Rick Pitino unfazed by Ian Jackson’s slow preseason start — with one change he wants to see

Ian Jackson felt he played timidly and not like himself in St. John’s two exhibition games. He shot 1-for-8 from the field in last Saturday’s overtime loss to Michigan and said he has to get back to impacting the game when he’s out there.

Rick Pitino doesn’t seem concerned with his sophomore guard, and he doesn’t even think Jackson played poorly in the Michigan game.

“He had a bad shooting night. I think he took a few bad shots. We have to get it out of Ian’s mindset that scoring is what makes a person play well,” Pitino said. “It has to be passing, defense, rebounding, understanding the system, and generally if you do those things, you’re going to score 16, 18 points.

“It’s like the guy that steps up to the plate looking to hit a home run — he invariably strikes out. If he’s looking to just make contact, he invariably hits a home run or gets a double. We got to get the mindset of just winning and playing well in all phases of the game, and generally when guys do that, they have great nights.”