Syracuse Basketball: North Carolina appears team to beat for 5-star target

Syracuse basketball 2023 five-star target G.G. Jackson, who has entered into the top-10 nationally according to multiple recruiting services, seems to have a front-runner to land the stellar 6-foot-8 power forward, according to experts.

As of this writing, fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member and blue-blood program North Carolina had received at least three predictions from national analysts and recruiting insiders on the 247Sports Web site and Rivals.com.

One of those UNC projections is from 247Sports national basketball director Eric Bossi, whom I believe is one of the top recruiting analysts in the business.

Now, these sorts of predictions aren’t always correct, and the recruitments of high-school prospects can ebb and flow, but by all accounts, the Tar Heels do appear as the favorite for Jackson, who is a junior at Ridge View High School in Columbia, S.C.

Syracuse basketball likely isn’t going to pick up five-star G.G. Jackson.

In recent months, due to his play on the court, Jackson’s stock has exploded, both in terms of his national rankings within the 2023 cycle, as well as the big-time scholarship offers that he has obtained.

From a ratings perspective, Jackson is in the top-10 nationally according to Rivals.com, 247Sports and the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He is a top-three power forward in this class, as well as the No. 1 prospect in the state of South Carolina.

In August of 2020, the Orange coaching staff was the first to offer Jackson. At present, his offers include from 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.

According to media reports, Jackson unofficially visited UNC over the summer, and he took an official visit to Chapel Hill not too long ago. Ever since his official visit to North Carolina, the Tar Heels have received a lot of buzz related to Jackson’s recruitment.

"In a recent article, Bossi wrote in part that “the word is that Carolina is the team to beat. Skilled, bouncy and still just scratching the surface of how good he can be, Jackson would be a monster pickup. I do feel that he’ll take more visits with Georgetown coming up and others like Duke, South Carolina and Virginia in play. Ultimately, though, I really like the Heels chances and I’ve gone ahead and logged a Crystal Ball pick in their favor.”"