It's been a busy offseason so far for Georgia Tech basketball. As the team looks to make a breakthrough in Year 2 under head coach Damon Stoudemire, they've been busy with high school recruiting and the transfer portal. Coach Stoudemire has attracted a top 15 high school class in the country and landed some impact transfers to help his young roster. But the biggest win of the offseason came this week when forward Baye Ndongo withdrew from the 2024 NBA Draft and elected to return to Georgia Tech for one more season.
Ndongo was arguably the best player on Georgia Tech's team last season.
The 6-foot-9 freshman missed Tech's first three games with a hand injury but started every game thereafter at either the post or power forward position and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Rookie Team. The native of Mboro, Senegal, and prepared at Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, was one of just two Division I freshmen to average 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting at least 55 percent from the field. Only Chris Bosh (2003) and Derrick Favors (2010) had achieved all those numbers as freshmen.
Needless to say, his return would mean a lot to Georgia Tech.
Tech also put together a freshman class rated as the 14th best in the nation among high school prospects: 6-foot-11 center Cole Kirouac from Cumming, Georgia, who attended Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, for his senior year; 6-foot-4 guard Jaeden Mustafe from Bowie, Maryland, who also attended Overtime Elite; 6-foot-11 center Dorian Onwuchekwa from DeSoto, Texas, who attended Faith Family Academy in Oak Cliff; and 6-foot-8 forward Darrion Sutton from St. Louis, Missouri, who attends Overtime Elite in Atlanta. It's probably unrealistic to expect any of these freshmen to come in and be starters right away, but I think Mustafe and Sutton are super-talented players who will be part of the rotation early on.
Guard Javian McCollum, a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, started all 30 games in the 2023-24 season for a 20-12 Sooner team. He averaged a team-leading 13.3 points per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 31.4 percent from 3-point range and a school-record 94.3 percent from the free throw line. He also was second on the team with 102 assists. The Fort Myers, Fla., native made a team-record 39 consecutive free throws at one point during the season and scored in double figures 21 times.
“What I like about Javian is his ability to make shots and set up plays,” Stoudemire said. “He's fearless and a leader. It's essential that Javian and Knight create opportunities for their teammates and play off of each other. If our guards play well, we win games. I think we have two of the best guards.”
Luke O'Brien played in 111 collegiate games and the Buffaloes qualified for the NCAA Tournament and NIT twice during his career. He led Colorado to a school-record 26 wins in the 2023-24 season, an appearance in the Pac-12 Tournament Finals and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He played in 35 games, including the final 10 of the season, starting 19 of them.
“Luke brings great experience and shooting ability to our team,” Tech head coach Damon Stoudemire said. “He's been to the NCAA Tournament and knows what it takes to compete and win at a high level. His leadership will be invaluable heading into the 2024-25 season.”
Ryan Mutombo attended the Lovett School in Atlanta before signing with the Hoyas. He is the son of former Georgetown University and Atlanta Hawks standout Dikembe Mutombo. At Georgetown, he played in 54 games, including one start, averaging 8.1 minutes, 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds over three seasons. He also shot 51.8% from the field.
“We are excited to have Ryan join our team,” said Stoudemire, in his second year at the helm of the Yellow Jackets. “He not only gives us size and shot-blocking ability, but also adds depth to our frontcourt. His experience, like Javian and Luke, will be a great benefit to our team.”
With the addition of all these players, plus returning players like Ndongo, Knight George and Lance Terry, what will Georgia Tech's starting five look like?
I think it will look something like this:
I know the addition of George and McCollum will make the backcourt smaller, but Georgia Tech doesn't have a lot of big guys at the guard position, and I think this is the best combination offensively. McCollum is more of a scoring guard type, and George is more of a natural passer/point guard. Reeves and O'Brien are the floor spacers this team really needs, and Ndongo is the number 5. This team has been lacking in size at the center position lately, and Ryan Mutombo could start, but I'm not sure who would be on the bench in this scenario. They need Reeves and O'Brien's shooting (and Reeves on defense) on offense, and George to run the offense, and I don't think McCollum came to Georgia Tech to be on the bench.
The bench will consist of Lance Terry, Mutombo, Mustaf, Sutton and other freshmen, and the depth of the rotation will depend on how quickly the freshmen can step up.
The team has a more talented roster than last year and should be more consistent next season. Whether that translates into more wins remains to be seen, but Stoudemire and his staff have done their part in strengthening the roster this offseason.
