24. Mark Jackson: St. John’s - (1983-87) Brooklyn, NY

Four years: 10.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 51% FG, 41.9% 3FG, 75.1% FT.

Defensive Player of the Year (1987)

Second Team Consensus All-American (1987)

His points per game average is the lowest on the list, but that can be deceiving. Jackson was instrumental to the team in his first two seasons, but it wasn’t until he became an upperclassmen was he truly allowed to shine.

Jackson averaged just 5.8 ppg as a freshman, but was named to the All-Rookie team. As a sophomore he dropped to 5.1 ppg, but that was as the sixth man on a Final Four team that included Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, and Bill Wennington. When he finally got the chance to be a full-time player as a junior, he took full advantage by raising his point production to 11.3 ppg. Jackson was slowly becoming dominant in other areas of his game as well by averaging 1.9 spg and a then NCAA record 328 assists, good for an incredible 9.1 apg. His 150 conference assists and 9.4 apg average that season are still the best in conference history. As a senior, Jackson finally blossomed into a big time scorer, thanks in part to the introduction to college basketball of the three point shot, with 18.9 ppg, while also adding 6.4 apg and 2.0 spg. His quick hands and smarts helped him become the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. Always under control, Jackson only took good shots and his career FG% of 51% is excellent for a point guard. His 41.9% from three point range as a senior on 117 attempts shows Jackson could have done a lot more damage offensively if he had more than just one season with it.

“Putting Mark and Chris Mullin on the floor together made that St. John’s team the best ever at passing the ball,” Mike DeCourcy, national writer of The Sporting News, tells NBE. “You’re talking about two of the best and most willing passers in the past three decades, and they played together. People who wondered how Walter Berry could become such a star in college, then struggle in the NBA? There’s your answer. He was the beneficiary of so much generosity from his teammates.”

Former Big East announcer Mike Gorman added that Jackson “understood the point guard position better than 99%” of others.

His final totals included 1,338 points and 738 assists. In the NBA draft Jackson was the 18th overall pick by the New York Knicks and enjoyed an eighteen year career that resulted in him being second all-time in NBA history for assists.