Syracuse Basketball: Tons of ACC heavyweights vying for 5-star target

Syracuse basketball 2023 five-star target G.G. Jackson recently detailed his recruitment in an interview with a national analyst, and we’re taking a further look at what the elite power forward had to say.

Before we get into that, it’s worth pointing out that the first college team to offer the 6-foot-8 Jackson was the Orange, with that scholarship offer arriving in August of 2020.

In recent months, though, as he performed quite well in various AAU competitions, Jackson’s recruitment has absolutely skyrocketed, perhaps as much as any other high-school player in his class.

Without question, he is one of the hottest prospects across the country in his cycle. Jackson has seen his 2023 national ratings soar, while an abundance of big-time squads has gotten into the mix for him. The ‘Cuse faces a huge challenge in trying to pick up Jackson.

Syracuse basketball has tremendous competition for five-star G.G. Jackson.

Jackson is a junior at Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C. To put it bluntly, his offer sheet reads like a who’s who of college basketball juggernauts.

Besides the Orange, he has received offers from groups such as Kansas, Virginia, Florida State, Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, N.C. State, Maryland, Georgetown, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Boston College. Wow.

When Syracuse basketball first offered Jackson, I had hoped that the ‘Cuse getting involved with him early on would prove a strategic advantage in his recruiting process.

If I’m being fully honest here, in many of the interviews given by Jackson of late, I don’t really see any mentions of the Orange. That doesn’t mean the ‘Cuse isn’t a contender, but it’s something to monitor.

In a recent interview with Rivals.com national analyst Jamie Shaw, Jackson noted that schools that visited him at recent practices were “South Carolina, Virginia, UNC, Georgetown, NC State and Duke.”

To date, he added, Jackson has visited North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson, Virginia Tech, N.C. State and Wake Forest. We’ll keep an eye on whether he ends up taking a visit to the Hill, or if Syracuse basketball coaches make a trip to see him at some point.

When Rivals.com recently refreshed its national rankings for the 2023 class, Jackson entered the top-10 overall. Most recruiting services rate him as a five-star, top-25 prospect. It’s no wonder that Jackson has such a long list of impressive teams pursuing him.