Tag: GG Jackson

Clear leader emerging for five-star wing Matas Buzelis?

Matas Buzelis is a key UNC basketball target in the 2023 class and there is now a clear leader for the five-star wing.

The UNC basketball program already holds two commitments for the class of 2023, both from five-star prospects. Could another five-star be joining them soon?

The Tar Heels have been very active in pursuing five-star wing [autotag]Matas Buzelis[/autotag]. Even both commits GG Jackson and Simeon Wilcher have been vocal about their desire to get him to Chapel Hill.

Buzelis recently announced a final list of UNC, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Florida State and a professional route with G-League Ignite.

However, there is a key Crystal Ball prediction in for Buzelis to go the professional route from 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham.

Buzelis recently broke down UNC’s recruitment of him.

“(Hubert Davis) message is that they want me. I talk to (Simeon Wilcher, GG Jackson) maybe once a week and they say that they want me.”

Buzelis is a 6-foot-9 wing ranked No. 7 in the 247Sports class of 2023 rankings.

Time will tell, but it is clear that the G-League is a real option for Buzelis and could be the clear favorite for the five-star prospect.

The Tar Heels already hold the No. 2 overall recruiting class in both Rivals and 247Sports team rankings for 2023, so landing a commitment from Buzelis would surely give the Heels the top-rated class.

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GG Jackson holds top spot in updated Rivals150 rankings

UNC basketball 2023 commit GG Jackson holds top spot in updated Rivals150 rankings despite a strong group of prospects in the mix.

UNC basketball commit [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag] held on to the No. 1 overall spot in the class of 2023 following the Rivals rankings refresh last week.

Jackson, who committed to the Tar Heels back in April, held off players like Xavier Booker and DJ Wagner for the top spot.

The race for the top spot was a major talking point for Rivals analyst Rob Cassidy as he broke down what went into the top three spots.

No. 1 overall prospect GG Jackson managed to hold on to the top spot in the Rivals150 update, but his grip on the position is certainly loosening a bit. The two major threats to unseat the North Carolina commit are former No. 1 DJ Wagner (Kentucky or Louisville) and red-hot forward Xavier Booker (Michigan State or Duke). Wagner’s battle is with consistency and long-term upside, while Booker’s relatively small sample size of greatness is what kept him from seizing the top spot this time around.

There’s almost nothing to separate the trio at the top of the rankings, and a case could be made for any of the three as the top player in America in the 2023 class. What takes place this summer and into the early fall will likely have a massive effect on how things shake out.

Hubert Davis and UNC currently hold two commits in the 2023 class with Jackson and five-star point guard [autotag]Simeon Wilcher[/autotag].

The Tar Heels still have a hold on the No. 2 overall recruiting class in 2023 behind arch-rival Duke.

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Seth Trimble, GG Jackson win gold for Team USA

UNC basketball commits Seth Trimble and GG Jackson were part of the Team USA U18 team that won the Gold at the FIBA Americas Championship.

Two UNC basketball commits won the gold medal for Team USA’s U18 Men’s National Team in the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship.

Team USA defeated Brazil on Sunday night, 102-60, in the championship game. The US went 6-0 in the event.

In the six games, incoming UNC freshman [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] averaged 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. His best game was 16 points in the semi-finals against Argentina. He also led the tournament in free-throw percentage, going 15-of-18 (83.3%).

In the title game, Trimble had six points, four assists and two steals. He also had this monster dunk.

Trimble is expected to arrive in Chapel Hill this week to join the rest of the freshman class.

For UNC 2023 commit [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag], he missed the final four games after two strong performance to kick things off. He averaged 14 points and eight rebounds in the two appearances.

His best game was in game two, a 20-point and 12-rebound outing against Ecuador.

You can rewatch the championship game, here.

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Hubert Davis makes surprise trip to see current UNC commits

UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis visited incoming freshman Seth Trimble and 2023 commit GG Jackson, both playing for USA U18 National team.

While UNC basketball head coach [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag] is in the middle of a key offseason, he continues to show support for future Tar Heels all around the country.

In this case, he even went outside of the country to visit two key future North Carolina prospects.

Team USA Basketball is in the middle of the FIBA Americas Championship down in Tijuana and are fresh off of a semi-final win on Saturday. But, earlier this week, Davis made a visit to watch and support incoming UNC freshman [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] and 2023 UNC commit [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag], both on the USA roster.

Even though both players are either signed or committed, the visit from Davis made a big impact on Trimble’s mom.

