Syracuse basketball prioritizing 4-star, top-10 guard, who plans official visit

Syracuse basketball coaches offered a scholarship to 2023 four-star guard Elmarko Jackson earlier this month, and a media report published Sunday suggests that the Orange is prioritizing the 6-foot-4, top-50 prospect in this cycle.

According to 247Sports national analyst Dushawn London, Jackson says that while his recruitment remains open, the schools recruiting him the hardest for now are the ‘Cuse, Miami, VCU, St John’s and Maryland.

Additionally, Jackson plans to take an official visit to the Hill over the summer, which is a highly encouraging development without question.

As we’ve detailed in recent columns, the Orange coaching staff has sent out offers to more than 15 players in the 2023 class, and at this juncture, it definitely appears that Jackson is a top target for the ‘Cuse in this cycle.

Syracuse basketball could have a good shot at landing four-star guard Elmarko Jackson.

This weekend, Jackson has been suiting up for WE R1 in the Under Armour Association (“UAA”) league of the AAU circuit during an NCAA live period.

In another live period held earlier this month, Jackson performed at a high level for WE R1, earning praise from On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw.

Per the MaxPreps Web site, during the 2021-22 season for the Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Jackson tallied averages of 17.9 points, 5.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per encounter in a strong junior term.

Around the time that the Orange offered Jackson, we noted that his other offers have arrived from teams such as St. John’s, Penn State, Miami, Minnesota, Maryland, VCU, Bryant, La Salle, Ole Miss, Seton Hall and California, according to reports, recruiting services and his Twitter page.

"In London’s piece, Jackson said of his growing relationship with the ‘Cuse, “That’s been pretty good. I got an offer from them recently, a couple weeks ago. It’s the same type deal with Miami. They let their guards play but within the offense. They have gritty guards and have the Syracuse 2-3.”"

Jackson, listed as either a point guard or a shooting guard depending on the recruiting service, checked in at No. 66 overall in the 2023 class when ESPN updated its national rankings for this cycle not too long ago.

The On3 Consensus has him at No. 78 nationally and No. 16 at point guard, while the industry-generated 247Sports Composite places Jackson at No. 45 across the country and No. 10 at shooting guard in his class.