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GG Jackson, 247Sports’ No. 2 composite men’s college basketball recruit in the class of 2023, announced Saturday that he is reclassifying to the 2022 class and committing to the University of South Carolina.
Jackson becomes the highest ranked recruit in the program’s history. As a junior at Ridge View High School, the Columbia, S.C., native averaged 22.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game and earned South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
In April, Jackson initially committed to North Carolina after considering Georgetown, Duke and South Carolina. However, earlier this month, Jackson decommitted from North Carolina, saying that he wanted to “explore other options” that can help him grow from a “teenage boy to an adult” and reach his dream of playing in the NBA.
Per ESPN, Jackson became the first prospect to decommit from UNC in close to 20 years. No player in the modern recruiting era has decommitted from North Carolina and played for another program.
Jackson will join first-year Gamecocks basketball coach Lamont Paris at South Carolina. Paris, who was previously the head coach at Chattanooga, was named the Gamecocks' new head coach in March after the program fired former coach Frank Martin after 10 seasons.
When Paris took the job at South Carolina, he had plans to go after Jackson, but the forward had already committed to UNC, per ESPN. Four months later, Paris will now have the opportunity to coach the talented power forward.
