5-star recruit Isaiah Jackson has the Orange in his top three. He is ESPN’s #22 ranked recruit in the class of 2020. 247sports.com has the Michigan native at #25.
It’s been a while since the Orange has landed a recruit as coveted as Jackson. Darius Bazely would qualify, but in order to find a similar recruit who actually played (sorta) you would have to go back to Chris McCullough in the class of 2014. Here are three reasons why Jackson might choose SU.
1. SU was on-board first
Offer Dates
Syracuse: July 27, 2018
Alabama: July 21, 2019
Kentucky: September 1, 2019
Recruits love it when teams believe in them early on. If Syracuse is going to pull of this recruiting upset, you’d have to think loyalty plays in. Kentucky was the last in on Jackson and playing time has to be a question with the Wildcats. Coach John Calipari has the number one recruiting class in 2020.
2. Zone fit
Jackson seems to like the 2-3 zone. ‚ÄúWhen I went on campus for an unofficial last year I liked it, I liked the vibe and stuff and the way they play defense with a 2-3 zone kind of thing,”¬†Jackson told 247sports.com, ‚ÄúI think that fits me perfect with me blocking shots.‚Äù
Jackson is long and bouncy. He could rack up steals and blocks in the Boeheim system.
3. Nobody can figure him out
247sports.com’s crystal ball projected Michigan State as the most likely landing spot for Jackson by far at 56%. The unpredictability is a good thing for a program like Syracuse going up against a blue-blood like Kentucky. “Jackson is very likely to surprise either with his destination, or with the timing of the decision,” said 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Snow.
