else had anything to do with this. I don`t know if he would be here if any of the above(and likely others - did Dawn, Carey Rich help?) had not been an influence on him coming to USC. Even though may be one & done, getting a high profile kid like this to stay home is huge for the perception of the program. How many times has it gone the other direction - way too many. Hopefully that will help us fill the last scholly for this year with another difference maker, if there are any left out there. G...G...Gamecock!!!! Sounds really good!!!
Thanks to GG, his family, Paris & assistants. Frank Martin & past assistants, his high school coaches, current players(Spencer? & others) & whoever
- Thread starter Psycock
- Start date
Like you said a lot of people had a lot to do with this. Yesterday watching Jamie Shaw on Gamecock Central with Mike Uva he mentioned that after the press conference the first visit Parris had was to GG Jackson. He introduced himself and said I know I am late for the party but I would like to introduce myself to you and your family. He mentioned that GG could do for mens basketball what Aja Wilson had done for womens basketball, Jadveon Clowney, Marcus Lattimore. Stephen Gilmore and others on the USC football team had done for football. He also mentioned a player at Wisconsin whom he had recruited and told him how much he had done for Wisconsin basketball. His family remembered that and did not forget it. Carey Rich has had a relationship with the Jackson family for a long time. Aja Wilson called him Spencer Rattler called him, Dawn Staley touched base with him. I know I have missed someone and I apologize. In the long run a lot of Gamecock greats and coaches stayed in touch with GG. GG will be a first round pick and everyone knows he is a one and done like Spencer Rattler. We all know. GG is going to need some help with the current players and maybe anothere highly rated player. He cannot do it by himself just like the player at Georgia. A first rounder but he needed some help. I know the season ticket sales will go up and I expect to see a lot of sellout games at the CLA. If he can get some help you never know.
Now GG needs to be the recruiter. Let's find some others who want to blaze the trail with him.
Not sure getting a one and done player will have the impact folks think it may have. If the players that transferred this past season were still here the impact of GG would be 10 fold better than current situation.
It's for a shot in the arm for Paris, but I'm also moderating my expectations in terms of impact. I guess the best case scenario for us is that he's a really good player but not quite good enough to be a one-and-done. Presumably the tipping point for him to reclassify was his showing at the NBPA camp he recently participated in. It seems he played well enough that he was advised to reclassify so he could get to the league sooner. Nothing's guaranteed though. If he's one-and-done, the impact is probably negligible...unless he's just otherworldly and can singlehandedly elevate the team to the NCAAT. Perhaps if he had committed to us much earlier in the process, he could have been a draw for other recruits, but that's too late for this cycle.
Probably the best thing is just for other recruits to see how a player of GG's caliber is utilized by Paris. If Paris can really showcase his talent, that would be a good recruiting chip.
In any event, I will actually watch our games this year.
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