Damon Stoudamire and Georgia Tech have won this offseason
Following another poor season, Georgia Tech moved to fire Josh Pastner and surprisingly hired former Pacific head coach and then Boston Celtics assistant Damon Stoudamire. Stoudamire would have to hit the ground running to get the Georgia Tech roster capable of winning games next season, especially in light of so many players leaving.
I think it is time to give Stoudamire credit for the players that he has brought in and how he has remade the image of this team in just a short amount of time.
Damon Stoudamire has had to remake the Georgia Tech roster
There have been plenty of losses on the roster. Guard Deivon Smith, guard Tristan Maxwell, center Cyril Martynov, forward Freds Pauls Bagatskis, forward Jordan Meka, and center Rodney Howard have all entered the transfer portal. Howard and Smith have been contributors over the past couple of seasons, but the others had small roles.
Guard Miles Kelly, the Yellow Jackets leading scorer last season, declared for the NBA Draft, but is maintaining his collegiate eligibility and could return.
Losing Kelly to the NBA would be a massive blow, but this roster is more athletic than it was a year ago and I think there will be a big step up defensively.
When he arrived, Stoudamire talked about not being worried about roster and overhaul and finding the right kind of player through the portal:
"When I say time, I don't mean time to win, I want to win right now but you gotta cipher through these players. There are a lot of guys in the transfer portal but you gotta understand there are a lot of guys in the transfer portal for a reason so you gotta do your homework. Again, I think I am a bit different. Change for me is not unknown, it is the known. With a professional background, you can overhaul every year, but I am not worried about the roster or overhauling every year, I am worried about the people I bring in every year because if you bring the wrong guys and then things can go the wrong way so my time is invested in changing the roster only if it is the right student-athlete that is trying to do what we are trying to do and that's how I have always been and that is how I have always approached the transfer portal and its been good to me in the past and I expect it to be good to me now."
So what kind of players has Stoudamire brought in since becoming the head coach?
The first guy that committed and signed with the Yellow Jackets was NC State transfer Ebenezer Dowuona. Dowuona is a 6'11 225 LBS big man, which is something that Georgia Tech has been lacking. I don't know how big of a role he is going to play next season, it could be as someone to provide depth to the frontcourt or he could challenge for a big role on this team.
Last season for the Wolfpack, Dowuona averaged 1.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 30 games played. He averaged a little over 10 minutes played per game in the 30 games that he played this past season.
The numbers might not blow you away, but the athleticism and defensive ability are what stand out. I think he has the capability of being an impact defender in the paint, which is something the Yellow Jackets needed.
One of the big-time signings that Stoudamire has made this offseason was former Florida wing player Kowacie Reeves. He is a 6'6 192 LBS guard that is a former four-star recruit and a top 50 player nationally according to 247Sports.
Here is the scouting report coming out of high school on Reeves courtesy of 247 director of basketball scouting Jerry Meyer:
"Possesses nice length and athleticism for a wing shooter. Top notch shooter with a quick release. Shoots well off catch and dribble. Has niche shot turning or dribbling right where he doesn't fully square up. Much prefers to go right. Comfortable with the ball but is an upright handler. Needs to develop a more physical side as a rebounder. Comes up with steals defensively. Fits the mold of valued shooters with length and athleticism."
Like Dowuona, Reeves is an athletic player that has length but has the potential to be a good two-way player. Reeves is the transfer that I am most excited about next season.
Kowacie Reeves could be an impact player for Georgia Tech next season
Western Carolina transfer Tyzhaun Claude is hoping to be a solution to the rebounding problems that Georgia Tech had last season. The Yellow Jackets were tied for 171st in rebounds per game last season and Claude averaged nearly nine per game last season.
Claude played in 31 games for the Catamounts last season and averaged 15.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 26 minutes played per game. His best scoring game came against Samford this past season when he put up 24 points. There was only one game all season where Claude failed to score double-digit points. His season-high in rebounding came in a loss to the Citadel, where he gathered 17 boards.
UMass transfer Tafara Gapare is a three-star transfer according to 247Sports and while he is light on experience (like most of Georgia Tech's transfer class), the potential is there. He is an intriguing 6'9 205 LBS forward who originally hails from New Zealand. Gapare played one season for the Minutemen last season and averaged 3.4 PPG and 2.1 RPG last season. He played in 31 games and averaged a little over 12 minutes a game last season.
While Lance Terry and Kyle Sturdivant are still on the roster, Stoudamire still wanted to add to the guard position, and it's hard to say that he could have done better.
Ole Miss transfer Amaree Abram and Presbyterian guard Jalen Forrest were brought on by Stoudamire and Abram was one of the highest-rated players in the portal:
"One of the hardest things about evaluating transfers is blending in the evaluation of both current impact and long-term impact. Amaree Abram falls into this challenging category as he wasn't a major impact player in his freshman season on a bad Ole Miss team but there's a lot of potential that could make him a big impact down the line.
He's long, fast and plays with a motor on both ends of the floor. He can attack and create off the dribble, can get others involved and has potential to be an impact defender." (Per 247Sports).
Last season at Presbyterian, Forrest averaged 11.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.4 APG for the Blue Hose. He played in 27 games and averaged 26.3 minutes per game. He shot 37% from the field and 31% from three.
While the shooting numbers need to improve, this seems like a good addition, even if it is just for depth. Forrest is a talented guard at 6'4 230 LBS and has only played one season so he still has a lot of room to grow and improve, which is a theme for this entire transfer class.
Georgia Tech has the 10th-ranked transfer class according to 247Sports.
Terry, Sturdivant, Deebo Coleman, and Jalon Moore are the only scholarship players from last year's team still on the roster and I think those guys mix well with this group.
The guys that Stoudamire has brought in are not seasoned veterans, but as a former NBA assistant on the deepest team in the NBA, Stoudamire has sold players on his developmental capabilities and they are going to be on display with this team.
Stoudamire is not the only coach on the staff known for his player development though.
Karl Hobbs is a coaching veteran and had been at Rutgers since 2016. Previous stops include two stints at UConn (2011-2016 as the assistant coach and director of basketball administration, 1993-2000 assistant coach/recruiting coordinator), George Washington (2001-2010, head coach), and his first stop was at Boston University (1988-1993).
As the head coach, Hobbs led George Washington to three NCAA Tournament appearances and as an assistant coach at UConn in 2014, he was a part of the coaching staff that won the national championship.
The bottom line for me is that while these players still need to develop and improve, their athleticism and defense look like they will be upgraded next season and these are high-ceiling players that need to be coached. Let's see if Stoudamire can bring the wins back to the program after a successful offseason.
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