Georgia Tech was the first team eliminated in this year’s ACC Tournament in an 84-80 loss to Notre Dame. The game had the Jackets finish the season 14-18 (7-13) and they lost their final 2 games in Damon Stoudamire’s first coaching year in Atlanta.
If you go back to the last 15 years, this was the 8th best season for Georgia Tech. This speaks to how badly Georgia Tech’s proud basketball has fallen overall. In those 15 years, they’ve had just 2 NCAA appearances (2010, 2021), 1 NCAA tournament win (2010), and the ACC Title in (2021).
Was this year more of the same, or should Georgia Tech fans be optimistic about the basketball future?
Speaking as a Georgia Tech fan myself, I’m as excited as I’ve been about Jacket basketball since the end of the 2020-2021 ACC Title season.
In the two years prior to Stoudamire’s arrival, Georgia Tech went 0-19 in Q1 games, and 2-11 in Q2 games. That’s an abysmal 2-30 in Q1/Q2 games in Josh Pastner’s last two years. In two years Georgia Tech didn’t have 1 victory over a team that would be considered a high-quality win.
This season Georgia Tech had 8 Q1/Q2 victories 4 each Q1 and Q2. They had Top 50 wins over Mississippi State, Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, and Wake Forest. Those are proof-of-concept wins, and there are too many of them to be a fluke.
Why wasn’t Georgia Tech more consistent? I think a lot of that can be attributed to some roster issues. Georgia Tech lacks a true shot blocker in the middle when opposing teams got into the lane. 6’9 Freshman phenom Baye Ndongo was tremendous and 6’9 Tafara Gapare showed flashes, but when those are your biggest primary players you will have problems being consistent on the defensive end. Freshman Naithan George oozes potential and was a diamond in the rough find for Stoudamire, but he was still a freshman. One minute he looked like a future pro, the next he looked like the freshman that he was.
Guards Miles Kelly and Kowacie Reeves were solid at times but also inconsistent.
That’s why Georgia Tech fans should be optimistic. Damon Stoudamire’s concepts work. This year proved that, but there were some roster and consistency issues at work. He’s bringing two top 100 players 6’4 guard Jaeden Mustuf and 6’8 forward Darrion Sutton. He also signed 6’11 Cole Kirouac.
I expect Stoudamire may also pick up a 6’8 type player in the portal.
Some of Georgia Tech’s best players are young. They are bringing in young talent, and senior G Lance Terry returns.
Georgia Tech is one of the ACC teams to watch for next year.
Just ask one of the several NCAA-caliber teams they beat this season.
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