DePaul lands top 100 recruit
Markese Jacobs joins DePaul from Uplift Community High School after committing to the Blue Demons on Oct. 7, 2018.
Romeo Weems has company for the second time since he committed to DePaul on May 22, 2018, as another top 100 recruit jumped on board Sunday morning. This time it’s Uplift Community High School point guard Markese Jacobs, who committed to the Blue Demons.
Jacobs is rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports, and was originally committed to Kansas before reopening his recruitment on Aug. 24.
After it became known his recruitment had been reopened, offers immediately came in from DePaul, Nebraska, Illinois, Virginia and Florida State as the competition for his services heated up.
Markese Jacobs committed to DePaul Sunday after decommitting from Kansas on Aug. 24.
In a video posted on his Twitter, the Chicago native paid homage to former DePaul guard Quentin Richardson and his Players Tribune essay “Letter To My Younger Self” about staying home in Chicago even with all the Blue Bloods calling his name.
“Kentucky will come calling. Kansas will come calling,” Jacobs said in the video. “The Jayhawks will fly you out and have Paul Pierce showing you around campus. Man, they’ll take you into Allen Fieldhouse on Midnight Madness and they’ll have a packed house in there screaming out the “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk” chant. Only at the end, instead of “KU!” they’ll be screaming out, “Q Rich!”
Many of the same marquee schools were after Jacobs as well, including Kansas, Florida State, Illinois, Virginia Tech and even NCAA Tournament darling Loyola Chicago. Jacobs then referred back to DePaul’s zip code in announcing his decision.
“But when you’re making your decision, all you gotta do is go into your room and grab all your recruiting letters. Look at the top left corner of the envelopes. Check out those zip codes,” Jacobs said. “What’s the zip on the one from DePaul University? 60604, Chi- Town baby.”
And with those words, an ugly week for DePaul men’s basketball ended on a high note with their second commitment this week.
With the announcement by Jacobs, DePaul now has the No. 15 ranked class in the country, according to 247Sports, but still trail Villanova and Xavier, who are ranked No. 6 and 13 respectively.
The five-foot-11-inch point guard, whose nickname is “The Show,” had a standout summer on the AAU circuit appearing in 26 games for the Mac Irvin Fire averaging 13.4 points and 2.3 assists per game. Jacobs’ standout performance came against Howard Pulley when he had 34 points in an 80-74 victory.
Although undersized, Jacobs’ athleticism has caught the eye of many schools around the country. While he is shot over 40 percent from the field during his 16 games for Mac Irvin Fire, he showed he still has room to grow with his 3-point shot where he made just 15- of-56 threes. As predominantly a scoring guard, Jacobs will be relied upon to pair with Weems as they look to account for the production they will lose with both seniors Eli Cain and Max Strus graduating after this season.
Jacobs, who previously committed to Kansas in October 2016, also had four game winners, including two in the Las Vegas Classic and the NY2LA Summer Jam in Milwaukee.
Although Jacobs announced in his tweet that he was 110 percent committed, the key for DePaul will be hanging to the No. 1 rated point guard in Illinois according to 247Sports, with the early signing period just over a month away.
Jacobs committed to Kansas in October 2016, also had four game winners, including two in the Las Vegas Classic and the NY2LA Summer Jam in Milwaukee. Although Jacobs announced in his tweet that he was 110 percent committed, the key for DePaul will be hanging to the No. 1 rated point guard in Illinois according to 247Sports, with the early signing period just over a month away.
