If Georgia Tech Can Improve In This One Area, It May Be A Huge Part Of Their Success In 2025

Georgia Tech will look like a different basketball team thanks to this area they have improved this offseason

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Jaeden Mustaf (3) passes off to forward Duncan Powell (31) against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech has a chance to be a much-improved team heading into 2025 and is a major sleeper as the season continues to approach. Georgia Tech was a team that was active in the portal and brought in a huge 2025 recruiting class in hopes of taking the next step in the coach Stoudamire era. The Yellow Jackets have continued to take steps forward, picking up ranked wins and improving the win percentage each year Stoudamire has been at the helm. It’s been steady progress and improvement. Coach Stoudamire went out in the offseason and addressed some of the deficiencies and issues from a season ago.

One area Georgia Tech struggled with was the ball sticking a good bit and having a dominant ball handler who would wind down the clock. Don’t get me wrong, former Georgia Tech point guard Nait George did a good job of running the show and setting up the offense, but far too often the Yellow Jackets would find themselves in precarious positions searching late in the shot clock for a quality bucket, which is very difficult to do. This would lead to turnovers, rushed shots, and overall bad shot selection. This was one of the issues that led to Georgia Tech going into scoring droughts and not being able to buy a bucket in games they would control. A quick run and the opponent was back in the game thanks to a scoring drought.

How will the approach the point guard and play-making this season?

Feb 8, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire (center) talks to Yellow Jackets forward Darrion Sutton (10) during the second half against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The outlook in 2025 looks different, however. Georgia Tech has a solution to that problem and will be leaning on multiple players for ball-handling duties. It will allow Georgia Tech to run a more fluid offense and be able to get into their offense and find the best shot available, the mark of a good team.

“We lost our point guard, and it's no problem. One thing about coaching, and I've learned this, you just got to change a little bit. You've got to tweak it. You'll see more people handling the ball. The way we've played in the past and explaining the way we've played in the past, obviously, it was a style that I brought with me, but we didn't have multiple ball handlers,” said Stoudamire.

“We got way more people who can make plays. We'll play out of the post a little more. You know, we have really good bigs like I said. It won't be a dominant ball handler,  but it'll be a lot of people that I feel like can make plays.”

I think this will be extremely beneficial for Georgia Tech in 2025 and help out the offense a bunch. Having multiple ball handlers also helps when fatigue sets in. You have multiple guys who can relive the burden, and one player isn’t tasked with running offense when they are tired, which can lead to turnovers. It’s difficult for a defense to key into a star player when the ball is constantly moving and changing hands. It should pay early dividends for the Yellow Jackets and be a huge part of their success on the hardwood in the upcoming season.