Georgia Tech Basketball: Player Preview - Tadric Jackson

As basketball season approaches, we at FTRS will be breaking down the team player by player. Today, we take a look at Tadric Jackson.

Recruitment

Tadric Jackson came out of Tift County High School in Tifton, Georgia, in 2013. In the early part of his high school career, Jackson was being looked at as one of the top quarterback prospects in the entire state, but after promising seasons in his freshman and sophomore seasons, he gave up football to focus on basketball.

As a basketball player, Jackson earned all-state honors every year while leading Tift County to four regional championships and 101 total wins. In his senior season, Jackson led Tift County to the Class 6A Championship after finishing with a 29-3 record. Jackson averaged 18.9 points and four rebounds per game on his way to winning the AJC's all-class Player of the Year in Georgia.

Jackson committed to Georgia Tech early on in his senior season, committing August 14, 2013, over offers from tons of other schools, including Georgia and Clemson, while also garnering some interest from Kansas.

History

In his first season on the Flats, Jackson spent most of the season on the bench behind Chris Bolden. In the fourth game of the season (vs. Marquette), Jackson played 17 minutes in the game and managed to score 17 points (which would become a season-high) to show off his potential as a shooting guard, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and 3-of-8 from the three-point range.

As the season progressed, Jackson continued to put up good numbers when given opportunities, scoring double-digits in three more games (12 vs. Appalachian State, 12 at Dayton and 10 at Virginia Tech) before being named a starter for the final six games.

In those final six games, Jackson thrived as the second-leading scorer over that span at 9.8 points per game, shooting 31.9 percent from the floor. He had some pretty good games as a starter. His last three were the best, though. Against Clemson, Jackson shot 33.3 percent from the floor, but scored 12 points. Against North Carolina, Jackson nearly secured a double-double, finishing with nine points and seven rebounds. In the final game of the season, Jackson nearly eclipsed his season-high, finishing with 16 points, shooting 40 percent from the floor.

Jackson finished the season shooting 27.4 percent from the floor, averaging 5.4 points per game and also had a 61.7 percent free throw percentage.

In the Jackets' trip to the Bahamas, Jackson was the third-leading scorer, averaging 14 points per game, shooting 42.5 percent from the floor and was 5-of-16 from the three-point line. In the second game of three, Jackson scored 21 points, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-6 from three.

This Season

As the season is getting started, Tadric Jackson will be looking to improve on his first six starts last season. Jackson will have some competition at shooting guard, though, with the addition of Virginia Tech transfer Adam Smith. Smith shot 42.4 percent from the three-point line last season for the Hokies.