Michigan State Recruiting: Jaren Jackson Jr. earns major praise in rankings
Michigan State recruiting found itself a gem in five-star power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. who got bumped majorly in recruiting rankings.
Fans may still be pining over the poor recruiting from the football staff, but there’s praise to be had for the basketball side of things. In fact, Michigan State has found the ultimate gem in five-star power forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
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When he committed to Michigan State back in the fall, Jackson Jr. was a raw power forward who had the ability to be one of the better big men in the country. He was considered a top-25 prospect by most recruiting services with room to grow.
After being selected to the McDonald’s All-American Game, playing for Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit and helping to lead La Lumiere to a national title, scouts have grown to love the 6-foot-10 prospect. The Spartan signee has been earning praise left and right.
The evidence is in the rankings. While most rankings mean next to nothing to Tom Izzo, he has to be proud at the climb of Jackson Jr. Just last week, Rivals released its final 2017 class rankings and he came in at No. 6. On Wednesday, both Scout and 247Sports released their final lists and he was tabbed as the No. 5 and No. 7 prospect, respectively.
The biggest jump came on 247Sports as he leaped 15 spots in the final rankings. In comparison, he’s the seventh-best composite player in the country as opposed to Miles Bridges’ ranking of 11th last year.
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Izzo has a star in the making on his hands. Just imagine the possibilities with him in the starting lineup next to Nick Ward and Bridges. Scary.