Less than one day after Maryland basketball guard Melo Trimble announced his decision to return to College Park for his junior season, the Terps landed a commitment from four-star forward Justin Jackson.
Jackson, who 247sports.com ranked as the No. 44 recruit in the Class of 2016, is the highest-ranked recruit of Maryland’s four-player class. The Terps also welcome four-star guards Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter and three-star forward Micah Thomas.
A small forward from Toronto, Jackson appears to be a viable option to start in place of former 6-foot-9 forward Jake Layman, who graduated after last season. And despite losing forward Robert Carter Jr. and center Diamond Stone to early draft entry, Maryland added graduate transfer L.G. Gill, who averaged 10.1 points last season at Duquesne and is eligible to play immediately.
Jackson originally committed to UNLV in September 2014. He signed his National Letter of Intent in November to join the Running Rebels, but the program fired its coach two months later.
In deciding to reopen his commitment, Jackson reportedly took an official visit to Maryland on the weekend of April 30. He committed to Maryland about a month later, choosing the Terps over Connecticut, Oregon, Arizona and the Running Rebels.
