4-star Canadian SF Justin Jackson commits to Maryland basketball: Terps land top 2016 prospect

The Maryland men's basketball program made a huge, late addition to its 2016 recruiting class on Thursday, when four-star Canadian small forward Justin Jackson announced his commitment to the Terps, according to multiple reports.

Jackson had previously committed and signed a National Letter of Intent to UNLV, but the Runnin' Rebels have undergone a mass exodus and two coaching searches since then. He reopened his recruitment. Maryland pounced and ultimately beat out a group that included Oregon and Connecticut.

Jackson made an official visit to College Park over the weekend of April 30, alongside 2017 prospect Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and a Maryland source said Jackson particularly enjoyed his trip. That's clearly the case, as Jackson hadn't been tied to the Terrapins for very long but committed to them late in the recruiting cycle.

He's the fourth member of Maryland's class, and he's maybe the most important. By recruiting rankings, Jackson is easily the best. The 6'7 small forward is ranked sixth in his class at the position and the 40th-best player in the entire class, according to the 247Sports Composite. With Jake Layman off to the NBA, Jackson stands a great chance to start immediately for Maryland, and he'll probably pick up minutes at power forward, too.

Jackson joins four-star guards Anthony Cowan and Kevin Huerter and three-star small forward Micah Thomas in Maryland's 2016 class. The Terps likely still have at least one scholarship slot to fill, which they can do via the transfer route.

With Melo Trimble back in the fold, Maryland suddenly looks like a great 2016-17 team. College basketball's something else, huh?