Bubba Parham Among Key Reserves In Final Stretch Of The Season

Though not the prolific shooter he was at VMI last season, junior guard Bubba Parham's role on this Georgia Tech team is as important as ever.

When shooting guard Bubba Parham announced that he would be coming home and transferring to the Yellow Jackets back in April, it filled an immediate need for Georgia Tech. In his sophomore season as a VMI Keydet, the Snellville, GA product's 21.4 points per game ranked 25th in Division I, with his 3.63 three point field goals per game cracking the top 10 at 6th. Meanwhile, he was joining a Georgia Tech team that had the 331st ranked three point field goal percentage in the nation.

Fast forward to the present, and Parham will be the first to tell you that this season has not lived up to his expectation. In the transition from go-to guy to bench player, his three point shooting percentage is down 6.9%, with his overall shooting percentage down 3.5% (32.8 & 37.9% respectively).

To his credit, he had to adapt to an unfamiliar role almost right out of the gates. An off ball guard by trade, he was inserted into the starting lineup as a point guard while normal starting ball handler Jose Alvarado was out with an ankle injury. Instead of objecting to this newfound role on the team, Parham embraced it and helped improve his game in the process.

"I learned more as point guard, as a decision maker and as a ball handler. To not only look for myself. but to look for my teammates as well," Parham said. "I've gotten a lot better in that aspect of my game."

Lessons learned from Alvarado's absence helped him to prepare for another as well. While junior forward Khalid Moore was promoted to starter while sophomore shooting guard Michael Devoe had his own ankle injury, Parham would play just as big of a role as he did when he was in the starting five.

He helped the Yellow Jackets go 2-1 during the stretch that Devoe was out, with head coach Josh Pastner lauding his energy and defensive effort. Once the he did come back vs. Virginia Tech, he had his first game with multiple three pointers since Duke (1/8/20), his first 10 point game since North Carolina (1/4/20), and his first game with at least 4 field goals since Kentucky (12/14/19).

"It felt good to knock a couple down. I wish I could have hit the others though."

One of Coach's Pastner's key metrics has been the ability of his guards to fight for rebounds. Despite being listed at 5'11, Parham has still been able to at times utilize his 30' vertical to haul in the ball. Most notably, he was able to have back-to-back 6 rebound games against Duke and Boston College last month.

"Rebounding is all about instincts and hustle," he said. "If you really want the ball, then 9 times out of 10 you can go get it."

As the regular season dwindles down, with various injuries and overall soreness starting to mount on team across the nation, minutes from the bench become even more important. Players like Parham and junior forwards Evan Cole & Khalid Moore will prove to be key difference makers down the stretch. It's a role that all three acknowledge its importance.

"Coach [Pastner] has his rotation. He wants us to come off the bench and give us certain sparks to the team," Parham said. "We all do that in different ways."

The trio of bench players will have a good opportunity to prove they are worth one's salt when they go up to face the Panthers this weekend. Pitt's bench minutes percentage of 23.7% is among the lowest in the nation (319th), and as a result, out-playing and wearing down the Pitt starters down the stretch will be a crucial component of the game.

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