The Recruiting Guy

Arkansas lands New Mexico grad transfer

New Mexico's Vance Jackson plays against Utah State during the first half of a Mountain West Conference tournament NCAA college basketball game Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
New Mexico's Vance Jackson plays against Utah State during the first half of a Mountain West Conference tournament NCAA college basketball game Thursday, March 5, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

New Mexico forward grad transfer Vance Jackson will be finishing his career at Arkansas under the tutelage of a familiar face in Coach Eric Musselman.

Jackson, 6-9, 225 pounds, picked Arkansas over interest from Memphis, Louisville, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Washington State and others. He entered the portal on Monday.

“I was very familiar with Coach Musselman and his whole staff,” Jackson said. “They recruited me at Nevada when I transferred from UConn, so I’m already familiar and comfortable with the relationship we have and I didn't see a reason to delay.”

He averaged 11.1 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Lobos last season while shooting 41.4% from the field, 34.2% from beyond the three-point line and 71.4% from the free throw line. He averaged 13.1 points, 7 rebounds, 2.6 assists as a sophomore.

Jackson started 21 games for UConn as a freshman and averaged 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while playing 26.1 minutes and shooting 40.9 percent from the floor, 39.7 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 67.6 percent from the free throw line.

Jackson wanted to be a Razorback after competing against Nevada and Musselman in the Mountain West Conference.

“I had a chance to compete against them many times in the Mountain West when I was at New Mexico,” he said. “I loved their style of play and how hard they competed. Also this is my grad transfer year. This is my last chance to prepare for the next level, and I felt like Coach Musselman and the whole Arkansas Razorback staff would give me the best opportunity to do that.

"He’s proven to have tremendous success with players with the same position as me.”

Jackson played for Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., and averaged 21.7 points and 6.8 rebounds as a high school senior. He was rated a 4-star prospect.

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