COLUMBIA, SC — Wednesday’s announcement was worth the wait Hubert Davis and the UNC staff.
10+ months after receiving a scholarship offer from North Carolina, consensus top 10 prospect GG Jackson announced his commitment to Carolina during an afternoon event at Columbia (SC) Ridge View High School. He will arrive at Chapel Hill and begin his career with Tar Heel in the summer of 2023.
Ranked the No. 8 player in the junior division by the staff of 247Sports (with the expectation that he’ll climb even higher the next time the rankings are updated), he is the highest-ranking signing of the Davis era and joins the five-star team New Jersey at guard Simon Wilcher on the UNC’s 2023 Commitment List. Jackson is North Carolina’s first top 10 engagement since Caleb Love in 2020.
Jackson chose the Tar Heels over finalists Auburn, Duke, Georgetown and South Carolina and interest from the NBA’s G-League. Jackson also had offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Kansas, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Ole Miss, Oregon, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
“They showed from the start that they wanted me the most,” Jackson said of the Tar Heels. “They’ve also shown that I’m a top priority for their program. That’s very important to me. Almost every coach recruits me from there. I talk a lot to Sean May, definitely Hubert Davis and Jeff Lebo. They say she’ll approach me bring me the right job to bring me into the NBA. Also, the family atmosphere stands out.”
Jackson fits into Davis’ system as a hybrid forward—a player who can play offense and defense at the post and the touchline. During his trips to Chapel Hill, including UNC’s regular-season loss to Duke, Jackson watched forwards Brady Manek and Leaky Black for a preview of his role at Carolina.
“I definitely really like the style of play that they’re following,” Jackson told Inside Carolina. “I think it’s similar to what we’re doing with (Nike EYBL) CP3, kind of a 4-out, 1-in with lots of movement, lots of swings, lots of backdoor cuts. I feel like I would be successful there, especially a guy like me who can make guys stop dribbling. I feel like I’d shoot the ball more than Leaky, but I think I can also get off the screens and stop guys from dribbling.
Four days before Carolina’s victory over Duke in the national semifinals, Davis took a quick breather from all things NCAA. Along with assistant coach Jeff Lebo, Davis flew to Columbia (SC) Ridge View to visit Jackson and his family. College coaches are given seven off-campus trips to see a particular recruit each school year, and the visit was UNC’s last visit to see Jackson.
GG Jackson (Photo: Nike EYBL / Jon Lopez)
“That was crazy,” Jackson said after the visit. “I think ‘they need to lock themselves up for the game.’ That just shows you the confidence they have and the confidence they have in their players.It made me feel really special.It was an eye opener to how much they want me as a school.
Jackson, who grew up a Tar Heels fan and has called UNC his “dream school,” has been a top priority for North Carolina staffers since Davis became head coach nearly 13 months ago. He accepted a UNC offer on day one, June 15, sophomores could receive direct communications from coaches. Two weeks after the UNC offer, he and his family paid an unofficial visit to UNC.
“Me and my dad and the whole family were just amazed,” Jackson said after last June’s visit. “…Getting on the Smith Center floor and being in the arena was a crazy experience. Growing up you see the nice stuff on TV, but seeing it in person is a whole different feeling. It was incredible.. .”
Communications between Jackson and UNC remained steady throughout the summer – Tar Heel’s coaches observed him extensively throughout each base and school term and into the fall.
UNC sent three staff members — Davis and assistant trainers Jeff Lebo (his lead recruiter) and Brad Frederick — to Ridge View on September 9, the first morning of the fall evaluation period. The following month Jackson paid an official visit to Chapel Hill – his first – which landed him a seat at court for the beginning of the Davis era on “Late Night.”
Jackson’s play on the travel circuit last year propelled him to elite status, which he affirmed during his junior season.
“GG Jackson has become a mismatch nightmare in the ‘4’ position,” said Travis Branham of 247Sports. “He’s a good size for the position and has a frame that will continue to fill out, further increasing his effectiveness from inside. Jackson has built a strong foundation with his inside game and has consistently built his skills further from the edge over the past year.
“He’s an outstanding athlete who runs off the ground with ease, moves laterally well at the perimeter, and is quick and springy off the feet. He excels as a rim runner, shot blocker, rebounder and defender, but he influences the game. He has great hands and ball feel, can bruise and score with a variety of moves at the low post and can now jump out and knock over knights or get his man off attacking post player from the jump, he can pass and make shots from catch and pull. Its versatility at both ends of the floor with its ability to play inside and outside. All of this will make him a valuable weapon for Hubert Davis to move forward.
“Few bigs who can physically fight Jackson have the athleticism to keep him on the edge when attacking from dribble, and few people who are athletic enough have the physicality to keep him low-block. Jackson is still learning to balance his game from the offensive end as he’s fallen in love with the perimeter, but he has plenty of potential as an influential guy on both ends of the ground in North Carolina and beyond.
During his junior season, Jackson brought home award after award. He averaged 22.1 points and 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game, leading Ridge View to their first Class 5A state title and South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year was appointed.
“(There’s a) realization that (my teammates) know I can stretch the floor now,” he said. “I’m more comfortable kicking the ball (this year). I feel like I’m rebounding more aggressively. My engine keeps increasing every year, that’s the greatest thing.”
UNC has received signings from South Carolina’s top players four times in the past decade – Brice Johnson (2012), Seventh Woods (2016), Jalek Felton (2017) and Jackson. In the same span of time, UNC has only signed the top North Carolina player twice (Isaiah Hicks in 2013 and Theo Pinson in 2014).
Since completing his junior high school season, Jackson has played with Team CP3 on the EYBL travel circuit, averaging 12.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over the first two weekends of action as CP3 posted a 7-1 record. 247Sports staff have repeatedly indicated that he is “in talks” for the No.1 overall rankings in the class when the updated rankings are released in the coming weeks.