Editor's note: The 2016-2017 college basketball season will be the "Year of the Freshmen", featuring what could be the best class we've ever seen. Over the next two weeks we will get familiar with the best of the best, examining who they are and where each of the top 10 prospects in the 2016 ESPN 100 came from.
Frank Jackson rose quickly up the 2016 rankings after a stellar spring and summer on the AAU circuit -- and became one of the most sought-after prospects in the class once he decommitted from BYU in November 2014. Right as his senior season began, Jackson committed to Duke -- and once Derryck Thornton Jr. transferred in April, having Jackson on the team became that much more important for coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Size and strength a plus
At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Jackson will have the size and strength to play at the college level immediately.
"He has a physical advantage on a lot of guys he plays against," one NBA scout said.
Jackson is at his best when he has the ball in his hands, with the opportunity to beat players off the dribble.
"I think he does a good job of getting into the lane off ball screens," said one college coach who watched him. "He can beat his guy cleanly off the dribble and finish at the rim, and guards with quickness and size can have their way in college. He can finish through size and get to the free throw line. He's explosive around the rim.
"I think he reminds me of Jay Williams of Duke in the sense that they're bigger guards that played off the ball when they were younger, transitioning to point guard."
Point guard adjustment
Jackson was more of a scoring guard at the high school level, with the ability to bring the ball up and essentially shoulder the load of the entire offense.
"Is he truly a playmaker? Or an undersized 2-guard?" one college coach asked. "Trying to figure that out. At Lone Peak [High School in Utah], he could take every shot, make every play. Just the overall understanding of the position. He was a high-usage player in high school, had several ball screens per possession, didn't have to be perfect every time down. He's going to have to be more efficient."
Moreover, Jackson will have to adjust to not being bigger and stronger than many of his opponents, especially once ACC season begins.
"He doesn't have great feel, doesn't have great vision, he's a straight-line power driver. He's not creative or nifty with his dribble, he accelerates and goes hard," one NBA scout said. "There's some adjustment if he faces a good defender; how does he get by a guy? There will be an adjustment with help defenders, with charges, being out of control."
Role at Duke
Duke doesn't have any true point guards on the roster, but Krzyzewski has a plethora of perimeter options -- which could benefit Jackson. Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard and Matt Jones can all handle the ball if necessary, which eliminates some of the burden on Jackson.
"He'll bring the ball up and be the de facto point guard when he's in the game, running pick-and-rolls and making plays, but those other guys will have roles," an NBA scout said. "He won't be under pressure to create [for] a lot of others. They have a lot of good players; he'll be eased into it."
At the same time, will the plethora of other good perimeter players limit his minutes?
"My concern for him is that he may not see the court a ton," said one scout who watched Duke recently. "It's going to be hard for me to see him playing meaningful minutes."