Arkansas adds New Mexico grad transfer Vance Jackson

Arkansas has added a graduate transfer for the 2020-21 basketball season. New Mexico forward Vance Jackson announced he's headed to Fayetteville for his final season of college hoops.

This is not the first time Jackson has transferred, he began his career at UConn but decided to leave after making 21 out of 32 starts for the Huskies. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward was a Rivals top 100 player in the 2016 class, ranked at No.80.

In his freshman season at UConn, Jackson put up 8.1 points per game in his 26.1 minutes per game. He shot 40.9 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from the three and 67.6 percent from the free throw line. He also grabbed 3.8 rebounds per game and was named AAC Rookie of the Week on two occasions.

Due to transfer rules, Jackson had to sit out his first year at New Mexico and then began playing again in 2018-19 as a redshirt sophomore. In his second season, Jackson made 18 starts but played in all 32 games. He was named to the 2019 Mountain West All-Tournament team after averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game and was the first player in Mountain West history to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team without advancing past the quarterfinals.

As a junior, Jackson became a full-time starter for the Lobos and averaged 11.1 points per game with 5.3 rebounds per game, fourth on the team in points per game and second in rebounds per game.

Jackson's shooting percentages went up slightly from the field and from deep but he showed even more significant improvement from the free throw line, going from 65% to 71.4%. He shot 41.4% from the field and 34.2% from three with 146 three-pointers attempted.

The addition is, by my estimation, a good one for Arkansas. The Razorbacks graduated Adrio Bailey and Jackson's stats more than cover what the team has lost. Jackson is also three inches taller than Bailey, adding some extra height overall.