Where South Carolina Gamecocks stand with 5-star basketball prospect GG Jackson
Highly coveted junior basketball prospect G.G. Jackson still has a ways to go in his recruiting process, but the five-star prospect is starting to lock down official visits.
According to NCAA rules, basketball recruits are permitted to take five official visits during their junior year and then five more during their senior year.
Jackson, the five-star prospect from Columbia’s Ridge View High School, said Tuesday at the Chick-fil-A Classic that coach Frank Martin and South Carolina will be getting one of those visits in the coming months, though he hasn’t locked in a date yet.
Jackson has been on USC’s campus several times, most recently for the Gamecocks’ home game against Georgetown where a “We want GG!” chant started from the USC student section. He has attended three games so far this season and also a couple of football games in the fall.
USC assistants Will Bailey and Brian Steele were at Jackson’s game Tuesday night against nationally ranked Prolific Prep. Jackson scored 15 points in a 63-42 loss. Jackson had 24 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s 62-52 loss to Huntington Prep (WV).
Martin and Bailey also were there for Ridge View’s 9 a.m. game against Legacy Early College on Thursday. Jackson had 28 points in the 56-49 loss and was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 22.3 points a game.
“Coach Martin told me when we had a meeting in his office, think about how you can uplift your town and the state of South Carolina if you stay at home,” Jackson said. “He told me a lot of guys decide to leave, but leaving is not for everyone. He feels like staying home is for me.”
UNC, Duke, Virginia and Georgetown look to be the Gamecocks’ biggest competition for Jackson, assuming he takes the college route. The NBA G-League and Overtime Pro League also are interested in Jackson and have reached out, his father told The State Tuesday night. His father also said they haven’t ruled out reclassifying to Class of 2022.
Jackson and his father said a decision might be made sometime in the spring.
Jackson has taken official visits to UNC and Georgetown and has one planned for Duke on Jan. 21. The entire UNC coaching staff was at one of Jackson’s games at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas last week. UNC was in Vegas to play Kentucky.
Duke’s coaching staff has been at multiple Ridge View games this year. Jon Scheyer, the successor to Mike Krzyzewski, was at The Bash in Columbia on Dec. 9 to watch Jackson along with assistants Nolan Smith and Amile Jefferson.
“(UNC) coach Hubert Davis told me the only thing I want for Christmas is you in a North Carolina jersey,” Jackson said. “Coach Scheyer says I can be a Paolo Bonchero type of player, and they want to build a stacked team that will win a lot of games and want me to be a part of it.”
247Sports Composite ranks Jackson as the 10th-best prospect in the country and he is the highest ranked S.C. prospect since Zion Williamson in 2018. Williamson was ranked No. 5 nationally and picked Duke, where he played one season before playing in the NBA.
There’s a chance Jackson might be elevated to be the No. 1 ranked player in the Class of 2023 if he doesn’t reclassify.
Jackson has faced top-notch competition so far this year as the Blazers have played a challenging national schedule that has included several tough losses. After playing in high-profile tournaments like The Bash, Tarkanian Classic and now this week at the Chick-fil-A Classic, the Blazers still have a trip to New Orleans for the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Showcase on Jan. 6-8.
Ridge View begins region play the next week against Northwestern on Jan. 11.
“The first half, I have a lot of fun but when we get down, we have to make it look respectable,” Jackson said of tough opponents. “I have taken it very seriously. I have been getting on guys at practice because they like to goof around a lot. I tell them we got to get our mindset right for what really matters and that is winning a state championship.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
