too new for me. I think just go out there and play. What's going to happen is going to happen, but I trust my work, I trust my team, I trust Coach, I trust everybody, so I just go out there and compete.
Q: Coach P. will occasionally bring up Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Anyone else?
A: He's mentioned guys that he's coached whenever he needs to like prove a point or hammer down something on us.
Q: Patrick Ewing?
A: Ewing, yeah. … Mark Jackson.
St. John's Ian Jackson reacts after hitting a 3-point shot against Villanova on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Q: What does he say about them?
A: How they approached the game, how nothing mattered to them but winning, how they played the right way, just things like that.
Q: Describe your on-court mentality.
A: I feel like I'm a competitor. I feel like whatever I got to do to go out there and win, I'm going to go out there and do.
Q: What is the biggest adversity you had to overcome?
A: Having to understand that I needed to make some change. Going through high school and having things go my way or a certain way for a certain amount of time, and then getting to college and understanding that more change have to be made, and be able to look in the mirror and self-evaluate and figure out what those changes were and be disciplined enough to make those changes or humble enough to understand those changes got to be made.
Q: Where have you made the biggest strides in your game?
A: I think for me just understanding the game. Understanding time and situation, understanding when to go, when to slow down, understanding where to be at on the floor, how to make my teammates better.
Q: How frustrating was it playing point guard last year?
A: Not frustrating at all. For me it wasn't the easiest thing going to the highest level and then changing position or a position you never done before. But for me, I got a chance to learn, I got a chance to get better at that position, added something else to my tool bag. It helped me. It grew my game. It grew my versatility.
Q: What is it like playing when you have all those St. John's fans in those big Big East games at the Garden?
A: It's huge. It's huge. Especially because we get to play the Big East Tournament at our house. Playing in front of the St. John's fans in those huge games, it's phenomenal. They help us tremendously. They give us energy, they give us the boost, they give us the extra push that we need to get through.
Q: Thoughts on the Big East Conference this year?
A: I think it's going to be a great league, and it's going to be fun.
Q: A few of your teammates, whatever comes to mind: Quinn Ellis.
A: A great point guard.
Q: Tounde Yessoufou.
A: His ability to impact winning on different levels is amazing, from scoring, he could defend, rebound the ball. He's a huge piece for us.
Q: Keyshawn Hall.
A: A bucket.
Q: Ruben Prey.
A: I think Ruben has grown tremendously as a player, as an individual. He's going to help us out a lot.
Q: "Lefty," Lefteris Liotopoulos.
A: A shooter.
Q: Theo Edema.
A: That's Baby Zuby (laugh).
Q: What was it like playing with Zuby Ejiofor last year?
A: I learned so much from him in terms of just being a leader and being the standard into what is being built here in terms of culture.
Q: What makes you a good leader?
A: I think just being somebody that my teammates could look at that they could hold accountable, they could look at to be like the standard. I think I have a certain vibe or a thing that people can follow, and I do the right thing. Obviously this is my first time being a captain in college. Like I said, I have a certain vibe, certain traits that's going to help me that my teammates can feed off of and look at me to kind of lead the group.
Q: How did you become friends with Donovan Mitchell?
A: I worked out with him with C-Brick [Chris Brickle], and then ever since then we've been super close, we've been locked in.
Q: What's the best advice he's given you?
A: Wherever you go or if you decide to stay, the work has got to be the work. The work's got to get better, but you got to get better. Things got to change in your game, you got to develop.
Q: Which NBA player reminds you of you?
A: I'm not sure, man, I'm not sure. [Tyrese] Maxey, his … game kind of resembles a little bit. I think I pull little things from each and everybody.
St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) drives to the basket during a game against the Texas Longhorns, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in New York. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Q: Where were the best playground games in The Bronx?
A: You got Dyckman, you got Watson. Where I grew up there's a tournament called Grenada. … Just a whole bunch of different outside tournaments that you could go watch.
Q: How did it mold you into the player you are now?
A: It's a gritty game out there. People are competing, going hard, especially adult games. It's just a whole different kind o ballgame. out there (chuckle).
Q: Favorite Cardinal Hayes High memory?
A: When we won the championship my sophomore year, we beat Stepinac.
Q: You co-hosted the "Captain Jack Show."
A: That was a podcast me and a friend had. It started in high school.
Q: Will you start it up again?
A: Probably not. I'm more focused on the season.
Q: Four dinner guests.
A: Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, my Grandma Sharon or Grandma Deborah.
Q: Favorite movie?
A: "Paid in Full."
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Mark Wahlberg.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Zendaya.
Q: Favorite rapper?
A: Lil Durk.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Mac and cheese probably, with some chicken or steak.
Q: What do you like at Vincent's Clam Bar in Carle Place?
A: Any alfredo pasta I'm cool with.
Q: Before you attended North Carolina, you considered Kentucky.
A: I thought I was going to Kentucky my whole high school career.
St. John's Red Storm guard Ian Jackson (11) shoots and scores during the first half against the Texas Longhorns, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Manhattan, N.Y. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Q: Craziest recruiting memory?
A: My visit to LSU, Jayden Daniels was playing and they won, everybody rushed the field. It was just a good time.
Q: Did you rush the field?
A: Absolutely.
Q: What did you think of the Knicks championship run last year?
A: It was great. I need them to get it done again.
Q: What did you like best about that team?
A: They were together. They were committed to the one common goal, and they understood what it was going to take. I think they were just a super connected group.
Q: Do you dream of a first-round NBA draft pick?
A: Absolutely. Everybody has their own aspirations and dreams of doing things and getting things done at the highest level.
Q: Since you were how old?
A: Probably sixth, seventh grade.
Q: What would be a successful season?
A: Just winning as much as we can, and just getting better every day.
Q: Do you guys talk about Final Four?
A: Nah, man, we just keep it day by day. Just figure out how the next day we can get better than we were yesterday, and go about it like that.
Q: How much noise can you guys make this year?
A: I think the sky's the limit. I think we have a super talented group. I think we got an older group who understand the game, whose had success in college, whose had success in high school, whose had success overseas or whatever. We got the talent for it, now we just got to go out there and get better every day.
Q: What is your message to St. John's fans?
A: I'm ready to go out there and do whatever I got to do to win, and I'm going to do that. I'm going to go out there and play every game as if it's my last and do as much winning as I can.
Q: And about this team?
A: Same thing. I think everybody's head is focused on accomplishing as much as we can as a team. I think we all understand the importance of winning, and that's what we're going to go out there and do.
