2022-23 Record: 15-18, 6-14 ACC (13th)
Coach: Damon Stoudamire, 1st season
Departures: Deivon Smith, G (Transfer)
Ja'von Franklin (Graduation)
Jalon Moore (Transfer)
Rodney Howard (Transfer)
Tristan Maxwell (Transfer)
Arrivals: Amaree Abram, G (Transfer from Ole Miss)
Jalen Forrest, G (Transfer from Presbyterian)
Kowacie Reeves, F (Transfer from Florida)
Tyzhaun Claude, F (Transfer from Western Carolina)
Tafara Gapare, F (Transfer from UMass)
Ebenezer Dowuona, C (Transfer from North Carolina State)
Ibrahima Sacko, F (Freshman)
Baye Ndongo, F (Freshma)
Projected Starting Lineup
PG: Kyle Sturdivant
SG: Miles Kelly
SF: Deebo Coleman
PF: Tyzhaun Claude
C: Ebenezer Dowuona
Roster Breakdown
The Josh Pastner era has ended in Atlanta, and Damon Stoudamire has come in, so the Yellow Jackets could have a new look this season. Certainly, the roster has been overhauled through the transfer portal. However, there is still some returning talent, specifically in the backcourt. Miles Kelly has really flown under the radar, especially nationally, and that just shouldn't be the case. He led the team with 14.4 points per game last season, shooting 37.9% from deep and 89.8% from the foul line. He's going to be the go-to scorer on this team, and he can light it up from deep. I watched him drop 30 on my beloved Syracuse Orange, and he had 20+ points in six other games. Also returning are Kyle Sturdivant, Dallan "Deebo" Coleman, and Lance Terry. All three guys bring plenty of experience, with each having started over 20 games last season, and should help make the transition as smooth as possible for Stoudamire. Starting with Sturdivant, the former USC transfer can provide a steady hand at the point guard position, having started 49 games in his two season with the Yellow Jackets. His numbers don't blow you away, he averaged 8.6 points and 3.3 assists per game last season, but he can run an offense and play solid defense at the point of attack, and with a lot of new faces, the fifth year senior will likely be an important leader as well. Coleman is in his third year in Atlanta, coming from the same recruiting class as Kelly, and he's a bit of a jack of all trades. He put up 9.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, and shot 32.6% from deep last year. That three point percentage specifically is actually down from his freshman year, when he made 41.3% from deep, and I expect him to find a happy medium between those two this year. He's a good defender and attacks the rim well, and is just a solid wing player. Terry transferred from Gardner-Webb prior to last season, and was actually the second leading scorer for the Yellow Jackets, putting up 10.1 points a game. He's a sharpshooter, making 38.8% of his threes, and he also has some sneaky athleticism, although he's a bit undersized for a shooting guard. Those four will provide continuity in the backcourt and on the wing, but the frontcourt has gone through a drastic makeover. Almost everyone who played minutes at the four and five are gone, and in to replace them are Tyzhaun Claude, Tafara Gapare, Ebenezer Dowuona, Baye Ndongo, and Ibrahima Sacko. Claude enters from Western Carolina after two years at Morehead State, and he really broke out in the Southern Conference, putting up 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds en route to a Third Team All-Southern season. He does almost all his work in the paint, and is a ferocious rebounder and he can play either the four or the five this coming season. He faced Georgia and Maryland last season, and he put up 18 and 7 and 12 and 7 respectively, so he can play against high major competition. Gapare is a New Zealand native, and he was a four star recruit in the 2022 class. He committed to UMass but kind of disappointed, putting up just 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.4 minutes. He has skill and doesn't look unnatural on the perimeter, but he'll for sure need to put on muscle to deal with the rigors of the ACC. There are no questions about how Ebenezer Dowuona will translate to the ACC, as he spent 3 years at North Carolina State. He started 27 games and played 24.5 minutes a game as a sophomore, but took a backseat to DJ Burns last season, so he left for greener pastures. He won't do anything crazy, but he's a deterrent in the paint, averaging 1.2 blocks a game over his career, finish putbacks and dump offs, and grab some rebounds. Ndongo and Sacko are both freshman, and it will be interesting to see if either can carve out a role. Ndongo is the #124 player in the 247 Composite this year, and he was originally committed to Rutgers before flipping to join Damon Stoudamire's project. Sacko is unranked, but standing 6'6" with a wingspan over 7 feet, and could make an impact defensively. There are also three more newcomers in the backcourt with two SEC transfer, Amaree Abram from Mississippi and Kowacie Reeves from Georgia, plus Jalen Forrest. A lot of people, myself included, are very high on Abram after he put up 8 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 36.4% from three as a freshman. He's an electric ballhandler who can really score in bunches, as evidenced by two games with 20+ points last season. Reeves will mix in on the wing, and he's another guy who can score the basketball. Ranked #42 in the 2021 class, he averaged 8.5 points, although his three point percentage dipped last season. Still, I think he can shoot it and he's got great athleticism that he uses to get to the rim as well as be a disruptive defender, so expect to see a lot of Reeves at the 3 this season for Georgia Tech. Finally, Forrest enters from Presbyterian, where he put up 11.3 points a game as a freshman. His father, James, also played for the Yellow Jackets. I'd expect him to be more of a depth piece this season.
My Thoughts
I'm really intrigued by what Georgia Tech could be in the first season with Damon Stoudamire at the helm. I thought he did a pretty good job during his time at Pacific, and I think he can succeed at Georgia Tech as well, the only question is how quickly. He's got a lot of talent to work with, and I think they can contend for an NCAA Tournament berth as soon as this season. It all starts with their backcourt, because I think there's a lot of talent there. Miles Kelly is an All-ACC caliber guy, and he doesn't get talked about nearly enough for my liking. I know I have Kyle Sturdivant projected to start at point guard, but it really wouldn't shock me if Amaree Abram grabs the majority of minutes and maybe even the starting spot before too long. I think Sturdivant's experience could give him the nod early, but Abram has the talent, and him and Kelly would be a fearsome offensive backcourt. I do think the frontcourt will be the key to this team's ceiling. To a certain extent, we know what to expect of the guards and wings. Some guys, like Abram or Reeves or Coleman, could take another step in their development, but I feel pretty good about this team 1-3. Up front though, it's a bit of a mess. A lot rests on either Tyzhaun Claude or Tafara Gapare being ACC caliber. You could throw Baye Ndongo into that group too, they really need one of those guys to be able to play power forward at a high level from the jump. Like I said, we know Dowuona can handle 20-25 minutes from his time at North Carolina State, so it's a matter of finding his frontcourt partner and establishing if there's any sort of playable depth behind him. My bet would be on Claude being the most ready, he's the oldest and most accomplished, and he could see the rest of the minutes at center behind Dowuona. I would actually be interested in seeing what some smaller lineups with either Coleman or Reeves at the four would look like, but given the guards are all pretty small (Sturidvant and Terry are 6'2", Kelly and Abram are 6'4"), the defense could get shredded in those lineups. I do think there's some good pieces here, but I worry about the front court, and I think that could hold the Yellow Jackets back from a tournament berth in year one of the Stoudamire era.
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