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Mother of elite recruit Josh Jackson: ‘Josh hasn’t been recruited by anyone’

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Kelly Kline/Under Armour

The most interesting recruitment in the country probably belongs to Josh Jackson, a top five talent in the Class of 2016.

Let’s start with what we don’t know, like where he will be playing his high school ball next season. Jackson spent last season dominating the competition for Consortium, a high school in Detroit. But he announced -- via a youtube channel that was created by his mother for the AAU team, 1 Nation, that she started for Jackson as well -- last month that he will be transferring this season, heading to play for a high school team in California where he will face tougher competition than he did in Michigan.

We just don’t know what high school it is going to be yet, just like we don’t know if Jackson -- who was held back in the eighth grade but is old enough to be in the Class of 2015 -- will end up reclassifying and enrolling in college early.

That’s one of the biggest rumors on the grassroots hoops circuit, although his mother told Kentucky.com that the rumors are false and that her son will spend two more seasons at the high school level.

That’s not the only thing that Apples Jones said at the Under Armor Association Finals this week. She also said that her son is not being recruited by anyone.

Seriously:

“People assume that Josh is being recruited by every college coach that you may see at his games, and it’s actually not true,” she told the Herald-Leader. “Yes, we’re aware that they’re watching him. But they don’t communicate with us. We don’t communicate with them. So, to me, it’s not like he’s being recruited.

“I’ve never been told by one coach that they’ve offered my son (a scholarship). I read that stuff, but that’s what other people say. As far as we’re concerned, Josh hasn’t been recruited by anyone.”


Let’s ignore, for a second, the fact that Jackson has already gone on visits to colleges, Jackson is currently ranked No. 1 in the class of 2016. I find it very hard to believe that no one is recruiting him, especially when you consider that, as of June 15th, coaches were finally allowed to call him.

To be honest, I’m not sure what the deal is here. But I do hope that parents of elite high school athletes realize that their behavior will affect how their child will get recruited. If bringing in a certain kid means having to deal with a crazy mom or dad for one or two or however many years, it may not make the effort to get him onto campus worth it.

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