How GG Jackson performed at the NBA Combine
One of the bigger tests for former South Carolina forward GG Jackson came and went this week at the NBA Combine.
The Gamecocks’ All-Freshman big was put through some of the testing, workouts and interviews before the draft in a few weeks and here is how he did.
Jackson checked in, according to the NBA’s official measurements, at 6-foot-8 and a quarter and 214.4 pounds. He had a hand length size of 8.5 inches and a hand width size of 10.
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His standing reach was eight feet, 10 inches and he checked in with a 6-foot-11-and-a-half wing span.
He posted an 11.39-second lane agility time, a 3.21-second three-quarter court sprint–a top 15 time at the combine. He also had a 31-inch standing vertical leap. Jackson had a 37-inch max vertical, tied for the ninth-highest at the combine.
Jackson declined to play in the five-on-five portion of the combine this week in Chicago. But he did draw a ton of front-office attention during his time there.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweeted Jackson drew a “big audience of executives” to his Pro Day workout at the combine, a chance for him to showcase his skills a few weeks before the draft.
He seemed to impress a few national media types coming out of his workouts.
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Jackson enrolled at South Carolina when he was still 17. And he won’t turn 19 until December, a few months into the NBA calendar.
South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris and special assistant to the head coach Carey Rich flew up to Chicago to visit with Jackson and watch him work out this weekend.
“I had to not look at it as an individual decision but how it affected everyone in my circle; I looked at it long term,” Jackson told the Charlotte Hornest about why he picked the Gamecocks. “I feel like I can always have my state to fall back on if I want to do something in my community and have the support.”
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Jackson had an up-and-down year at South Carolina. He finished averaging 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Jackson shot 38.4 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three.
He was named to the league’s All-Freshman team with a 14.9 player efficiency rating (PER) and a 1.0 win share.
“I definitely got stronger and added on a couple of pounds of muscle. My IQ eventually got up to par with the college level,” Jackson said. “I feel like I matured with the speed of the game. I had some childish moments but towards the end of the season I feel like I finished strong.”
Jackson and the rest of his class have a few weeks of downtime before the NBA Draft on June 22.
