Uplift's Markese Jacobs stays home, commits to DePaul

Uplift’s Markese Jacobs stays home, commits to DePaul

Uplift’s Markese Jacobs decommitted from Kansas on Friday. . Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times.

When Markese Jacobs and Kansas parted ways in August after the athletic point guard had been committed to the Jayhawks for nearly two years, the Uplift star turned to a school close to home.

DePaul and coach Dave Leitao were able to keep a city star home as Jacobs committed to the Blue Demons on Sunday following his official visit this past weekend.

“DePaul has always been in the picture,” says Jacobs. “DePaul offered me even before Kansas did. I took an unofficial visit to DePaul two years ago, so there was already a lot of familiarity for me. Even when I was committed [to Kansas] I noticed coach [Dave] Leitao in the stands watching me all the time. They never left and have been around a long time.”

What Jacobs wanted to find was a head coach who believed in him. He believes he found that in Dave Leitao.

“From my perspective, all I wanted was a head coach who loved my game and trusted me — not the assistant coaches but the head coach,” says Jacobs. “I got that feeling from coach Leitao, that he loved my game. It’s the overall vibe I felt that this was the right place for me.”

Uplift’s Markese Jacobs (0) gets a windmill dunk in the second half against Leo. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Pain on the face of Markese Jacobs, Orr’s Danny Smith takes time to congratulate the Uplift junior on a well played game the Spartans won 75-66 in overtime, February 28, 2018. | Allen Cunningham/ For the Sun-Times.

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Markese Jacobs (0) slows the ball down against Leo Saturday 01-27-18. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Uplift’s Markese Jacobs (0) drives to the basket against Morgan Park in the Proviso West Holiday Tournament. Worsom Robinson/ For the Sun-Times.

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Jacobs admits the only hangup initially when looking back into the possibility of DePaul was the losing that’s taken place in recent years. But it’s also something that invigorates him going forward. In his mind he turned that negative into a positive as he looked ahead to his future.

“I want to be a part of taking this program back to the next level,” says Jacobs. “There is the new arena, new talent and it’s time to put this program back on the map in my home city. They just haven’t had a group of players together to be able to do that.”

In Jacobs, DePaul welcomes the top prospect in the Chicago Public League and the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s No. 2 ranked prospect in Illinois in the Class of 2019. He’s an exciting and talented 5-11 point guard with game-changing speed and athleticism.

Jacobs, ranked among the top 125 players in the country, joins a DePaul recruiting class that includes 6-6 Romeo Weems from New Haven, Mich., along with 6-4 guard Oscar Lopez out of California. Weems is considered a top 50 talent nationally.

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