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It’s the summer, so scholarship offers are going to be flying around all over the place on the regular. That held true on Friday when Class of 2020 recruit Isaiah Jackson announced that he had received an offer from Marquette.
Blessed to receive my third scholarship offer to Marquette University☝ .#GoGoldenEagles pic.twitter.com/tPBw2vaHO3
— Isaiah Jackson22 (@IJackson22) June 30, 2017
Aside: Here’s a Twitter pro tip for you guys. When a high school basketball player says he has received his [insert number here] offer, he means in total. It took me a minute to find Jackson’s other two offers (Oakland & Southern Miss, for the record). As such, don’t lip off at the kid, like this guy:
If they offered you three times and you're blessed about it, maybe you should have committed after the first or second time
— Tim Krauss (@tkrauss33) June 30, 2017
You should probably also realize that Mr. Jackson here is 15 years old and probably doesn’t need to commit to a college just yet, thus ruining your joke. The correct joke to make comes to us from loyal AE reader Bill:
Overrated Wojo should be fired. Offers three precious MU scholarships to one player. Sad.
— Bill B (@Bi11BQ) June 30, 2017
Obvious sarcasm, not directed at the straight-outta-freshman-year athlete, pretty much perfect in every way.
Moving on.
There’s not a lot of information available about Isaiah Jackson at this point. He has a Verbal Commits page, which is helpful. That’s how we know he’s 6’7” tall and weighs 190 pounds. He attends Lutheran High School Northwest in Rochester Hills, Michigan, which is in the north suburbs of Detroit, not far from The Palace In Auburn Hills. Verbal Commits also tells us that Jackson is a shooting guard, although I suppose that could change if he has a sophomore year growth spurt.
While Jackson doesn’t appear to have a 247 Sports page at this juncture, ESPN’s Paul Biancardi does identify him as a guy to keep an eye on as the summer progresses.
2020 names 2 know. Jalen Johnson, Ethan Morton, Che Evans, Lynn Kidd, Walker Kessler, Brandon Boston, Isaiah Jackson, Davion Bradford.#CREI
— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) June 4, 2017
Please note that Biancardi also mentions Jalen Johnson, the kid from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, who already has a scholarship offer from Marquette.
Jackson’s Twitter page gives us the most important piece of information about why head coach Steve Wojciechowski and his staff offered him a scholarship: He plays for The Family, the same AAU squad that used to include Jamal Cain, Greg Elliott, and Ike Eke. All three of those guys are Marquette freshmen for this coming school year, and Wojo has already offered a 2019 scholarship to Mark Watts, Jr., who also plays for The Family.
Jackson’s Twitter also gives us a possible insight as to why Wojo is so interested in him: Defense, and lots of it.
2020 Isaiah Jackson, 6-8 with skill game. Uses length to block everything that comes his way & on other end he dunks everything @IJackson22 pic.twitter.com/OG6D1nArQ7
— The Family (@TheFamily_bball) May 5, 2017
Isaiah Jackson has been the human eraser for The Family this morning. 2020 picking up off impressive showing last weekend. Great upside
— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) May 13, 2017
The Family 15s 61, Elfrid Payton Elite 53 Final. @carrmaliq had 17 pts @erniesands11 had 14 pts and @Ijackson22 had 7 pts, 7 reb & 10 blk
— Mike Faletti (@MikeFaletti713) May 13, 2017
Isaiah Jackson had a great wkend for Family 15. Had 6 pts, 7 rebs, & 4 blks in championship and made countless defensive plays @IJackson22
— The Family (@TheFamily_bball) May 28, 2017
If a 15 year old has high quality defensive instincts on how to use his 6’7” size to wipe away opposing shots, I’m guessing that teaching him how to play within your defensive system is pretty easy.
Here’s a highlight video for Jackson. It’s mostly focused on his touch around the rim, his motor, and his court vision.
The way things are going right now, Marquette could have as many as five open scholarships in the fall of 2020. Here’s how the scholarship picture looks for the time being:
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