GG Jackson shares biggest change he saw in himself in 2022-23

GG Jackson learned a lot about himself in his first season at South Carolina. After reclassifying as a top freshman prospect, he became a go-to option for the Gamecocks throughout their year. However, he also faced some learning curves about how basketball at the SEC level isn’t always sweet.

Jackson spoke about the biggest thing he learned over his 32 games during his media availability after South Carolina’s season-ending loss to Ole Miss. He said he believed he was coming to college to be a go-to scorer. Under Lamont Paris, though, he quickly learned that wouldn’t be the case.

“Individually, I came in thinking that I was going to be an iso-scorer and all that. But I got a real rude awakening,” Jackson said.

With that said, Jackson very much still got his. He took 112 more shots this season than Meechie Johnson, who finished second in shot attempts, on his way to averaging a team-high 15.4 points per game on 38.4% shooting. Pair that with his average of less than an assist per game and it might be fair to say he still has plenty to learn from that rude awakening.

Even so, Jackson was recruited to South Carolina, as well as several other top colleges, for a reason and that was to score the rock. He may have left plenty to be desired when it came to distributing the ball but, at 18 years old, he still showed plenty of promise this season as a Gamecock.

Paris reveals growth he saw from South Carolina in Year 1

South Carolina‘s season came to an end at the SEC Tournament following a 67-61 loss to Ole Miss. The defeat ended Lamont Paris’ first season at the helm of the Gamecock’s program. Afterward, he evaluated the job he was able to do with the pieces he had.

“It’s hard to describe how much growth that there was this year,” Paris said postgame. “I keep saying that word, but I’ve never been around so much growth in my life in one season. So I’m happy about that and thankful for that, but there’s a lot of foundation that’s been laid. … We get judged on wins and losses certainly, but I’m evaluating it differently.

“I evaluate it on a day-to-day basis. In our practices leading up to this tournament, I’d say the last five, six, seven practices were incredible. Not just from energy. When you talk about growth? Me looking as a coach, acknowledgment of things, listening to something and then putting it right in, making a tweak against a team that we’re playing for the third time and only having to say it once.”