Joe Jackson has cut his list to three schools and hometown favorite Memphis is still the leader.
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound Jackson told Jerry Meyer of Rivals that he will attend either Kansas, Memphis or Tennessee and that he will sign in November.
A senior at Memphis White Station, Jackson has been the primary object of desire for new Memphis head coach Josh Pastner, who hopes that Jackson might become a smaller version of Penny Hardaway.
“Memphis is the frontrunner,” Eric Robinson, Jackson’s AAU coach, told me Monday. “They are the hometown powerhouse program in his home city.”
Kentucky was intially recruiting Jackson, but reportedly did not offer him a scholarship.
Kentucky remains involved with fellow point guards Brandon Knight, Kyrie Irving and Josh Selby.
Tennessee, which lost Selby when he re-opened his commitment, hopes to remain in the hunt for Jackson. The Vols are also involved with Trevor Releford and Vander Blue of Madison (WI) Madison Memorial.
Selby, meantime, is headed to visit UConn Wednesday.Still, Robinson said Jackson isn’t concerned with what those other players decide. “They all said, ‘We want you. We’re gonna put the ball in your hands,'” Robinson said, referring to a longer list that had included Kentucky, Syracuse, UConn, Duke and Marquette. “We don’t know if they’re telling Brandon Knight, Kyrie Irving, Josh Selby, they might be telling everybody that. “But do you really want me, do you really want Joe Jackson?'” Memphis really wants Joe Jackson and Kansas and Tennessee are hoping they can prove they want him as much. “He’s not worriid about those other point guards,” Robinson said. “He never worried about he opposing person. He’s gonna do what Joe Jackson wants to do and he wants to evaluate it. He wants to evaulate the program. “He comes from nowhere. To have prestigious schools like this wanting him to come and lead their program to the Big Dance. He’s gonna evaluate because his dream is to be successful and one day play in the NBA.” Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
