Priority Syracuse Target Elmarko Jackson Updates Recruitment

Elmarko Jackson’s first offer was from Rider at the end of his sophomore year, but one of his most meaningful offers came months later.

“Syracuse first jumped into my recruitment around April,” Jackson said. “They had called me after a tournament I participated in. It was actually right before my birthday so it was like a pre-birthday gift. It was great. Coach McNamara called me and told me they were offering a scholarship for me. I was ecstatic. It was a dream come true. I’ve been watching Syracuse ever since I was a kid. It was a surreal moment.”

The 2023 guard from Marlton, New Jersey has had the eye of more than just Syracuse coaches recently. Jackson won the MVP award at the Under Armour Future 60 camp this past weekend in Bradenton, Florida at IMG Academy.

The four-star guard has most recently starred at Academy of the New Church. He averaged 17.9 points per game along with 5.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists on 47% shooting from the field according to MaxPreps.

Jackson announced Tuesday he will transfer to South Kent, a prep school in Connecticut which has produced NBA players like Andray Blatche, Isaiah Thomas and Maurice Harkless. Syracuse fans might remember Dion Waiters, Matthew Moyer and Elijah Hughes attended South Kent as well.

“I felt I developed a lot under my ANC coaches and my teammates. For me to maximize my development, I felt like South Kent was the next step for me,” Jackson said. “Coach Chillious is a very prestigious coach, a respected coach. He could teach me a lot about the game from the point guard position regarding half-court and full-court reads, becoming a better leader and sharpening up my all around game. Then when I get to college it’s not as much of a speed bump as it would be for most other players.”

South Kent Coach Raphael Chillious has experience as an assistant at Washington, Villanova, Connecticut and East Carolina.

Jackson credits players before him in the Marlton area for pushing him to where he is today. He cited Lynn Greer III as a source of inspiration. Greer III started his college career at Dayton before transferring to St. Joesph’s.

We R1 is the AAU team Jackson currently plays for on the Under Armour circuit.

“I feel the Under Armour circuit is better than the EYBL,” Jackson said. “It has different aspects of the game that the EYBL doesn’t have that translate more to a higher level. Defense, game strategies, it’s more team-oriented. The EYBL is more player-oriented. The Under Armour Circuit doesn’t get as much credit because it doesn’t have the media and press the EYBL does. There’s a whole bunch of dogs on the UAA circuit. No one really cares about their rankings it’s just winning and making sure everybody eats.”

Despite playing on a less talked about circuit, Jackson has racked up numerous power five offers. The favorites for Jackson’s services are Maryland, VCU, Syracuse and Miami. Jackson said he’d like to schedule official visits to all of those schools at some point.

Jackson likes how Maryland and VCU develop their players. Bones Hyland, a former VCU star who is now on the Denver Nuggets, also played on the We R1 AAU team.

The 6-3 guard was also impressed by Maryland’s new coach Kevin Willard and the whole staff’s commitment to being in the gym with the players.

“For him, success is not only winning a championship but getting his players to where they want to be which I like a lot,” Jackson said about Willard.

Quadir Copeland is a connection Jackson has to the current Syracuse roster. The incoming freshman and Jackson have worked out together previously and are good friends.

So what type of player would Syracuse be getting if they're able to land Jackson?

“I’m a strong physical lead guard,” Jackson said. “I get downhill as much as I possibly can. I get paint touches, force the defense to play me or my teammates. I try to get easy buckets at the basket or kick it out to shooters in the corner or on the perimeter.”

Jackson also said he sets the tone on defense and doesn’t care about the stats. The only stats that matter to him are championships.

Even though Jackson is a strong guard already at 185 pounds, he’s not content at that weight.

“I’m looking to put on a little bit of muscle,” Jackson said. “I want to get to the 195-200 pound area. College is a whole different beast compared to high school and AAU. I want to make sure my physicality is there. That plays a big part of my game so I would like to make sure I’m on the same level if not above college players.”

Jackson likes to watch numerous players who have been in the NBA. For defense, it’s Davion Mitchell. For offense, it’s Devin Booker, Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

Speaking of defense, the 2-3 zone is always a question mark when it comes to recruiting.

“I know a little bit how Syracuse plays it and I wouldn’t despise it,” Jackson said. “I know they’ve had a lot of success with it, being a historic program. I don’t have anything against it, I really like it.”

When thinking about what he wants out of a school, Jackson is thinking about more than just basketball.

“At the end of the day the basketball is going to stop bouncing so being able to get a good academic degree wherever I’m at will help me further down the road,” Jackson said.

When it comes to his goals, Jackson wants to win championships in AAU, high school and college. Beyond college, he wants to make the NBA then give back to those who got him there.

The big question on fans minds: When will the decision come?

“I’ll probably make a decision midfall of my senior year,” Jackson said. “I’ll try and do all my officials and then make my decision periodically after that.”

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