Visit before Final Four was sign 5-star forward GG Jackson needed from UNC basketball
G.G. Jackson, a five-star forward and one of the top-ranked players in the Class of 2023, said he prayed for a sign to help him make a decision on where he would play basketball after high school. He didn’t lack options including the NBA’s G-League Unite squad, Duke and his hometown team at South Carolina.
God’s answer for the 6-foot-9 forward came dressed in Carolina blue to Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C.
North Carolina coach Hubert Davis and assistant Jeff Lebo, who had been the lead recruiter for Jackson since they offered him a scholarship last June, took a detour to Columbia before the Tar Heels headed to New Orleans to play Duke in the Final Four.
“I asked God for a couple of signs way back before the March Madness tournament started,” Jackson said. “One of the signs he gave me was, they kept showing me as their No. 1 priority. We want G.G. Jackson. That stood out with me a lot. Them coming down from the Final Four and watching practice that was huge for me.”
Jackson, in turn, got to watch the Tar Heels too. He was one of 46 players invited to the USA Basketball men’s Junior National Team minicamp that was in New Orleans the weekend of the Final Four. The camp concluded on that Sunday with a scrimmage in the Superdome on the same court Carolina just beat Duke to play in the national title game.
The last time Jackson saw the Heels in person, they had just lost by 20 to those same Blue Devils in Chapel Hill. They were a different team than he saw before and he credited that to Davis’ coaching ability. The Heels’ tournament run made it clear to Jackson that he was making the right choice in UNC.
“It was huge because we had to see how well he could coach, how well he could handle different situations that the team was in,” his father, Greg Jackson Sr., told The News & Observer. “Man, he really did an awesome job. He answered all our questions that we had, because you know, you have new coach concerns, but he answered all that.”
So did seeing Brady Manek blossom. The graduate transfer from Oklahoma shot 40 percent from 3-point range and provided the perfect example of how Davis envisioned his offense working. When Manek joined the starting lineup, his outside shooting helped the spacing on the floor and helped the Heels’ offense enter a higher level of efficiency.
UNC’s coaching staff had pitched to Jackson all along that they saw Jackson in a stretch-4 role like Manek. Although Jackson conceded he needed to “get my jump shot more consistent” like Manek, he has the right skill set for Carolina’s system.
“Coach Davis is a face and space type coach and G.G. is that type of person whether it is in the post and create space that a way,” said Yerrick Stoneman, Jackson’s coach at Ridge View who is leaving for the same position at Oak Hill Academy. “Defensively, they rotate well and block shots and run the floor, things G.G. can do. The system fits him perfectly.”
Davis and staff knew it. That’s why back in December the night before the Heels played Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas, the entire coaching staff went to watch Jackson and Ridge View play in the Tarkanian Classic Tournament at Bishop Gorman High School in Vegas.
That was all part of Jackson’s confirmation when he reflected back on his recruitment. There were other signs too.
Duke’s interest tailed off once assistant coach Nolan Smith was lured away by Louisville. South Carolina fired Frank Martin, who extended one of the first scholarship offers to Jackson and had also made a strong pitch as their No. 1 priority.
“I want to say when South Carolina let go of coach Martin, I felt that shifted things,” Jackson said. “And I finally — I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I looked back at all the pros and cons of North Carolina so that’s when.”
Jackson is No. 8 nationally according to 247 Sports Composite Rankings. He joins 6-foot-4 guard Simeon Wilcher, a Roselle, N.J., native who is ranked No. 13, as the Heels’ 2023 commitments.
A year ago, Jackson was ranked 30th in his class. But after participating as one of the few underclassmen at the NBPA Top 100 camp, held by the NBA’s Player’s Association in Orlando, his stock began a rapid rise.
The Carolina brand is rising again too, with Jackson’s commitment and the news this week that four of its starters are returning from last year’s team. It’s all a part of why Jackson was ready to announce his commitment.
“Basketball season is over, EYBL season with AAU is kicking off, and with the tournament being over all eyes are on Carolina basketball for making the national championship,” Jackson said. “For me, it just felt right. I can’t really explain the feeling. It’s like when you know, you know.”
This story was originally published April 27, 2022 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Visit before Final Four was sign 5-star forward GG Jackson needed from UNC basketball."