G.G. Jackson anxious to face Kentucky, Oscar Tshiebwe in debut season

It will be a baptism by fire for South Carolina freshman G.G. Jackson in his debut season with the Gamecocks. Originally the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023, the 6-foot-9 forward — still just 17 years old — reclassified to 2022 and joined the USC program this offseason.

His decision to sign with South Carolina came after an original commitment to North Carolina, a relationship that lasted less than three months. Instead, the Columbia native decided to stay home and pave his own path, opting against the traditional blue-blood route most high-profile five-stars take.

That path, though, leads him to a team predicted to finish No. 14 — dead last — in the SEC and led by first-year head coach Lamont Paris. It’s inarguably a rebuild, a major challenge for any player to take on, much less a 17-year-old freshman with the weight Jackson has on his shoulders.

It’s never just a one-man effort, but it’s no secret the five-star freshman will be asked to carry the team in year one.

“I don’t think it boils down to one player, I think it’s a collective mindset as a team. But yeah, I feel like I have a pretty big role on the team this year and I’m going to try to get it done the best way I can,” Jackson said at SEC Media Day on Wednesday. “We’re going to use (the preseason rankings) as motivation.

“I came to South Carolina knowing we are not going to have the highest ranking or be the best looking team or whatever — that the media or people may see. We know what our goal is, we stay grinding and we’re going to keep doing that.”

South Carolina is at the very bottom of the preseason projections. At the very top? Kentucky, a program with NCAA title aspirations in 2022-23 — and every year.

Jackson’s difficult road ahead travels through Lexington in January, a matchup the standout freshman admits he has circled on his calendar. It’s a matchup that features several familiar faces for him, along with one head-to-head battle he’s eager — anxious is probably the better word for it — to take part in.

It starts with the five-star freshmen, Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace, two players he has experience playing with and against in high school.

He battled against Livingston and his Oak Hill squad this past high school season, a 92-52 blowout loss in favor of the Kentucky freshman. Jackson remembers two things about that game: losing by a ton and the fact that Livingston clearly took the matchup personally.

Why? Oak Hill head coach Steve Smith told the future Wildcat before the game that Jackson had talked trash about him, something the current Gamecock adamantly denies.

“I got to play against Chris Livingston this past high school season, my junior year (we played) at Oak Hill, they beat us by like — man, I can’t even remember,” Jackson said. “Coach (Steve) Smith at Oak Hill told him before the game that I was talking trash — which I wasn’t! — so he came out before tip-off and said something to me. I was like, ‘What?!’ From that point on, we were just going back and forth.”

It was a game where Livingston scored at ease, torching the nets without breaking a sweet. Jackson got his, sure, but the team effort favored the opposition.

“He was on fire,” Jackson said of Livingston. “It was embarrassing how he was scoring, to be honest. It was like he was jogging. But I had 30 (points) at the end of the game, so I’ll leave it at that (laughs). They got the win, but it was fun getting to play against a player of his caliber.”

As for Wallace, Jackson teamed up with the current Kentucky guard at a camp last summer. It was an event where Wallace was a top standout, earning All-Star honors.

“At (NBPA Top 100 Camp), my sophomore summer, Cason Wallace was the point guard on my team and he won the All-Star award on my team,” Jackson said, adding that he “most definitely” thinks highly of the two freshmen.

And then there’s the third piece of the Kentucky puzzle, the 6-foot-9, 260-pound monster of a human being anchoring the post for the Wildcats.

Jackson plays “primarily the three,” but admits his “bread and butter is still down low.”

“Every now and then I’ll drift under the basket and get some paint touches,” he said.

There, he’ll be forced to battle college basketball’s reigning National Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe. How does he expect that matchup to go?

“Man… Oscar is a freak of nature,” Jackson said. “I haven’t gotten to see him in person, but I feel like I’ll be a little intimidated. I feel like I’ll try him at the rim from time to time, hopefully I can catch him on one. Hopefully he’s lacking and I can punch it on his head.”

If there’s one player Jackson is excited to face this season, it’s Tshiebwe. No questions necessary, Kentucky’s star center is at the top of his wish list in terms of head-to-head battles.

“He’s the SEC Player of the Year and he’s probably No. 1 on the list to win it again,” Jackson said. “I definitely feel like he’s going to be a big challenge.”

Former No. 1 recruit GG Jackson’s reaction says it all: guarding Oscar Tshiebwe in the SEC is easier said than done pic.twitter.com/c9oJ9Aa7k9

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) October 19, 2022

Can’t ask for better competition than Tshiebwe.