Davis went on to watch Trimble and Jackson help lead Team USA to a dominating win over the Dominican Republic.

Trimble had 11 points and a game-high five assists and five steals off of the bench. Jackson added eight points and four rebounds in the win.

Team USA plays for a Gold Medal on Sunday night against Brazil.

UNC offseason workouts began last week and the expectation is Trimble will make his way to Chapel Hill next week following the end of the FIBA Championships.

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UNC commit GG Jackson has big game for USA Basketball

UNC basketball 2023 commit GG Jackson has a big game for Team USA in a 123-41 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday night.

The U18 USA Basketball men’s team is in the middle of the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico and moved to 2-0 following another win on Tuesday night.

In a 123-41 victory over Ecuador, UNC basketball commit [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag] had a big game to help lead Team USA to a win.

After coming off of the bench in the opener, Jackson started in game two and he poured in 20 points on 8-of-10 from the field and added 12 rebounds in 17 minutes.

He also had four assists, two blocks, two steals and zero turnovers.

This comes on the heels of an eight-point and four-rebound outing to kick things off in game one.

Jackson has impressed so far for Team USA and this performance continues to show his overall growth on the floor.

“What I liked about GG Jackson is he was impacting the game without needing a bunch of shots. That’s what I thought was most impressive and showed a lot of maturity on his part. And I think that’s really the thing when you’re talking about any blue-chip recruit — it’s striking the balance between continuing to grow your game without sacrificing your efficiency,” 247Sports Adam Finkelstein said last week about Jackson’s play during tryouts. “And so what I was impressed at is even when he wasn’t getting the same volume of touches, especially facing the basket, he was going to get it off the glass, and he was going to get it on the defensive end or in transition.”

Incoming UNC guard [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] added eight points and two rebounds in 19 minutes.

Team USA plays Puerto Rico next up on Wednesday.

Below are full highlights from Jackson’s perfjoamcne.

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UNC signee Seth Trimble has strong performance in USA opener

Incoming UNC basketball freshman Seth Trimble had a strong performance for USA Basketball in a win over the Dominican Republic on Monday.

The USA Men’s basketball U18 team kicked off their FIBA Americas Championship tour in a strong way on Monday afternoon with a 116-48 defeat of the Dominican Republic.

While UNC signee [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] didn’t start, he had one of the strongest games on the roster and led in a few different categories. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting. He also added a game-high five assists, game-high five steals and team-high 24 minutes.

Team USA had 25 assists on 45 made field goals.

“The biggest thing for this team is to continue to be unselfish and share the ball,” USA head coach Tad Boyle said. “There are still some things we have to get better at.”

Here is Trimble discussing the victory postgame.

Fellow USA teammate and future UNC teammate [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag] added eight points and four rebounds off of the bench as well.

USA’s next game is a matchup with Ecuador on Tuesday, June 7. The two teams have met only once prior in 2018 and the US won 132-55.

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WATCH: One-on-one with GG Jackson at USA Basketball

Rivals’ Krysten Peek sat down with GG Jackson and discuss his commitment to UNC basketball and the upcoming FIBA Americas Championship.

USA Basketball conducted their camp and tryouts for their U18 National Team this past week down in Houston, Texas. The team will be competing in the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship in Tijuana, Mexico.

The tournament will take place from June 6-12.

13 members make up the USA Basketball roster, including two UNC basketball recruits. Both 2022 signee [autotag]Seth Trimble[/autotag] and 2023 five-star commit [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag] made the roster, which was announced earlier this week.

While participating in tryouts, Rivals’ Krysten Peek got a chance to sit down with Jackson. The 6-foot-9 forward is the No. 1 ranked player in both the 247Sports and Rivals rankings for 2023.

They discussed his commitment to North Carolina, the selection process for USA Basketball and the upcoming FIBA Americas Championship.

The full interview is below.

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Highly coveted 2023 five-star wing dishes on UNC, recruitment

A key 2023 target for the UNC basketball program continues to discuss the Tar Heels in a good light.

While the UNC basketball class of 2023 has its two foundation pieces with five-star forward [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag] and combo guard [autotag]Simeon Wilcher[/autotag], the Heels are still very active in the recruitment of another top five-star prospect.

[autotag]Matas Buzelis[/autotag] has exploded on the recruiting scene this spring and continues to be a focal point for many top programs around the country. The 6-foot-9, 175-pound small forward out of New Hampshire is a top 10 prospect in that 2023 class and has 13 offers with programs like UNC, Kentucky and Florida State in pursuit of him.

