New Syracuse basketball 5-star recruit from NYC eyes visits to west coast

Syracuse basketball recently offered a scholarship to 2024 five-star guard Ian Jackson, who is ranked the No. 2 national prospect in his class by multiple recruiting services.

The 6-foot-6 Jackson, who plays high-school and AAU ball for teams in New York City, proved one of the best performers around the country during the two April live periods on the grassroots basketball circuit, and big-time offers continue to arrive for him.

According to recruiting services and media reports, three relatively new offers for Jackson, besides the Orange, are from 2022 national champion Kansas as well as Pac-12 Conference heavyweights Oregon and UCLA.

Jackson is a sophomore at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., an excellent squad that finished ranked in the top-10 nationally during the 2021-22 term, per some experts. On the AAU circuit, he plays for the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league.

Syracuse basketball will face an uphill climb for five-star Ian Jackson.

Listed as either a shooting guard or a small forward depending on the recruiting Web site, Jackson is rated as five stars by virtually every one of the primary recruiting services.

He is a consensus top-five overall player in the 2024 cycle, and numerous analysts and scouts have said of late that Jackson is a significant contender for the No. 1 spot in his class.

Among the other college groups that have offered him are St. John’s, Seton Hall, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Nebraska, Kansas State and Bryant.

Blue-bloods Duke and Kentucky, along with Florida State, Virginia and Tennessee, are also reportedly showing interest in Jackson.

Last month, MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens named this Syracuse basketball recruiting target the national sophomore of the year for the 2021-22 season, one in which Jackson averaged 19.8 points, five rebounds and four assists a game for Cardinal Hayes.

In a recent interview with On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw, Jackson said that he’s eyeing potential visits in the near future to the Bruins and the Ducks.

"“The two schools I want to see right now are UCLA and Oregon. I want to get out to the west coast, never been to these schools, and see what they’re like,” Jackson told Shaw."

During the two April live periods on the Adidas circuit, Jackson tallied averages of 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.5 steals per affair, according to Shaw, who noted that “UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, and Oregon were at most of his games” during the most recent live period for this league, where games were played in Spartanburg, S.C.

I’m hopeful that the Orange can emerge as a viable contender for Jackson. He’s from New York City, and the ‘Cuse, I believe, should be able to remain in the hunt for top-flight prospects from the Empire State.

Then again, with so many blue-bloods and other college basketball giants courting Jackson, it’s likely going to prove really difficult for Syracuse basketball to prevail in his recruitment. We’ll continue to monitor things here.