G.G. Jackson is staying home

Lamont Paris just landed the biggest recruiting prize in the nation. G.G. Jackson announced he has reclassified into the 2022 class and will enroll at South Carolina. This comes on the heels of his decommitment from UNC on July 15th. Jackson was ranked #1 in the 2023 class, though he will have to be re-ranked for 2022 now. Gamecock Scoop reported on the rumors a couple of weeks ago after getting insight from UNC Insiders, and people close to the Gamecocks program. It is likely Paris could not have imagined a situation any better than what transpired in landing Jackson.

Jackson was committed to UNC for the 2023 class, which UNC had a scholarship available for, but Jackson preferred to reclassify to 2022. Jackson and his family have been convinced that this is the best move forward for Jackson and his future, which G.G. alluded to in his decommitment tweet saying the move was "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."

Sometimes hard work pays off even when it seems things are going awry. Paris missed on a number of targets in the portal and refused to take players he believed would not fit his culture or system. Due to keeping two scholarships available, South Carolina was able to wait with open arms for Jackson. Frank Martin built the relationship with Jackson and sold him on the idea of staying home, but the current staff deserves credit for keeping communication open with Jackson throughout the entire process, even after missing out on his original commitment.

The importance of landing Jackson cannot be overstated. This move could open doors for Paris and his staff that were previously closed on the recruiting trail. Stay tuned to GamecockScoop for further analysis on this situation.