One thing that UNC has going for them are the two current commits as both are actively recruiting the five-star to join them in Chapel Hill.
Buzelis caught up with 247Sports national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi to discuss some of the key programs involved.

“(Hubert Davis) message is that they want me,” Buzelis said of UNC. “I talk to (Simeon Wilcher, GG Jackson) maybe once a week and they say that they want me.”

The Tar Heels will be losing a lot from its roster this season for the 2023-24 year, so reloading with five-star talent and players who can make an impact immediately is important.

Buzelis is someone who can play as a point-forward on the floor with the ball in his hands and allow guys like Wilcher and Jackson to play off of him.

“I think I can bring versatility with how I am able to handle the ball. I can really get everybody involved and I’m big with playmaking ability. I can get to the basket pretty easy; I can get people involved and I can shoot.”

As of right now, the talented wing isn’t focusing on taking any visits until closer to the end of the summer. The Tar Heels continue to be in the lead group for Buzelis, but time will tell if the outward recruitment from its current commits help tip the scale towards UNC.

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National analyst predicts Kentucky to land key 2023 Tar Heels target

The Tar Heels could be going head-to-head with Kentucky for a key recruit in the class of 2023.

The UNC basketball class of 2023 is off to a terrific start as it currently holds two commitments from consensus five-star prospects.

The Tar Heels have the No. 1 overall player in the class from both Rivals and 247Sports with 6-foot-9 forward [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag], and also have the commitment from five-star point guard [autotag]Simeon Wilcher[/autotag].

The looming target that the Tar Heels are extremely active on the recruiting trail with is five-star hybrid wing [autotag]Matas Buzelis[/autotag]. Buzelis has offers from Kentucky, Duke, and North Carolina among many others and has taken visits to Kentucky, Florida State, and Wake Forest.

Not only is the coaching staff targeting Buzelis, so are Wilcher and Jackson.

“Matas. That’s who we are trying to get. We are trying to get Matas,” Wilcher previously said. “That would complete, I wouldn’t say complete but that will be a force to reckon with. Especially with Seth [Trimble] and all those guys that will be there when we get there, I think it will just all work out. We really have a chance to win it, instead of falling short.”

But, one recruiting analyst gave a prediction for another shade of blue. 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Brahnam made a prediction for Buzelis to wind up in Kentucky when it’s all said and done.

He did give a caveat and say it was his ‘way too early prediction’ and noted that a decision is not expected soon.

Buzelis is ranked No. 7 in the updated 247Sports rankings for the 2023 class and the No. 3 small forward.

247Sports analyst Jerry Meyer broke down his game.

At 6-10 has exceptional length for a highly developed skill set.Has a very thin build but can absorb contact. Is a smooth athlete with wiggle and capable of scoring around defenders. When not euro stepping to finish, prefers to finish off two feet. Shoots the ball well from outside but does have a low release at this point. Midrange scoring is an are for development where there is great potential. Handles the ball extremely well. Has a high dribble but it is on a string. Sees the floor and has feel for passing. Needs to gain strength as a rebounder but has a nose for the ball and has extremely sure hands. Lateral quickness can improve but has a feel for using his length as a defensive weapon. His competitive nature bodes well for his future development.

Time will tell if Kentucky lands one of the most talented players in the 2023 class, but for now — especially with an official visit in the books — it looks like the team to beat.

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UNC Basketball commit Simeon Wilcher sees slight drop in new 247Sports rankings

Tar Heels 2023 point guard commit Simeon Wilcher saw a slight drop in his 247Sports ranking with the release on Thursday afternoon.

The new 247Sports rankings for the class of 2023 were released on Thursday and saw some movement for the two UNC basketball commits.

While [autotag]GG Jackson[/autotag] rose up to the No. 1 player in the class, [autotag]Simeon Wilcher[/autotag] slid two spots to No. 20 overall — whereas he was at No. 18 before. He is listed as the No. 3 combo guard in the class.

He did, however, jump to No. 12 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Wilcher had been dealing with an ankle injury he suffered the first night of the first live evaluation period in April and missed some time following, so a slight drop in the ranking isn’t a total surprise, especially since it’s just two spots.

The Roselle Catholic (NJ) point guard averaged 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game as a junior. He had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the State Title game.

Wilcher recently landed in the top-10 in the most updated ESPN rankings.

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