UNC Basketball Recruiting: G.G. Jackson decision coming no time soon

No. 1-ranked UNC basketball recruiting target Gregory G.G. Jackson won’t be making a college decision any time soon, his father says.

Gregory G.G. Jackson isn’t quite as close to arriving at a college decision as we thought he was last week when he himself said that one would be made within “the next two or three weeks.” Instead, it could be quite some time before we find out where the top-ranked prospect in the Rivals150 is headed, as his father, Greg Jackson, made clear in a recent interview.

"“We’re still a ways off,” Greg Jackson said. “He threw out there that two to three weeks and I don’t know why he said that. If something does happen in the next two to three weeks, it will be him on his own.”"

Following the updated and apparently premature timeline that the younger Jackson provided us with last week, he released a list of six finalists that included Auburn, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the NBA G-League. The professional route is one that Jackson and his family haven’t discussed much to this point, as it came as a surprise to both his mother and father.

"“We were shocked about the list,” Greg Jackson said. “The kids kind of got together and did that, he and my daughter. Me and my wife were like, ‘What is all this?’ The G League is still an option. I don’t know about this year, but it is an option. The G League, in my opinion, it will prepare you for the NBA, but they don’t have the exposure that the college guys are getting. You never see any of the G League games on TV. You don’t know who is doing what. These college guys, certain programs, they are on TV all the time. Their stock is going high.”"

It’s clear at this juncture that Jackson’s father prefers that his son take the college route rather than going straight to the professional ranks. It also takes very little reading between the lines to see how much the Jacksons like Frank Martin and the South Carolina Gamecocks. And while that doesn’t mean that Jackson-to-South Carolina is anywhere near a done deal, I would argue that if he ends up reclassifying to the 2022 class — something that he and his family are currently considering — it gives them a leg up and really limits where he might end up based on the six finalists he named.

A 2022 reclass for Jackson would likely leave the Tar Heels on the outside looking in. If Jackson remains in his natural class, however, I give North Carolina a much better chance of landing the sensational big man out of Columbia, South Carolina.

For the time being, though, I wouldn’t advise UNC fans to hold their breath waiting for Jackson to commit to Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels.

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