Off the board! GG Jackson becomes South Carolina's first draftee since 2017
GG Jackson is officially off to the NBA, and South Carolina picks up one its highest draft picks in almost 20 years.
Jackson came off the board in the second round, going No. 45 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies. He’ll link up there with Ja Morant, who is also from South Carolina and grew up a few hours from where Jackson did.
Jackson becomes the highest Gamecocks player to be drafted since 2006. Renaldo Balkman went No. 20 overall to the New York Knicks that year.
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The last South Carolina player to be drafted was Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell went No. 48 overall to the Milwaukee Bucks before being traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Clippers.
What Jackson’s role is with an NBA team is still to be determined. But he’s off to the professional ranks in some capacity.
Jackson was a highly-touted prospect coming out of Ridge View (S.C.) High School, the top-ranked player in the 2023 class before moving up and joining the Gamecocks a year early.
On3 ranked Jackson as the No. 8 player and the second-best power forward in the 2022 class. He was also a five-star prospect after he reclassified. Jackson was South Carolina’s highest-rated signee of the rankings era.
In one year with South Carolina Jackson led the Gamecocks in scoring en route to earning SEC All-Freshman honors.
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Jackson averaged 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three.
He finished ninth in the SEC in both points and points per game and 13th in the SEC in total rebounds per game.
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According to Sports Reference, Jackson’s 493 points were the most by a South Carolina freshman since at least the 1992-93 season.
The only other freshmen to have at least 400 points in a season for the Gamecocks were BJ McKie and Sindarius Thornwell.
Jackson’s 190 rebounds were the second-most by a South Carolina freshman over that same time span as well. Only Maik Kotsar (195 rebounds) had more as a freshman.
Most drafted rookies will head to the NBA Summer League in a few weeks. That will take place July 7-17 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jackson will almost assuredly be there with his new team in his first real action as an NBA player.
