UNC is all-in with GG Jackson, but where will they turn next?

At first, in October, GG Jackson was supposed to commit in North Carolina at Late Night with Hubert. Then he would make it official with South Carolina soon after his state championship run in March. While we are still unsure of an exact date for On3’s No. 1 player in 2023, On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) indicates UNC with a 75.8-percent chance of landing GG Jackson in the coming weeks.

GG Jackson, a 6-foot-9 skilled forward, would be the second top-20 commitment of the 2023 class for the Tar Heels. On October 16, On3’s No. 13 overall player, Simeon Wilcher, of Roselle (NJ) Catholic, committed to play for Hubert Davis.

By any measure, this two-man class would be a success for North Carolina. It would assuredly land its current 2023 haul in the top five following a 2022 class ranked 20th and a 2021 class 42nd in On3’s Team Rankings.

Where UNC will turn next

Let’s assume the RPM holds true and Jackson commits the Tar Heels, where will North Carolina next turn its attention? North Carolina has been known to gang recruit, sending two, three, and sometimes even four coaches at a time to watch a prospect during live recruiting periods. They did this with Wilcher and Jackson this past weekend in Orlando during Nike’s EYBL Session 1.

They also had multiple coaches watch the Expressions Elite team based out of Boston. Expressions Elite is led by On3’s No. 21 player in 2023, Matas Buzelis, and On3’s No. 46 player in 2023, Taylor Bol Bowen. UNC has not offered Bol Bowen, but we will talk about Buzelis here.

In year one, Hubert Davis showed he likes to run; play fast, and play with creativity. The length, size, and athleticism of Jackson and Buzelis in the frontcourt together allow for many looks. Sure they are both probably four-men and may be redundant, but with Jackson already in town, that could help Davis’ pitch to Buzelis, who wants to be on the perimeter.

With how the roster was constructed to start the season, Davis valued skill at the four position. In Dawson Garcia, a transfer from Marquette, Davis got a 6-foot-11 player who wanted to face up and could move his feet a little. WIth Brady Manek, a grad transfer from Oklahoma, the Tar Heels got a 6-foot-8 power forward who was one of the best long-range shooters in the country down the stretch.

In GG Jackson and Matas Buzelis, you get the same type of skill and creativity on the offensive end, but both players have all of the best qualities wrapped into one.

Buzelis at a glance

Matas Buzelis is the No. 21 player in the 2023 On3 Consensus. The junior at Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy is 6-foot-10 and listed at 187-pounds. Along with UNC, he currently claims over 20 offers including Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Arizona. Buzelis has taken official visits to Wake Forest, Florida State, and Kentucky. His On3 recruiting profile indicates he has taken unofficial to DePaul and Purdue.

On3’s scouting report on Buzelis, “Matas Buzelis has a lot of tools you look for in a modern forward. He has great positional size and good length. At 6-foot-10 you see he is very effective in transition with great balance and good burst. Buzelis has a good handle in the open floor. He is currently a perimeter-oriented player. He needs to tighten his handle in the half-court, to help get him to his spots better and more effectively. The jump shot has a slow, and low, release. He is better shooting off the catch than the bounce and is a good off-ball cutter, finishing above the rim on backdoor cuts. Buzelis is at his best working with minimal dribbles from the mid-range/mid-post area. He needs strength and the motor runs hot and cold. The upside is high here.”

Final Thoughts

While we are still not 100-percent sure GG Jackson will be deciding soon, we believe he thinks he will be. With the RPM pointing toward North Carolina to land Jackson, the Tar Heels would be able to claim two top-15 players in 2023 – maybe before the second live period date. This will allow them to move their full attention to another player.

A quick look seven miles up the road from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and you see a Duke 2023 class that currently sits at No. 1 with five commitments, all of which are within the 2023 On3 Consensus top 25. While every school recruits their own team in their own race, UNC landing Jackson soon will allow them to target the next man up and fight for position at the top of the class rankings.