Forward GG Jackson, one of the top men’s basketball recruits in the 2023 class, decommitted from North Carolina on Thursday.
The 6-foot-9 rising senior from Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C., posted on Twitter, “I have decided to decommit from UNC to explore other options that can help me grow from a teenage boy to an adult to put me in the best position to reach my dream goal which is the NBA.”
Gods Planpic.twitter.com/BRWs2To5Cj
— Gregory “GG” Jackson (@_ggjackson) July 15, 2022
247 Sports lists Jackson as the top prospect in his class, while ESPN has him at No. 6. Both media outlets reported that South Carolina is now the favorite to land Jackson — with the player possibly reclassifying to enter college for the upcoming season.
According to ESPN, Jackson is the first recruit to decommit from North Carolina since J.R. Smith decided to go straight to the NBA from high school in 2003.
Jackson put up 12.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in Nike EYBL play last spring and summer, per ESPN. In addition, he nabbed MVP honors at the NBPA Top 100 Camp this summer due to averages of 14 points and 9.2 rebounds.
The Tar Heels went 29-10 last season, losing in the national championship game to Kansas.
–Field Level Media