Syracuse Basketball: 8 teams are pursuing 4-star Elmarko Jackson hardest

I’ve come across numerous articles from national recruiting analysts lately that suggest Syracuse basketball coaches are prioritizing fast-rising, four-star point guard Elmarko Jackson in the 2023 cycle.

In a recent interview with 247Sports, the 6-foot-4 Jackson said that during the AAU circuit this spring and summer, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has been in attendance at a lot of his games amid various NCAA live periods.

So I have to say I was at least a little surprised when I came across a piece on Sunday from Sam Lance on zagsblog.com in which Elmarko Jackson noted eight squads presently recruiting him the hardest, and the ‘Cuse wasn’t mentioned.

Those eight contenders, by the way, are Miami, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, UCLA, Ohio State, Indiana and VCU. Jackson told zagsblog.com, and has said in a handful of other recent stories, that he plans to trim his list of teams still in the running by summer’s end.

Syracuse basketball offered a scholarship to 2023 four-star point Elmarko Jackson in April.

Does this zagsblog.com article indicate that the Orange is likely a long shot at this juncture for Jackson? I wouldn’t go that far, although certainly I would have preferred that the ‘Cuse was mentioned in this piece.

Recruiting analysts and journalists put out tons of content, particularly during live periods, where they discuss which teams are recruiting top high-school players the hardest.

When it comes to prospects whom the Orange is pursuing, often you’ll see the ‘Cuse mentioned by these targets as being heavily involved, but sometimes, as in the case of this zagsblog.com story on Jackson, you won’t.

Maybe Syracuse basketball is the 9th team recruiting Jackson the hardest, and he only noted eight squads to zagsblog.com. Then again, maybe the Orange isn’t as big of a contender these days for Jackson as many ‘Cuse fans had hoped.

Two things to monitor. Number one, when Jackson does cut his list, obviously we’ll know whether Syracuse basketball remains in contention.

Secondly, if the Orange makes the cut, will the ‘Cuse land an official visit from Jackson in the near future? That’s critical to the Orange’s chances, in my opinion.

Jackson is a rising senior who will suit up in the 2022-23 campaign for the South Kent School in South Kent, Conn. In recent months, he has performed quite well in grassroots basketball for the Delaware-based WE R1 in the Under Armour Association league, which just wrapped up its season-ending tournament.

As he has soared on the AAU circuit, Jackson’s offer sheet has blown up. Some of his latest offers are from Louisville, Ohio State and UCLA, with prior offers coming from teams such as Villanova, Kansas, Michigan, Texas, Indiana, Virginia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, DePaul, Pittsburgh, Nebraska, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Kansas State, St. John’s, Penn State, Miami, Minnesota, Maryland, VCU, Bryant, La Salle, Ole Miss, Seton Hall and California.

At the time of this writing, the two industry-generated ranking systems, the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Consensus, placed Jackson inside the top 100 in his class.

Those recruiting services currently most bullish on Elmarko Jackson are On3 (No. 59 nationally) and ESPN (No. 65 overall).