Five things to know about Memphis Grizzlies' NBA Draft pick GG Jackson of South Carolina
The Memphis Grizzlies selected GG Jackson of South Carolina with the No. 45 pick overall in the NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Jackson, who was one of the top prospects in the 2023 recruiting class, fell to the second round but has high upside.
Sources: Memphis is picking GG Jackson at No. 45.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2023
Here are five things to know about Jackson.
Quite the resume
One of the most intriguing aspects of Jackson’s game is the fact that he has such a high ceiling.
In his only season of college basketball, Jackson achieved a spot on the 2023 SEC All-Freshman Team, CBS Sports/USBWA National Freshman of the Week in Dec. 7, 2022 and SEC Freshman of the Week in Nov. 14, 2022, according to his biography at South Carolina.
One of the youngest prospects in this year’s draft
Jackson was one of the youngest prospects in this year’s draft at age 18.
Jackson reclassified and chose to opt out of his senior year of high school in order to be the highest rated recruit for South Carolina.
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A reliable player
Jackson appeared in all 32 games in his freshman year at South Carolina.
In those 32 games, Jackson averaged 15.4 points, which was good for ninth in the SEC. In the freshman class, he was top five in scoring average.
Major in college
In college, Jackson was a sports and entertainment management major.
One of the top-ranked recruits
With his reclassification, Jackson was a five-star recruit and No. 6 overall, according to 247Sports.
Jackson played in the EYBL circuit as part of Team CP3. He was South Carolina Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021-22.
Reach sports writer Jerry Jiang at JJiang@gannett.com or on Twitter @j_jiang30
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Five things to know about No. 45 pick GG Jackson of South Carolina