A new starting lineup wasn’t the only conspicuous change for St. John’s on Saturday. Ian Jackson, the sophomore guard from the Bronx, debuted a much shorter haircut before the Red Storm’s 91-64 win over Iona at Madison Square Garden. Jackson had not gotten his trademark shoulder-length hair cu t since he was in seventh grade. “I seriously didn’t recognize him,” head coach Rick Pitino said. “I looked at him and I said, ‘That’s Ian?’” Jackson said the stark change stemmed from his desire for a “fresh start.” “Just a chance to — I wouldn’t say ‘start over’ — but just give myself something fresh and something new,” Jackson said. It’s been a year of change for Jackson, a former five-star recruit from Our Saviour Lutheran School, who spent his freshman season at North Carolina. Since transferring to St. John’s (6-3) during the offseason, Jackson has been the subject of heightened scrutiny, which Pitino believes is the result of the native New Yorker playing in his home city. But Pitino loves what he’s gotten from Jackson, who made his second start for St. John’s on Saturday — and his first since the season-opener. “Ian is a really good basketball player,” Pitino said. “He can go from good to great in a very short period of time because of his willingness to learn, grow, get better. Great player. Great guy. Everything about him spells greatness down the road. His defense has improved immensely.” A gifted scorer, Jackson started at point guard on Saturday, replacing senior Dylan Darling in the opening lineup. After missing his first four shots, Jackson finished with 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 27 minutes. He committed five turnovers, but Pitino didn’t believe any were particularly egregious. Jackson exited to a loud ovation from a Garden crowd of 15,803. “I love his haircut,” said teammate Oziyah Sellers, who led St. John’s with 19 points. “It was crazy, nobody recognized him when he came to the locker room. We all joked, ‘Now you can see the rim when [you’re] finishing.’ But it was fun. He played good today.” Pitino likened Jackson’s post-haircut appearance to that of Billy Dee Williams, the longtime Hollywood heartthrob who starred as Lando Calrissian in the original “Star Wars” movies. “I played in the hippie generation, and my teammates and opponents had ponytails down to their rear ends and their ankles,” Pitino said. “I don’t care if you have hair down to your ankles, but you’ve got to be able to see.” Jackson said his haircut had nothing to do with his return to the starting lineup, but rather for his bigger-picture aspirations. “I’m just hoping to accomplish a whole bunch of wins for the team,” Jackson said. “Do whatever I can do to impact winning. Help us to be the best team we can be and keep getting better as the months go on, as the season goes on. “I think today was a step in the right direction.” ...read more read less