UNC Basketball: Our final thoughts on the GG Jackson situation

As the GG Jackson saga is finally over, here are our final thoughts on the matter, and how UNC basketball fans should handle the news.

On Saturday, former UNC basketball commit Gregory “G.G.” Jackson announced the inevitable:

After looking deeper into his options, Jackson has decided to re-class to the Class of 2022 and commit to South Carolina.

Now, of course, this situation has simply been a rollercoaster for us all, and quite frankly I’m certain you’re tired of hearing about it.

However, after some reflection, I felt the need to address this situation one more time before we finally put it to rest.

For starters, of course it didn’t end up in ideal fashion for the Tar Heels. It’s never fun to have the top-ranked player in a respective recruiting class commit and then de-commit just a few months later.

Even though we all wish it was a different outcome, there are some very important things to remember here.

-Things change: the UNC basketball program would have gladly given him their remaining scholarship for the 2022-2023 season. In fact, reports have said that the Tar Heels did offer it to Jackson, but that he didn’t feel ready to re-classify.

As the summer went on, Jackson showed the world just how good he is at the sport of basketball player. This made him realize that he is ready to take the next step, a move that makes a ton of sense for him.

With him completing all of his graduation requirements, this was a simple transition for him. If he elected to stay in high school, he would have had to find a prep school to finish out his career.

Additionally, with the re-classification, Jackson will be eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft, given that he’ll turn 18 during the calendar year. For someone who aspires to be a professional basketball player, why waste time when you can get to your destination faster?

-He’s still a kid! This is simply an area that can’t be stressed enough. People change their minds every single day, how could you fault a high school student for making a decision that’s in his best interest?

Unfortunately, his decision change happened to be in the national spotlight and has received a ton of negative feedback, another issue that sports tend to bring.

-BE BETTER! We know how faithful North Carolina fans are, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to send negative messages toward Jackson or his family. Sports sometimes bring out the ugliest parts of people, and it’s something that we need to improve on as a society.

If you don’t want to hear it from me, listen to what UNC basketball standout Caleb Love had to say on the matter:

Don’t forget: these are high school and college athletes. They are just like us, HUMANS. If we learned anything from this situation, it should be that we need to do a better job overall of respecting these student-athletes and their families more. The harsh criticism over decisions is something we all need to work on to alleviate, especially in the world of social media where these athletes are more accessible than ever.

Overall, am I disappointed that GG Jackson isn’t going to be a Tar Heel? Heck yeah! I would’ve loved to see him play at the Dean Smith Center for as long as his college career ends up lasting.

I’m certain that the UNC basketball program feels the same way.

However, that’s not my decision to make, and Jackson chose the path that was right for him.

At the end of the day, Jackson will be fine, and the North Carolina basketball program will continue to be fine as well.

All that’s left to be said is, “Good Luck G.G. Jackson.”

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