Michigan State, Kansas and Arizona all have a lot in common right now. All three schools have elite basketball programs with a great shot of making a Final Four and winning a national championship this season. That's not all they have in common though, as they are the final three schools on 2016 recruit Josh Jackson's list, according to CSN Bay Area.
Jackson is one of five finalists for the Naismith Trophy for High School Player of the Year and is considered one of the elite prospects in the 2016 recruiting class. Many publications differ on where he is ranked but he is unanimously a top three recruit. 247 Sports has Jackson as the top player in the class so his decision will have a big impact on how these teams look next season. It is a close race for where people in the know think Jackson will end up but 247 gives Kansas the slight edge over Arizona with Michigan State a fairly close third.
For what it's worth Jackson is from Detroit, Michigan which works in the Spartans' favor but they also have a few other things going for them. Jackson is good friends with MSU commit Miles Bridges who is trying hard to get him to come to East Lansing to play his college basketball, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Michigan State currently has the number three recruiting class in the nation, according to 247, but if they received a commitment from Jackson that might move to number one.
While Michigan State would love to get Jackson to round out an already elite class Kansas and Arizona actually need him more. Kansas has commitments from just two players for 2016 (four-stars Udoka Azubuike and Mitch Lightfoot) and are losing Perry Ellis and possibly more guys after this season. Kansas' class is currently ranked 36th in the nation, which is very low for Kansas, but Jackson would bring that up significantly.
As for Arizona they are in a similar position to Kansas. They have only two commitments from 2016 prospects (four-star Lauri Markkanen and five-star Kobi Simmons) but, unlike Kansas, they are guaranteed to lose a lot more talent after this season. Arizona's 2016 recruiting class is currently 31st in the nation so they need Jackson to help re-stock the roster.
Jackson is a 6-foot-7 wing who is extremely versatile and has tremendous athletic ability. Jackson is also an elite rebounder and headed to the McDonald's All-American game this season. Jackson is expected to decide within a month and whichever school he chooses will see their recruiting class ranking rise and their outlook for next season become much brighter.
