Isaiah Jackson the first Kentucky player off the board in NBA Draft

Kentucky’s Isaiah Jackson is headed to Indianapolis. The 6-foot-10, 206-pound forward was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers for the Washington Wizards with the 22nd overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, but he’ll end up with the Indiana Pacers via another trade.

The pick was originally part of the Lakers’ deal with Wizards for Russell Westbrook. Washington then shipped the pick to the Pacers for Aaron Holiday and the 31st overall pick.

“I am so happy for @IJackson22 & his family,” UK Coach John Calipari tweeted shortly after the pick. “He is just scratching the surface with his talent & is another one of our guys who is going to make a lot of teams regret passing on. Isaiah had an unbelievable spirit with us & I can’t wait to see him continue to grow at the next level.”

Jackson, a Michigan native, averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in 25 games with 18 starts as a freshman this past season.

“I can’t wait to start Summer League just to show everybody in the world what I’ve been working on this whole summer, what I been doing in workouts and stuff,” Jackson said after he was drafted. “I want to just help Indiana win. I know like last year they didn’t have the best season but I can’t wait to get there and just help them win. That’s my whole mentality, it’s just going in and working and helping them win.”

After a run that saw Calipari have players drafted in the lottery for 10 straight years, this was the second in row that UK players fell past the top 14 picks.

Calipari, a regular at the NBA Draft in support of his players, was unable to be on hand to congratulate Jackson.

“I have been at every @NBADraft for as long as I can remember to support our players on Graduation Day. Unfortunately, tonight I will miss the draft for reasons out of my control,” Calipari shared on social media early Thursday. “I called @IJackson22 this week to let him know. He understood but it was a really tough phone call for me because I really wanted to be there for him for his big day.”

Jackson blocked 65 shots to help Kentucky finish third in the nation in that category.

UK Athletics said reported that although Jackson’s final block numbers did not rank as high as Kentucky’s past elite shot blockers because of a shortened season, his block percentage (12.7) ranked eighth nationally and compared favorably with UK’s three single-season blocked shots leaders in Anthony Davis (13.8% in 2011-12), Nerlens Noel (13.2% in 2012-13) and Willie Cauley-Stein (12.3% in 2103-14).

“His metrics are off the charts,” Calipari said after Jackson announced that he would not return to UK. “Whoever drafts Isaiah is going to get an unbelievable defender who can guard multiple positions and protect the rim.”

More from Jackson’s draft Q&A

How does it feel to get your name called today? “I mean, it’s a surreal moment. Just growing up, just wanting, like having the dream of making it to the NBA, it’s just crazy. So, this is surreal moment for me and I’m enjoying it.”

How did you feel Kentucky prepared you for this moment, for your professional career? “I feel like Kentucky helped me. It taught me a lot of things. One of them was like how to deal with adversity. The other one was just on the court just playing tough, playing with that fire, playing like every game can be your last or the other team’s championship. So, just coming out with that fire and just playing tough.”

What do you remember about that conversation with Rick (Carlisle of the Pacers)? You said you were working on your shot or something, is there something that stands out to you about that? “Just him doing it with me. Like all the workouts I think he was the only coach that did that and I respected it. He wanted to see me get better and I can’t wait to get there and just keep working on it and just keep working period.”

How did this experience the last week or two or last month really live up to maybe what you were hoping for or expecting? “It lived up to everything, just having my name called, getting drafted, it’s just, it’s mind blowing, like I’m still right now trying to — I don’t feel anything right now but I’m still trying to — it just feels like a dream in a way, like it’s just crazy right now, like I’m just trying to bottle all my emotions and it’s just crazy, man.”

What should Pacers fans know about Isaiah Jackson? “That I’m a hard worker, I bring it all, I’m a defensive anchor, I’m going to be their energy guy that Indiana needs and like I keep saying, I can’t wait to get there and get to work and show everybody, prove everybody wrong.”

You’re going to be in the league this year, your rookie season, you have the opportunity to play against a lot of legendary forwards, same position as you. How is that going to feel to learn from them as well as take some of those things and implement that to your game? “I feel like just learning and playing against some of the best guys in the league is what the NBA is about. Like it’s learning, picking people’s brains, just soaking everything in pretty much like a sponge. So, that’s what I’m planning to do, learn from all the vets that come into my life and everybody I play against, try to pick their brain.”

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