Strickland was a standout guard in high school as he led them to three consecutive state tournament championships.

In November 2008, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of North Carolina.

He also played well during the NIT Tournament, beginning with 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists against the College of William and Mary.

The next game, he scored 6 points, collected 2 rebounds, had three assists (with no turnovers) and stole the ball twice in UNC's 1-point win over Rhode Island.

He averaged 3.1 rebounds per game and led the Tar Heels with 46 steals, including 4 against Marquette in the Sweet 16.

Strickland made 8-of-12 field goals in that game, including hitting both shots he took from three-point range and making his only free throw.

[4] [5] Strickland once again started at shooting guard during his junior season in which the Tar Heels began ranked #1 in the country.

During an ACC road game at Virginia Tech on January 19, Strickland tore his ACL and was ruled out for rest of the season.

[17] At the end of the full season, Strickland went on to average 21.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals in 15 games for ETHA.

[20] After suffering a broken jaw during a brawl at a friendly game against BC Ternopil on September 29, Jaxen was ruled out a month.