Are Miami and Maryland standing out for 4-star Elmarko Jackson?
Elmarko Jackson is On3’s No. 60 ranked prospect in the 2023 class. The 6-foot-4 point guard has been a standout all Summer with We R 1 on the UAA Circuit.
“I’m a physical lead guard,” Jackson told On3. “I can do a little bit of everything to impact a game, creating shots for my teammates and myself, and I defend. I watch a lot of Davion Mitchell with how he defends and Kyrie Irving for how he gets to his shots.”
In early June, Jackson announced he would transfer to Kent (CT) South Kent School to play his senior year. Since June, he has picked up over 15 offers. On3 caught up with Elmarko Jackson at UAA Atlanta to talk about his recruitment and visits.
“I’ve built a really good relationship with Miami’s head coach, Jim Larranaga, and Coach (Kevin) Willard at Maryland,” Jackson said. “I don’t have any official visit dates set yet; I won’t look at that until the fall.”
Jackson talks recruitment
Miami: “I took an unofficial there. It wasn’t as big of a school as I thought it would be. It’s a pretty small campus, like 15 minutes outside of Miami. They put a big emphasis on player development and have great facilities. They play at a fast pace, and Coach L lets his guards have a lot of freedom.”
Maryland: “I learned a lot about their play-style when I visited, but I kind of already knew that since he was recruiting me at Seton Hall too. They did a slide show for me and showed me how they played and how previous players fit into his system.”
The recent flurry of offers
“I recently added offers from Villanova, Nebraska, Virginia, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan,” Jackson said. “I mean, it’s really been a lot over the last couple of weeks.”
The earlier offers have had the time to build a relationship with Jackson, time these more recent offers have not had. Jackson remains open in his recruitment and knows what he will be looking for in a program.
“I’m going to be looking at how I fit in with each of them,” Jackson said. “How I could earn minutes as a freshman. I want to look at the player development systems each has in place and how family-oriented the programs are.”
Jackson’s take
“My recruitment is still 100 percent open right now,” Jackson said. “I am going to play through the summer and see what comes in and then maybe cut my list to a top seven or so. Once we get into the Fall, that is when I will start taking my visits.
“I want to go to a school with a nice campus energy—one where everybody is cohesive and gets along. I want to play for a coach who is hard on their players, but not in an irrational way, but wants to make their players better. Playing with a group of guys who just gets along with each other will be big too.
“Location will not really play a factor for me. I do want to play in an offense that lets their guards have a lot of freedom. Playing in the pick and roll with a lot of options and reads but also get out in transition.”