Syracuse basketball heavily involved with NYC 5-star, nation’s No. 2 player

About a month ago, Syracuse basketball coaches offered a five-star guard from New York City who is a significant contender for the No. 1 overall ranking in the 2024 class.

As a rising junior, 6-foot-6 Ian Jackson could have a way to go in his recruiting process. At least for the time being anyway, it seems that the Orange coaching staff is making him a priority in the 2024 cycle.

In two recent interviews with national analysts, Jackson said that the ‘Cuse is among the college squads presently recruiting him hard, and that’s certainly an encouraging sign.

Competing at an ultra-high level for the top-10 Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., during the 2021-22 campaign, Jackson was named the national sophomore of the year by MaxPreps.

He averaged 19.8 points, five rebounds and four assists per contest in the most recent stanza.

More recently, on the AAU circuit during NCAA live periods last month and at other grassroots-basketball events of late, Jackson has performed quite well for the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league.

Syracuse basketball faces still competition for five-star guard Ian Jackson.

In a recent interview with Rivals.com national analyst Travis Graf, Jackson said some of the teams reaching out for him most frequently are the Orange, UCLA, Oregon, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas and UConn.

In a separate chat with Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten, when asked which schools are heavily involved with his recruitment at this juncture, Jackson mentioned Kansas, Oregon, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Syracuse basketball.

Besides the ‘Cuse, his early offers have arrived from groups such as Kansas, UCLA, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Nebraska, Kansas State and Bryant.

Those reportedly showing interest in Jackson include Duke, Kentucky, Florida State, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas Tech.

In mid-June, college coaches will be able to start making direct contact with players in the 2024 class. Trust me, at that time or shortly thereafter, Jackson’s offer list is going to seriously expand.

Jackson recently told On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw that he would like to take visits to some west coast schools, such as UCLA and Oregon.

Naturally, we’re hopeful that at some point he will elect to travel to the Hill for an official visit.

All of the primary recruiting services rate Jackson as five stars and a top-five overall prospect in the 2024 cycle. Several recruiting Web sites rank him at No. 2 across the country in his class.

I would imagine that Syracuse basketball could end up being a long shot for Jackson, given all of his impressive suitors. But credit the Orange coaching staff for recruiting him hard and making a run at this supreme talent in 2024.