Syracuse Basketball: 5-star guard contending for No. 1 spot on SU’s radar

Syracuse basketball coaches recently watched 2024 five-star guard Ian Jackson play, according to a tweet from Mike Waters of Syracuse.com.

The 6-foot-6 Jackson, listed as a shooting guard or a small forward depending on the recruiting service, is an elite prospect in the sophomore class.

Some of the primary recruiting services that have published national rankings for the 2024 cycle place Jackson within the top-five overall nationally in this class.

Jackson is a sophomore who attends Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y. In a recent article, Rivals.com basketball recruiting director Rob Cassidy said that Jackson “sits within striking distance of the top spot” in the 2024 cycle.

Syracuse basketball is showing interest in five-star guard Ian Jackson.

According to recruiting services, the college squads that have already offered Jackson include St. John’s, Seton Hall, Oklahoma State, UConn, Nebraska, Kansas State and Bryant.

In late January, the wonderful 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London published an article that noted Jackson is receiving interest from blue-blood programs Kentucky and Duke, as well as Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweight Florida State.

Cassidy’s story says that the schools most involved in Jackson’s recruitment, at present, are Florida State, Kansas State and Connecticut.

I’m not a recruiting analyst, however, it won’t surprise me in the least if the Blue Devils, Kentucky and all of the recruiting juggernauts in college basketball end up vying for Jackson.

Analysts praise Jackson for his supreme athleticism and keen ability to create shots for himself. Jackson also continues to enhance his shooting stroke as well as his defense, experts say.

As far as recruiting rankings go, Rivals.com recently updated and expanded its 2024 ratings to include the top-70 players in this cycle. Jackson, in the Rivals.com refresh, moved up nine spots to No. 3 overall.

ESPN published its latest national ratings of the top-25 prospects in the 2024 class not too long ago. Jackson checked in as five stars and at No. 4 across the country. ESPN also rates him as the No. 3 small forward and the No. 1 player in New York within the 2024 cycle.

I’m expecting that a contingent of my fellow Syracuse basketball fans will chime in that the Orange, if it does pursue Jackson, has virtually no shot to win out here, given the competition.

That may or may not be true. But as I always like to say, the ‘Cuse can’t prevail in the recruiting sweepstakes for a top-flight prospect unless the team offers him first.

We’ll continue to monitor any and all involvement that Syracuse basketball coaches might have with Jackson moving forward.