Prospect Spotlight: Marcus Jackson (2025)
It’s common over the course of the year to have parents, coaches or others reach out and shed some light on the up-and-coming prospects in our given area. Late this summer I had a coach send me some film of…
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Continue ReadingIt’s common over the course of the year to have parents, coaches or others reach out and shed some light on the up-and-coming prospects in our given area. Late this summer I had a coach send me some film of a 2025 prospect who had yet to play a high school game and it didn’t take long to catch my attention with some of the impressive highlights that were shared. Edmondson-Westside forward Marcus Jackson was a name I wasn’t familiar with before receiving the messages, but I made note to watch him play this winter as soon as possible.
I finally got eyes on the 6’9 sophomore last week in a battle between two Baltimore City schools in Edmondson and Lake Clifton. While Jackson looked long on film, he looked even bigger in person and it didn’t take long to see why some of the local fans had been rumbling about his potential.
He’s a left-handed forward with plus length that can rise quickly off of two feet. If there’s one guarantee with any Baltimore City basketball game, it’s physical play. In this particular matchup, Jackson was guarded by 2023 Kris Mitchell, who stands about 6’4 but is as tough as a player that you’ll find in the city. Jackson had a few early touches on the right block where he used a couple of dribbles to get to the middle before rising up for hooks over his right shoulder. He had a few visits to the free-throw line later in the contest that showcased a fluid and confident stroke, which was good to see for a player his size.
The name of the game in Baltimore City basketball (especially in public school play) is to attack the rim at will. This means that Jackson was constantly being tested as a shot-blocker and I was extremely pleased with how many times he swatted opponents layups out of the air with authority. He possesses good timing and instincts rotating over from the weakside for these contests, but there were a few occasions where it was near impossible to avoid body contact and Jackson picked up a couple fouls to send him to the bench midway through the first half.
Jackson didn’t see much of ball in the second half despite working hard on the block to establish position, but he didn’t allow it to impact his effort on the glass and defensively. Ultimately his team came up on the losing side of things, but I saw enough to claim that Jackson has an extremely intriguing ceiling as a prospect.
As mentioned, this was just his third high school game as Jackson didn’t play his freshman season. As he continues to grow into his body, adjusts to the speed of the game and become overall more skilled, he’ll undoubtedly be pursued by Division I programs. At the moment he’s still an unknown commodity, but we’ve seen this plenty of times in the past where a player’s name takes off quickly and Jackson has all of the tools to be the next in line.