UNC Basketball Recruiting: Tar Heels’ top target on verge of decision

The top UNC basketball recruiting target in the class of 2023 is nearing a college decision.

Gregory “G.G.” Jackson is one of the most talented high school basketball players in the nation, as evidenced by his rise to the top of a number of recruiting boards. That includes the Rivals150, where Jackson has taken a firm hold of the No. 1 spot in the class of 2023.

It’s that meteoric rise, the added exposure, and his sheer skill and athleticism that have also made him arguably the most coveted prospect in the nation. There isn’t a program in college basketball that wouldn’t love to have Jackson, but there are only a few that seem to have any shot at reeling him in — and it’s more or less been that way since the very beginning of his recruitment.

Things are heating up even more now that Jackson, a power forward from Ridge View High School, has stated that he’ll be making a decision in “the next two or three weeks.” Whether or not he’ll make an actual announcement at that time is unknown, but my guess is that we aren’t all that far away from finding out what his eventual destination will be.

It’s North Carolina and South Carolina that are believed to have a leg up in the Jackson sweepstakes, with the Tar Heels widely considered the favorite to eventually land him. The Duke Blue Devils have been around Jackson’s recruitment for some time now and received an official visit from him in January, but right now they still appear to be on the outside looking in.

On3Sports’ Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) gives the Tar Heels an 86.9 percent chance to earn Jackson’s commitment, while the South Carolina Gamecocks have a 10.4 percent likelihood of adding the blue-chip prospect to their 2023 class. The remaining percentage points are negligible and suggest that it’s these two bordering states’ flagship schools that we should be keeping an eye on here.

All three predictions on the 247Sports platform are in favor of the Tar Heels as well, though they come with varying degrees of confidence. Director of Basketball Scouting Jerry Meyer predicts Jackson-to-UNC with a high confidence level (7), while National Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi backs the Tar Heels with the lowest level of confidence possible (1). The Devils Den Duke Insider Adam Rowe also likes the Tar Heels in this one, but backs his prediction with a fairly low level of confidence, too (3).

Aside from folding the top spot in the Rivals150, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound Jackson ranks eighth overall in the 247Sports Composite, third among power forwards, and No. 1 in the state of South Carolina. He’s currently seventh overall in the ESPN100.

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