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Team USA wing player Josh Jackson, the No. 1 Class of 2016 prospect, led the Americans with 20 points and 10 rebounds in their 83-53 win over Iran on Saturday in the FIBA U19 World Championships (USA Basketball photo)
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The performance of wing player Josh Jackson in Team USA’s rout of Iran on Saturday puts more into focus how valuable he is to Sean Miller beyond the next week in Crete, Greece.
Jackson, the Rivals.com No. 1-ranked Class of 2016 player in the country, led the American U19 team with 20 points and 10 rebounds in its 83-53 win in the preliminary round of the FIBA U19 World Championships.
Jackson, a versatile 6’7″ and 185-pound talent, is a recruit Miller and his Arizona staff need for the Class of 2016. Before training in Colorado Springs, Colo., in preparation for the World Championships, Jackson took an unofficial visit of Arizona’s campus.
“I’m pretty much open to whatever school wants to recruit me as long as I feel it would be the right place to go, a nice place to be,” Jackson told The Arizona Daily Star‘s Bruce Pascoe. “Although schools (may) have a great history or great program or great teams, a player has to make sure that school would be the right place for that player.”
Kansas is believed to be Arizona’s top competition for Jackson but the Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep star is being recruited by most of the nation’s top programs.
Fellow Team USA member Terrance Ferguson, a 6’6″ and 180-pound wing from Dallas Prime Prep Academy, is also a recruiting priority for Miller. He is ranked the No. 5 prospect in the Class of 2016.
Ferguson and incoming Arizona freshman guard Allonzo Trier struggled against Iran. Ferguson made only 1-of-7 field goal attempts for three points in 18 minutes. Trier tallied four points with an uncharacteristic three turnovers and an assist in 15 minutes.
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Jackson, Ferguson and Trier figure into Arizona’s 2016-17 plans on the perimeter.
The following slideshow ranks the five positions — point guard, shooting guard, wing, power forward and center — by Arizona’s greatest needs in Miller’s Class of 2016 recruiting …
