Syracuse basketball continues to pursue 5-star guard, No. 1 overall player

With the fall recruiting period underway, Syracuse basketball coaches and their peers around the country can visit high-school prospects off-campus, and that could include in-home visits or open gyms.

According to tweets from numerous recruiting analysts and journalists, the Orange will be among those teams at upcoming open gyms to watch 2024 five-star guard Ian Jackson from New York City.

The 6-foot-6 Jackson, who was offered a scholarship by the Cuse this past April, is ranked the No. 2 national prospect in his class by several recruiting services, although Rivals.com at the time of this writing had him installed as the No. 1 player nationwide in the junior cycle.

After capturing national honors as a sophomore at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y., and leading this top-10 squad to a state title, Jackson is poised to have a monstrous junior term.

In grassroots basketball, Jackson is a member of the Bronx, N.Y.-based Wiz Kids in the Adidas league, and not too long ago, he was on the USA Basketball U17 national team roster that won the gold medal at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Málaga, Spain.

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

In recent days, college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, Pro Insight director of scouting Andrew Slater and Stockrisers.com founder Jake Weingarten all tweeted out that the Orange is expected to watch Jackson during upcoming open gyms at Cardinal Hayes.

Other suitors that are planning to visit Jackson during these open gyms include Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Arkansas, Auburn, UCLA, LSU, Kansas, Oregon, Texas, Pittsburgh and St. John’s. That’s quite an impressive list.

Beyond the ‘Cuse, Jackson’s offer sheet includes Kentucky, North Carolina, Arkansas, Pittsburgh, Kansas, UCLA, Oregon, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Nebraska, Kansas State and Bryant.

According to recruiting services and media reports, I don’t believe that Duke has yet to offer Jackson, but I’m sure that the Blue Devils will at some point sooner rather than later.

When interviewed by high-school hoops analyst Alex Karamanos back in mid-August, Jackson at the time said roughly a half-dozen squads were reaching out to him consistently, and they were UCLA, Kentucky, Oregon, Kansas, UNC and Duke.

Kentucky is receiving some analyst buzz in Jackson’s recruitment on various recruiting Web sites, although he still may have a way to go before making a college decision. Pro options, naturally, may also end up being on the table for him.

We noted in a recent column that Jackson is eyeing potential upcoming visits, with college groups mentioned like Kentucky, Oregon, North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas and Duke.

My sense is that the ‘Cuse is probably a big long shot for Jackson, but at least the Orange coaching staff is continuing to pursue him.

By the way, Jackson’s Cardinal Hayes and AAU teammate is lethal 2024 shooting guard Elijah Moore. The 6-foot-4 Moore was also offered by Syracuse basketball last April.

He recently took an unofficial visit to attend the Orange’s annual Elite Camp, which was held in late August. Reports suggest Moore is thinking about an official visit to the Hill.

And ‘Cuse coaches will be at Cardinal Hayes during these upcoming open gyms to watch Moore along with Jackson, according to Twitter posts from various recruiting analysts and journalists.