University of Georgia Athletics
McVey Making A Significant ‘Jump’
November 25, 2025 | Men's Basketball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Jackson McVey knew he was going to be tall one day. With a dad who's 6-foot-6 and a mom who's 6-foot, the Georgia men's basketball freshman's towering stature was practically guaranteed. Still, growing all the way to 7-1, that was unexpected — and sometimes inconvenient.
"I've always been taller than everyone my age. I never hit a big growth spurt or anything, I just always had the height difference, so I'm used to it," Jackson said. "Once you get past 6-8 and you start hitting your head on doorways, that's where it's kind of like, Okay, this isn't fun. It has its ups and downs, its pros and cons."
By the time McVey was in eighth grade, he was taller than his dad, Patrick, who scored 1,855 points and grabbed 841 rebounds in his playing career at Berry College. McVey's mom, Susan, also played collegiately, at North Georgia College. Both of McVey's parents were standout athletes at Gilmer County High School in Ellijay, Ga., and are in the Gilmer Sports Hall of Fame. McVey may one day join them there.
McVey grew up in Ellijay and spent his first three years of high school at Gilmer County, where he scored 1,404 career points — 44 fewer than his dad. Patrick ranks second on the GCHS all-time scoring list, and Jackson is third. McVey was a huge force on the court for Gilmer County in every way, once finishing a game with 37 points and 30 rebounds. But to grow and develop, he needed to be challenged, so he did his final year of high school at Overtime Elite, playing for RWE (Real Wild Energy).
"It was pretty much like a prep school, and there are a lot of great people there," McVey said of his Overtime Elite experience. "I met a lot of people that I would have never been able to meet outside of it, and I got to play against high-level guys that are making their names right now in college, like Jasper Johnson at Kentucky."
Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN.com and a three-star by several other recruiting websites, McVey said his year at Overtime Elite made a huge difference in developing him as a player.
"It was very good for me. I think being able to know that I'm on the court with these different big-name players was good for me mentally, knowing that I can hang with these guys," McVey said.
As McVey spoke, Georgia head coach Mike White walked by. When asked if he had anything he wanted to say about McVey for this story, White said: "He's worked his butt off; he's changed his body. He's probably made the biggest athletic jump over the first few months of coaching of any kid I've ever seen."
McVey heard every word of that.
"It's reassuring," he said. "Coach White's a great guy, and to hear that you're making some progress with him — it's sometimes hard to see yourself, because you're just doing it every day, but it's good to know that he sees it."
While above-average size came to McVey early, being super tall and skinny didn't always lead to elite athleticism at a young age. He was in eighth grade and about 6-7 when he dunked for the first time.
"It was after one of the high school games, and I went on the floor and was just shooting around the basket," he said. "I just palmed the ball, ran up and, for the first time, I tried it and I did it. It wasn't something I tried every day, just periodically. Being 6-7 or 6-8 and not being able to dunk, people were like, Come on, bro! But when I first got it, I was like, Oh, this was really easy.
"On the ride home, I felt like, Man, let's go! It was a good feeling."
Many more dunks have followed — as well as jumpers, rebounds and blocks — with many more to come.
Staff Writer
Jackson McVey knew he was going to be tall one day. With a dad who's 6-foot-6 and a mom who's 6-foot, the Georgia men's basketball freshman's towering stature was practically guaranteed. Still, growing all the way to 7-1, that was unexpected — and sometimes inconvenient.
"I've always been taller than everyone my age. I never hit a big growth spurt or anything, I just always had the height difference, so I'm used to it," Jackson said. "Once you get past 6-8 and you start hitting your head on doorways, that's where it's kind of like, Okay, this isn't fun. It has its ups and downs, its pros and cons."
By the time McVey was in eighth grade, he was taller than his dad, Patrick, who scored 1,855 points and grabbed 841 rebounds in his playing career at Berry College. McVey's mom, Susan, also played collegiately, at North Georgia College. Both of McVey's parents were standout athletes at Gilmer County High School in Ellijay, Ga., and are in the Gilmer Sports Hall of Fame. McVey may one day join them there.
McVey grew up in Ellijay and spent his first three years of high school at Gilmer County, where he scored 1,404 career points — 44 fewer than his dad. Patrick ranks second on the GCHS all-time scoring list, and Jackson is third. McVey was a huge force on the court for Gilmer County in every way, once finishing a game with 37 points and 30 rebounds. But to grow and develop, he needed to be challenged, so he did his final year of high school at Overtime Elite, playing for RWE (Real Wild Energy).
"It was pretty much like a prep school, and there are a lot of great people there," McVey said of his Overtime Elite experience. "I met a lot of people that I would have never been able to meet outside of it, and I got to play against high-level guys that are making their names right now in college, like Jasper Johnson at Kentucky."
Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN.com and a three-star by several other recruiting websites, McVey said his year at Overtime Elite made a huge difference in developing him as a player.
"It was very good for me. I think being able to know that I'm on the court with these different big-name players was good for me mentally, knowing that I can hang with these guys," McVey said.
As McVey spoke, Georgia head coach Mike White walked by. When asked if he had anything he wanted to say about McVey for this story, White said: "He's worked his butt off; he's changed his body. He's probably made the biggest athletic jump over the first few months of coaching of any kid I've ever seen."
McVey heard every word of that.
"It's reassuring," he said. "Coach White's a great guy, and to hear that you're making some progress with him — it's sometimes hard to see yourself, because you're just doing it every day, but it's good to know that he sees it."
While above-average size came to McVey early, being super tall and skinny didn't always lead to elite athleticism at a young age. He was in eighth grade and about 6-7 when he dunked for the first time.
"It was after one of the high school games, and I went on the floor and was just shooting around the basket," he said. "I just palmed the ball, ran up and, for the first time, I tried it and I did it. It wasn't something I tried every day, just periodically. Being 6-7 or 6-8 and not being able to dunk, people were like, Come on, bro! But when I first got it, I was like, Oh, this was really easy.
"On the ride home, I felt like, Man, let's go! It was a good feeling."
Many more dunks have followed — as well as jumpers, rebounds and blocks — with many more to come.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
Players Mentioned
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