The top available prospect still remaining in Arizona's 2021 Class of prospects is Eduprize Prep's gifted 6-foot-1 unsigned senior point guard Justus Jackson. Jackson went into his junior season as one of the hottest prospects in the class, possessing numerous Division-I offers for himself, and was absolutely on the rise in his college recruitment. While Jackson had a strong senior season and turned in numerous strong performances on the Grind Session circuit for Eduprize Prep, the COVID pandemic and a lack of exposure, as a result, severely impact Jackson's recruitment. Jackson chose to play through the spring and summer, and now has numerous college programs showing much stronger interest in him.
While mulling over his options for the future, Jackson chose to play through the spring and summer with the Arizona Select club program, and team up with Mesquite's Nate Calmese and Desert Vista's Andrew King, which became one of the most talented trios on the club circuit in the West. This trio of talented prospects were one of my favorites to watch perform all spring and summer, and their respective team finished strong in numerous events - raised each of their recruiting stocks as a result. Most recently, the team lost a one-point game in the semi-finals of Bracket B in the Las Vegas Summer Championships in Las Vegas, and event organized by The Hoop Circuit.
Jackson was terrific in his play, as numerous college coaches inquired and asked me about his status and why he was unsigned. Jackson scored the basketball at a high rate and played at an excellent pace on the floor - leading the team in scoring and to numerous big wins on the circuit.
Jackson advised Arizona Preps that he has considered attending a year of post-graduate to improve his overall college recruitment. While it is almost ridiculous to consider that a player of Jackson's caliber would need to consider post-grad, the lack of scholarships available right now has significantly impacted his college recruitment. Many Division-I college programs would like to pull the trigger with Jackson, but simply do not have a scholarship at this time.
Fortunately for Jackson, one program that does need a gifted point guard right now is extremely interested in his services - a member of the BIG-12 Conference. The Texas Tech coaching staff, led by new Head Coach Mark Adams, is very interested in Jackson and has decided to schedule an official visit with Jackson. Jackson is in the process of scheduling an official recruiting visit to the BIG-12 program, and could receive an offer very soon. Most likely while on the recruiting visit. This offer would be a nice one for Jackson who has waited for some time for such an offer, and would be almost impossible to pass up at this juncture.
Previously, Jackson had offers from Portland, Pepperdine, Grand Canyon, Southern Utah, Pacific, Montana State, UC Riverside, Montana and North Carolina A&T.
Recently, Jackson took an official recruiting visit to the University of San Francisco, before the busy July NCAA Evaluation month, but the program decided to go in a different direction with their scholarship offer.
Jackson is an electric guard prospect with superb athleticism and bounce off the floor. He plays on his toes and with a bounce in his step, which allows him to play quick and with explosiveness. He is excellent off the dribble and has a pure shooting stroke with a quick release with unlimited range. He can have questionable shot selection at times, as a result of his unique ability to make shots from anywhere on the floor, which can be a blessing and a curse, but he is able to make plays that most guards cannot, as a result of his creativity and imagination on the basketball court. A big-time scorer of the basketball, but he also has the rare ability to lead a team and make plays for others. Over time, as he matures and learns just how good he can be, he will learn to score and assist at an even higher rate and more purposefully. This is a big-time individual talent that has the potential to become special.
Jackson is also a rare find among guard prospects in the sport, as he plays with a superb level of self-confidence in himself, and is able to do just about anything that he wants, and even when he wants to. He can get to anywhere he wants to on the floor, and make plays happen at a high level. As he matures as a player, he will go to another level at some point, and will reach new heights as a leader and producer, which is why his game and level of talent translates to any level of college basketball. He has the athleticism and skill-set to play at any level, and also has a true position, which will make that possible for him.
I will continue to watch Jackson's college recruitment closely, and bring you any recruiting updates as they continue to develop. Keep a close eye out though, as Jackson could and should land at Texas Tech in the very near future.
