UNC Basketball Recruiting: Tar Heels heavily in the mix for G.G. Jackson

A commitment from five-star power forward Gregory “G.G.” Jackson would give the UNC basketball recruiting class of 2023 a massive boost.

The North Carolina Tar Heels are right where they want to be, four games into an impressive NCAA Tournament run and preparing for the most talked-about Final Four matchup in history. Not only that, but they’re also in a position to snag the top recruit in the class of 2023 according to both Rivals and On3Sports, Gregory “G.G.” Jackson.

Jackson, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound power forward and junior out of Ridge View High School in Columbia, South Carolina, has a list of six finalists that includes Auburn, Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the NBA G-League. And by all accounts, Jackson is getting increasingly closer to a decision.

From what we can tell, Jackson is down to the Blue Devils, Tar Heels, and Gamecocks, but it seems as if the latter is on the outs following the firing of former head coach Frank Martin. Newly-appointed South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris is doing his best to keep his team in contention, but according to Jackson’s high school coach, Yerrick Stoneman, the Gamecocks have some catching up to do.

Stoneman talked about that during a Wednesday evening interview on *Offsides with Marc Ryan, as well as confirming the leaders in Jackson’s recruitment, his timeline for a decision, and what’s actually going into the decision-making process.

"“I would say they’ve got about 80 percent of their minds made up, and I think they’re going to wait until after the Final Four, maybe the next week or the week after, to really make that decision,” Stoneman said. “The decision they make is not necessarily a next four years decision. This is a 40-year decision on what they’re going to do. His mom and dad are big on his academics. . .academics will play a big part in the decision they make.”"

Hmm…his “40-year decision.”

It’s also worth noting that Ryan, following his back-and-forth with Stoneman, named North Carolina as the place where he believes that Jackson will ultimately end up, though he admits himself that it’s not written in stone.

If it does happen to go that way, it would be a huge get for Hubert Davis in his first recruiting class as the Tar Heels’ head coach. He’s already earned a commitment from five-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher, and adding Jackson to the fold would really give North Carolina a good start on what would almost definitely end up a top-10 recruiting class at the absolute worst.

The days in Jackson’s recruitment are winding down and we’ll continue to follow it closely.

*Marc Ryan is the Assistant Program Director for The Fan Upstate. His show, Offsides with Marc Ryan, is broadcast via CBS Sports affiliate and airs Monday through Friday from 3:00-7:00 p.m. EST.

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