Despite injury, plenty of interest in Jackson

THE RIVALS150: Class of 2014 - Class of 2015

Athens (Ga.) Christian guard Will Jackson didn't waste much time making himself into a household name in the Peach State. After leading his team to the state championship game as a freshman, Jackson saw his recruitment start to take off.

But toward the end of his sophomore year, Jackson suffered a major setback in his development that cost him almost a year of basketball.

"I missed about eight months because I tore my meniscus. I had a setback with it after I started running. I had a knot in it and it was bothering me so I shut it down again," Jackson explained. "I've been back for about five or six games now. I've been doing all right. My conditioning still isn't great, but I've been leading the team and keeping everybody involved. I'm probably averaging like 16 or 17 points and like eight or nine assists."

Jackson still has some of the top basketball programs in the country in constant contact with him.

"I've been talking to Connecticut, Kansas, Clemson, Georgia and a couple others," Jackson said. "All those offered. UConn came to my game two weeks ago and were impressed. Kansas is going to come down during the playoffs. Clemson was at the game [Tuesday] and Georgia comes a lot too since they are so close."

Jackson took advantage of his time away from basketball and took a few unofficial visits. First up was a trip to Lawrence, Kansas.

"It was great," Jackson admitted. "It was mind-blowing. It's unique with all the tradition they have out there. I saw the campus, met with the tutors and met with the trainer, who I was very impressed with. I watched them practice and I was there for the Midnight Madness."

Next up was a visit Connecticut to see Kevin Ollie's program up close.

"I watched practice at UConn and saw their first night. I met with their tutors too and it was just a great visit," Jackson said.

Georgia is only a few miles away from his house and Jackson has been on campus numerous time and speaks highly of Mark Fox's program.

"I'm very, very interested in Georgia," said Jackson. "Georgia is a great school, especially their business program. I have a great relationship with Coach Fox and all the other coaches there. I know almost everything about their program. I'm pretty tight with the players too. I played against Kenny Gaines in the state championship as a freshman, so we are really close."

Jackson's knee injury set him back in the recruiting process and may have pushed back his timeline for making a decision.

"I was going to commit during the summer, but a lot depends on what happens during AAU. A lot of schools want to see me after this knee injury. I'll probably commit before my senior season starts after I take some official visits," Jackson said.

"When I graduate, my parents are going to get an RV and travel the world. So if I pick a school farther away, they will be able to be there to see me. I'm not really worried about distance from home. The style of play is important. I'm looking for a school that has coaches I can really trust and will make me into a player that can play at the highest level. As far as position, I'd love to be a combo guard. I'll do whatever the coach wants me to do."

Dan McDonald is a contributing national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.

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