Marcus Jackson is heading from one side of the Albany Cup men’s college basketball rivalry to the other.
Jackson, an Amsterdam native and Albany Academy graduate who spent his first two collegiate seasons at UAlbany, is transferring to Siena. The 6-foot-2 guard announced the move on his Instagram page Tuesday.
Jackson — whose older brother, Andre Jackson Jr., is a rookie with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks — entered the NCAA transfer portal in March following the end of UAlbany’s season. He appeared in 20 games and made 18 for the Great Danes this past season, averaging 5.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
A hand injury suffered at a practice in late January ended up spelling the end of Jackson’s sophomore season. UAlbany’s defense struggled without Jackson — its best on-ball defender — and allowed opponents to average 82.6 points per game in the 11 games he missed at the end of the year.
After playing a postgraduate season at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts, Jackson enrolled at UAlbany in 2022-23 and saw heavy action as a freshman, making 19 starts and appearing in 28 games while averaging 4.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Jackson increased his offensive efficiency as a sophomore, shooting 56.8% from the field and 41.7% from 3-point range this past season after shooting 47.3% from the field and 29.4% from 3 as a freshman.
Jackson is the third transfer to commit to Siena since Gerry McNamara was hired as the Saints’ head coach earlier this month. Siena previously landed commitments from 6-foot-9 forward Myles Wilmoth (Hofstra) and 6-foot-11 center Peter Carey (Syracuse).
BLACKWELL ADDED TO SAINTS’ STAFF
A day after announcing former Union College standout Ben Lee as the first member of McNamara’s coaching staff, Siena announced the hiring of former Syracuse standout Ryan Blackwell as the Saints’ newest assistant coach.
Blackwell, who started his collegiate career as a player at Illinois before playing at Syracuse from 1997 to 2000, spent the last nine years as the boys’ basketball coach at Liverpool High School outside of Syracuse.
Blackwell won five Section 3 titles and the 2018 NYSPHSAA Class AA championship at Liverpool.
Blackwell has also served as the head coach of Boeheim’s Army at The Basketball Tournament — a $1 million, winner-take-all event — since 2016, helping guide the team to the 2021 TBT championship.
“Ryan has a wealth of knowledge and experience as a head coach,” McNamara said in a press release. “He’s played and coached all over the world, and coaches with such a confident demeanor. Ryan has such a great ability to connect with the players he works with.”
Before coaching, Blackwell spent a decade as a professional player, with stops in seven different countries.