The No. 1 high school prospect has made his college decision.
Five-star shooting guard/wing Josh Jackson has announced his commitment to the Kansas Jayhawks. He did so on Twitter Monday night to give the Jayhawks another top-five recruiting class under Bill Self.
Jackson told USA TODAY on Saturday that he'd likely announce his decision on Twitter after saying, "I know where I’m going" following the Nike Hoop Summit. He was down to Michigan State, Kansas and Arizona while also holding offers from UCLA, Maryland and Louisville among many others.
Jackson is ranked as the top prospect by Rivals and 247 Sports, while ESPN has him at No. 3 and Scout at No. 2. Obviously anytime a player of Jackson's talent commits, it's a big deal in the college basketball landscape. Between Arizona, Kansas and Michigan State, those are three teams like going to be ranked in the top 10 of most major polls entering next season, and Jackson was the difference in them squeaking into the top five.
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Heck, the Spartans could make a good case for as high as No. 3 with Jackson if star freshman forward Deyonta Davis returns to go with five-star wing Miles Bridges and five-star guard Joshua Langford. Along with four-star guard Cassius Winston and returning senior guard Eron Harris, that's a formidable lineup capable of vying for the Final Four. The ties to MSU were strong for Jackson, who grew up in Detroit and is close with Bridges and Winston.
For Kansas, getting Jackson would have helped offset the losses of Cheick Diallo and Brandon Greene to the draft to go with Perry Ellis graduating. Jackson will undoubtedly be their best player and keep them a Final Four contender, though they'll probably win 30+ games and flame out by the second weekend.
And for Arizona, Jackson would have been the difference in the Wildcats being a quality team vs being possibly a great team. The Cats do return a healthy Ray Smith, a sophomore Alonzo Trier and a senior Kadeem Allen, but even with Jackson, that lineup doesn't have the same luster as MSU or KU.
In the end, Jackson is a Jayhawk, and we can now put Kansas in the big-boy tier of college teams for next season. They might not be quite as talented as Duke or Kentucky, but expect to see KU near the top of every major poll for most of the 2016-17 season.