St. John's Ian Jackson reacts as 4-star Jermel "Magic Mel" Thomas announces his long awaited commitment

Ian Jackson and Jermel Thomas
Ian Jackson and Jermel Thomas (Source: Imagn, @magic_m31/IG)

St. John's guard Ian Jackson showed his excitement for Jermel "Magic Mel" Thomas as the four-star guard announced his commitment on Monday.

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Tipton Edits shared Thomas' commitment to St. Louis on Instagram with a graphic of him in a Bilkens uniform.

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Jackson, a former North Carolina star who transferred to St. John's this offseason, reacted to the post with two emojis.

"💯💯," Jackson added.

Thomas replied to Jackson's comment.

"Love you big bro💯," Jermel wrote.
"Love," Jackson replied back.
Screenshot via Instagram (@tiptonedits/IG)
Screenshot via Instagram (@tiptonedits/IG)

Thomas is playing high school basketball at Our Saviour Lutheran in the Bronx, where Ian Jackson starred before committing to UNC as a five-star prospect in the 2024 class.

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According to 247 Sports, Thomas is listed as the No. 14 point guard in the 2026 class. He received offers from Florida State, Providence, St. Louis and Fordham but eventually chose to play under Josh Schertz at St. Louis.

"I chose St. Louis because the coaching staff came to all my live period games, the head coach," Thomas said (via ZAGSBLOG).
"The school really loves me. I like their play style. They have a lot of pick-and-roll and I can play off that. They let you do iso quite a few times, so yeah. I feel like it matches my game."
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Analyst shares insights on Ian Jackson playing point guard at St. John's

The point guard position is one many are closely watching as the St. John's Red Storm prepare for their third season under Rick Pitino. After nine players departed this offseason, Pitino was busy in the transfer portal adding talent to the roster.

One of the seven transfers Pitino brought in was former Tar Heel Ian Jackson, who joined the Red Storm after spending one season in Chapel Hill.

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With Jackson in Queens, some believe he's an option to play point guard, but analyst Rob Dauster doesn't believe that he will be the team's primary option at the position.

"One thing that we've heard is they're going to experiment with Ian Jackson being the point guard," Dauster said on The Field of 68: Offseason Grades podcast (6:30).
"And I'm sorry, Ian, all due respect, I don't think that turning a guy whose entire career has been about getting up as many shots as he can and scoring as much as he can into a point guard is necessarily the answer that’s going to make the most sense."
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Jackson, primarily a shooting guard, played 23.8 minutes per game for UNC, averaging 11.9 points and 2.7 rebounds.

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

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