GG Jackson impresses in South Carolina debut
GG Jackson stood on the South Carolina free throw line as the lights dimmed pregame.
He began to sway, listening to the national anthem, with his head down and began praying minutes before his first college game.
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“During the national anthem the whole time I had my head down and I was praying I was asking God, please. And like in the middle of the prayer, I was like, ‘It may seem like I’m only praying because I need something but like I need you right now. For real,’” Jackson said, his eyes widening.
Whatever Jackson, South Carolina’s five-star phenom, said pregame worked.
After a clunky first few minutes, Jackson had a quality game, picking up a double-double in his collegiate debut. He finished second on the team with 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting and drilled both of his three-pointers. He finished with 10 rebounds and an assist.
Every time the Gamecocks needed a big play from the athletic 6-foot-9 forward he came through. Jackson converted on a pair of three-point plays including one punctuated with a putback dunk.
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“He began to affect the game physically, and he can do that he needs to do that on an everyday basis…(He had) a big-time tip dunk and-one in a moment where we needed to put some points on the board. So that’s where he’s special,” Lamont Paris said.
“If he only had those things, he’d be a really good basketball player. I think if he only had those things he would be a really good basketball player. But he’s also a skill guy. The game’s got to slow down a little bit for him in terms of generating his own offense.”
His college opener is what most people expected from Jackson, who burst onto the scene with a massive dunk to really get things going in the first half as South Carolina ultimately beat SC State 80-77 Tuesday night.
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There were his fair share of freshmen moments–the four turnovers standout–but Jackson showed why he is considered a potential lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
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Ah, man. so talented. I mean, I’ve never played yes, with anyone seven years younger than me. But I’ve also probably never played with somebody as talented as him. And so I just, I’ve said this in multiple interviews, and I’ll tell him this. I just want to be there for him. So if we get into moments like that in the game, I just want to be there for him,” Hayden Brown said.
“I just want to be the guy that can kind of help him in situations like that, because I know as a young guy for me, I needed some leadership. I needed some help to kind of show me the ropes. So I just want to be there for him in that way.”
Jackson’s next test comes Friday when the Gamecocks take on Clemson at home.
“I get very stagnant into the stand at the top of the key looking for open three. But I feel like I’m not very as a consistent three-point shooter even though I hate to today,” Jackson said. “So I feel like just moving without the ball setting current sit-down screens and face screens. I feel like I can definitely help the team.”
