Frank Jackson Off To Duke

Coach K is on a heater like none other. With the commitment of 6’3” point guard Frank Jackson on Tuesday, the Duke Blue Devils continued their unprecedented hot streak. Over the past five months Duke won the 2015 NCAA title, convinced five-star point guard Derryck Thornton to re-class into 2015, nabbed North Carolina product and projected top five pick Brandon Ingram, and then got their 2016 recruiting class off to a bang with Jayson Tatum, a top three recruit. Now, in Jackson, they have another five-star recruit in what could be a class for the ages. 

Previously, Frank Jackson was a BYU commitment. As a sophomore he transferred to Lone Peak, a Utah high school powerhouse and along with TJ Haws, helped the Knights win their fourth straight state title. His reputation sky rocketed while playing against national competition during the summer of 2014 and he entered his junior season as a top 30 player in his class. With several high major programs showing interest, Jackson re-opened his commitment prior to the start of his junior season. While he was not able to lead Lone Peak to another state title, he did turn into a five-star recruit that had his choice of suitors.

Playing for the Utah Prospects in AAU play, Jackson put his name into the discussion for top overall lead guard in the 2016 class. With a strong upper body and quick first step, Jackson used his power and athletic ability to get by some of the top players in the country time and time again. When he gets to the rim, Jackson excels as a two-footed leaper and uses superb body control to finish. While a little trigger happy at times, Jackson has the ability to score from all areas of the court and will enter his senior season as the No. 17 rated prospect in the country per Scout.com.

 After participating in the NBPA Top 100 camp in Charlottesville, VA in late June, Jackson took an unofficial visit to Durham, NC and subsequently cancelled a potential visit to Maryland. Later in the summer, Jackson cancelled a visit to Arizona and scheduled an official visit to Duke which took place this past weekend. It wasn’t too hard to see that Jackson had his sights set on the Blue Devils and will be another member of the Mormon faith to suit-up for Coach K after previous players in Chris Burgess and Jabari Parker.

With the commitment, Duke takes aim at their fourth straight top five class and third straight top two class. Earlier in the summer, 6’8” Jayson Tatum, the No. 3 recruit in the country committed to Duke during the famed Nike Peach Jam. Expect more five-star recruits to follow. Harry Giles, the No. 1 recruit in the country has Duke at the top of his list and also happens to be best buds with Tatum from their USA gold medal experiences over the past three years. Duke is also in the thick of things for five-star center Marques Bolden (No. 12 overall) and 6’9” Wenyen Gabriel (No. 10 overall), who was the hottest player this summer. 

Right now Duke is selecting the recruits they want and should wind up with a vaunted 2016 recruiting class. Cue the undefeated talk for the 2016-17 season. Can Coach K stay hot for that long?