Syracuse Basketball: Orange should give 2023 PF G.G. Jackson first offer

Syracuse basketball (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
Syracuse basketball (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

Syracuse basketball is showing interest in 2023 power forward G.G. Jackson, and the Orange could become the first team to offer this talented prospect.

G.G. Jackson, who is garnering interest from Syracuse basketball and a handful of other high-quality squads, is currently an under-rated 2023 high-school player. But that will quickly change, according to some recruiting analysts.

Per 247Sports’ Travis Branham, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound power forward is receiving interest from a half-dozen crews, and they are the Orange, Mike Hopkins-led Washington, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference foes Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Empire State team Buffalo.

Jackson, a rising sophomore at Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C., said to Branham that he’s “looking for that first offer to come in and get this thing rolling.”

A few days ago, the ‘Cuse offered athletic wing Elijah Fisher, a Canadian prospect who attends Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario, and is one of the best players throughout North America in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Now, Syracuse basketball should keep its positive momentum in this class moving forward and pledge an offer to Jackson. Branham notes that when 247Sports releases its individual rankings for high-school players in the 2023 class, Jackson “projects to be a four-star prospect.”

Although I don’t believe that Syracuse basketball has historically picked up a ton of commitments in the state of South Carolina, Orange redshirt sophomore forward Robert Braswell went to Blythewood High in Blythewood, S.C., which is a short drive to Columbia.

When I penned a recent column about Fisher, I noted that his offer apparently amounted to the initial offer doled out by the ‘Cuse in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

I goofed there, and my apologies for the blunder. A helpful tip from a Syracuse basketball fan on social media pointed me in the direction of 2023 point guard Aden Holloway, who according to the recruiting service Verbal Commits got an offer from the Orange back in July of 2019.

Per his bio on the Verbal Commits Web site, the 5-foot-10, 145-pound Holloway is out of the Covenant Day School in Matthews, N.C., which is near Charlotte.

Steering back to Jackson, Branham had an interesting assessment of him. Branham writes that Jackson, who also runs track, possesses admirable “size, length, athleticism and physical style,” which enables him to defend players at both the four and five spots.

Branham describes Jackson as a “high-level rebounder at this stage” who, on offense, “is at his best running the floor, facing-up and attacking his man and is capable scoring with his back to the basket.”

At this juncture, Branham says that Jackson will elevate his game if he continues to work on his shooting and ball-handling. All in all, though, Jackson is undeniably a promising prospect, and hopefully, Syracuse basketball will soon offer him a scholarship.