Editor's note: The 2016-17 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.
Read more: No. 10 Duke's Frank Jackson
| No. 9 Kentucky's Malik Monk
No. 8 Michigan State's Miles Bridges | No. 7 Washington's Markelle Fultz
No. 6 Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox | No. 5 Kentucky's Bam Adebayo
No. 4 UCLA's Lonzo Ball | No. 3 Duke's Jayson Tatum
No. 2 Kansas' Josh Jackson | No. 1 Duke's Harry Giles
Josh Jackson was considered an elite prospect throughout his high school career and was a priority recruit for high-major programs as early as his freshman season. Duke's Harry Giles was anointed as the top prospect in the class from the moment he stepped on the court, but Jackson stayed neck-and-neck with him until the very end. Kansas coach Bill Self sold him on being the next elite wing to come through Kansas, and much is expected of him in Lawrence.
Competitiveness
Talk to anyone who has seen Jackson play and the most common reaction will center around his competitive streak and his will to win. Whether it was AAU, USA Basketball or even the McDonald's All American Game scrimmages, Jackson's competitive side shows.
"I think what separated him as a high school player and I'm sure will continue as a college player, is his motor, his competitiveness, the way he's able to give max effort on both ends of the floor," one coach said. "That's not something you see regularly in high school."
Jackson won three gold medals with USA Basketball, and his desire to win is reflective of his leadership ability. He consistently gets on his teammates and will likely continue that trend at Kansas -- even though he's just a freshman.
"He's one of the most competitive players I've been around, and his teammates respect that," one scout said.
"He's an alpha dog," another one said.
An elite defender
The majority of elite high school prospects enter college with reputations as scorers who need to improve on the defensive end. Jackson is the opposite. While he put up points at the high school level, his biggest contributions came defensively. He'll immediately be one of the best athletes in college basketball and should guard an opponent's best player from Day 1.
"He has tremendous athleticism, instincts and length," one college coach said. "[He has the] ability to move his feet and guard virtually anybody -- 1 through 4, for sure -- and would probably guard the 5 if he had to. That's very rare. He has world-class potential as a defender. The one NBA guy he's reminded me of is Andre Iguodala, at his best. The potential to guard LeBron James, take on the biggest challenge, night in and night out. That will be something Josh Jackson will do for the next 15 years."
Don't expect Jackson to put up huge numbers on the offensive end. When a player's biggest attributes are their competitiveness, leadership and defensive ability, taking 15 shots a game and averaging 20 points isn't going to be in his DNA.
"There will be nights he doesn't break double-figure points," a coach said. "He's not really wired to be a scorer. He's wired to be a basketball player."
Scoring in half-court offense
Although it's not what his game is based around, there are still plenty of questions about Jackson's ability to score. His athleticism helped him consistently get points at the high school level, whether it was off turnovers or in transition, or simply driving past his defender.
"I feel like there are some real holes in his game, offensively," a college coach said. "He still needs to improve as a perimeter jump shooter, in college more so than in the NBA. In college, you see individualized game planning to pack the paint, play zone, play tight defensively, force you to beat them from the perimeter. [With] guys that aren't skilled perimeter shooters, [the college game] could be harder to impact from a scoring perspective."
Jackson, at 6-foot-8, was one of the best passers in the 2016 class. He's a load to handle in transition and as a creator while running the break, but he's much easier to deal with in a half-court setting.
"[He needs to work on] the fluidity of his offensive game," one coach said. "A lot of what he was able to accomplish offensively, he would bully his way or get a number of points in transition. Making the step to elite-level high-major, he has to be a more fluid ball-handler, driving the ball in either direction. And being a more complete jump-shooter, those would be the two biggest things."