View the original article to see embedded media.
GG Jackson, 247Sports’ No. 2 men’s college basketball recruit in class of 2023, announced his decommitment from North Carolina in a tweet late Thursday night.
Jackson thanked Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis and the his staff for recruiting him. However, he said he plans to “explore other options” that can help him grow from a “teenage boy to an adult” to reach his dream of playing in the NBA.
Jackson’s official decommitment comes hours after 247Sports’ Travis Branham reported that the 6’9” forward was expected to flip to South Carolina.
Jackson became the first prospect to decommit from UNC in close to 20 years. Per ESPN, no player in the modern recruiting era has decommitted from North Carolina and played for another program.
The Columbia, S.C., native initially committed to the Tar Heels in April after considering five schools, including South Carolina. Jackson, who plays at Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C., averaged 22.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game and earned South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year after his junior season.
Currently, on the Nike EYBL circuit, Jackson is averaging 12.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game through 14 games this season. He also recently earned MVP honors at the NBPA Top 100 camp in June.
South Carolina was the favorite to land Jackson until the Gamecocks fired former coach Frank Martin after 10 seasons in March. Lamont Paris, formerly the head coach at Chattanooga, was named the Gamecocks’ new head coach in March. Paris wanted to go after Jackson but the top recruit had already committed to UNC, per ESPN.
Even more, according to Branham, “others behind the scenes” wanted to see Jackson remain closer to home as well. While Jackson previously told ESPN that he was initially looking at reclassifying into the 2022 class, he initially made the decision to remain in the ‘23 class, saying that he physically was not ready to play at the college level.
Whether Jackson commits to the Gamecocks remains to be seen. If he does, Paris will have secured the program’s highest-ranked recruit in its history in just his first few months at the helm.
