Miami and UConn will meet at NRG Stadium on Saturday in the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Just two weeks ago, the Hurricanes and the Huskies both won the first two rounds of the tournament at the MVP Arena.

Fans had the opportunity to see UConn guard Andre Jackson Jr. return to the Capital Region where it all started for him.

“It’s definitely crazy the experience that this basketball game can bring you or any sport that you play,” Jackson said in 2019, when he was a junior at Albany Academy. “I am definitely very thankful for it, and all the opportunities that has bloomed because of it.”

That was the season Jackson put his name on the radar of Division 1 college basketball coaches. Night in, night out, he made a statement with his rim-rattling dunks.

Jackson’s potential was limitless.

“Play this game at the next level because I feel like I have the potential,” Jackson said then. “I just have to really capitalize on it and put my all into this game.”

Four years later, the country now knows his name — and his game. Jackson has helped lead UConn back to the Final Four for the first time since 2014.

The Huskies won the national championship that year.

“To be around all the different types of things that they do surrounding the Final Four is definitely something I never really imagined, so it’s a great opportunity,” Jackson said on Thursday.

The junior guard and captain for the Huskies has made quite the impact in the wins over Iona, St. Mary’s, Arkansas and Gonzaga. Jackson has averaged at least seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists throughout the NCAA tournament, the only player to do so.

“Well, a lot of times when I make plays, it’s in transition and a lot of guys run the floor well,” Jackson said. “We got some athletes. They get out in transition and get some dunks with Adama (Sanogo), and I really like to pass it to the three-point shooters because that gives the team a lot of momentum.”

The ability to have his fingerprints all over the game has made him a dynamic player for UConn. While Jackson can still throw it down from time to time, his passing and his defense is what makes him so valuable during the Final Four run.

“Just setting a good screen, even if the play is not for you. That’s what builds championship programs. So we know what it takes to win and we know that it’s not always about the glory or who gets the point or whatever,” Jackson said. From Albany to Houston, Jackson’s potential still seems limitless. He's now just two wins away from UConn’s fifth national championship.

“It’s always about us scoring as a team. And we all know that,” he said.