GG Jackson, nation's No. 1 overall prospect, commits to South Carolina Gamecocks, reclassifies into 2022 class

Less than two weeks after becoming the first North Carolina Tar Heels decommitment in program history, Ridge View High School (South Carolina) five-star power forward G.G. Jackson has a new home. 

On Saturday, the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class announced his college commitment to South Carolina - and solidified plans to reclassify into the 2022 recruiting class:

The 6-foot-9, 210-pound power forward, who is projected as a possible future NBA No. 1 overall pick, took official visits to Duke, Georgetown, North Carolina and South Carolina, but his recruitment became murky for a number of reasons.

Already a close-to-the-vest recruitment, Jackson's plans were clouded by South Carolina coach Frank Martin's firing in March, plans to reclassify and the belief that North Carolina filled its scholarship allotment with the addition of Northwestern star transfer Pete Nance. 

It was that last factor - the inability to reclassify at North Carolina - that Jackson may have been referencing when he decommitted “to explore other options that can help me grow from a teenage boy to an adult and to put me in the best position to reach my dream goal which is the NBA.”

Over the past few weeks South Carolina had emerged as a true threat to flip Jackson - and to make him part of its 2022 cycle, as first reported by On3's Jamie Shaw. 

Those rumblings were solidifed with Saturday's decision, as Jackson will be eligible to play for the Gamecocks in the upcoming season.

The dynamic athlete is only the second five-star commitment in the basketball program's history, joining P.J. Dozier, who was the nation's No. 22 overall prospect in 2015. 

With Jackson's reclassification, elite combo guard D.J. Wagner takes over the No. 1 ranking in the class of 2023, where he is believed to be torn between Kentucky and Louisville. 

Highlights