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Ole Miss added their first 2023 basketball commit Wednesday evening when Parklane Academy (Miss.) forward Jacob Gazzo made it official, verbally committing to Kermit Davis and the Rebels, as first reported by 247Sports’ Travis Branham.
The Summitt, Miss. native averaged 16.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game as a freshman in 2020. The 6-foot-10, 200-pound prospect is the second Ole Miss commitment in the past week after former Louisville signee Eric Van Der Heijden got out of his letter of intent and committed to Ole Miss.
Branham thinks that Gazzo has tremendous upside, standing close to 7-feet tall already and has the skill set and athleticism to grow into an effective two-level scorer for the Rebs.
Gazzo is a talented power forward prospect with terrific size for the position at this stage and possesses high upside. He has terrific hands and touch, is a good athlete and has a budding face-up game. Given his blend up talent and upside, Gazzo projects to be a four-star prospect in the 2023 Class as the rankings continue to expand.
Game highlights from the Parklane Jackson Prep game. 25 points 14 rebounds. pic.twitter.com/qIFg4i666o
— Jacob Gazzo (@JacobGazzo) January 14, 2021
Gazzo is also a pitcher for Parklane Academy who shows a decent feel for three pitches. His fastball has been clocked as fast as 87 mph and he has shown the ability to mix speeds at any point in the count.
How does he fit in?
Following up on what Branham had to say about the newest commit for Ole Miss, I can see the intrigue with Gazzo as a prospect. He’s long, moves well without the basketball, and is aggressive around the rim once he gets the basketball and turns to the basket. He is a little on the lean side, but he still has two more years to continue to grow into his frame and add strength.