from Dave Lomonico of terrapintimes.com
First and foremost, there’s the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Josh Jackson (Prolific Prep/Napa, Calif.). The 6-foot-7, 185-pound five-star has Maryland, Michigan State, Arizona and Kansas out in front, and was just in College Park, Md., for the first time Aug. 17. The visit reportedly went well, and Jackson should now be setting up an official visit to UMD (if he hasn’t already).
While Jackson has personally gone mum on the matter (his mother is handling his recruitment), we’ve heard from several sources the Terps might just have the mojo to pull this off. In fact, there’s enough momentum and pro-UMD vibes that Jackson’s been elevated to “warm” on the hot board. (We might just be inclined to jack this up to “hot” following the official.)
The Michigan native plays for the Under Armour-affiliated 1Nation AAU squad, the connection giving Maryland a potential leg up in Jackson’s recruitment. Word from the AAU scene is he’s “feeling” the Terps and may even have them atop his personal leaderboard. Moreover, Jackson’s intrigued by the program’s direction and believes he can help the Terps win a title during his one-year-stay (most likely) in college.
That said, Arizona, the previously-assumed frontrunner, will have its shot with Jackson as well. Given head coach Sean Miller’s recruiting prowess, we’re certainly not counting the Wildcats out. But Zona’s Nike affiliation may hurt it in the end, and the same goes for Kansas and Michigan State, the latter two maybe battling for the third spot in the pecking order.
We’ll know more after Jackson’s upcoming official visits (none are believed to have been set in stone yet), but we think Maryland’s got more than a puncher’s chance moving forward. Stay tuned.
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