Three Things To Watch For In Georgia Tech's Season Opener Against MD Eastern

Georgia Tech tips off its season tonight at home against MD Eastern. The Yellow Jackets will be looking to make the NCAA tournament for the first time under head coach Damon Stoudamire, who has done a good job recruiting and bringing in talent to solidify the team. Monday night will be a great glimpse to see how this Yellow Jackets team will look in 2025. Let’s take a look at three key things to watch for in the game tonight.

1. How good will Mouhamed Sylla be for the Yellow Jackets?

Latest — Mar 4, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire on the sideline against the Miami Hurricanes in the first half at McCamish Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It is one of the biggest things to look out for on Monday. Just how good is Sylla? He’s gotten quite the national media attention as a true freshman, being named a top freshman in the ACC by the Field of 68. Coming out of high school, Sylla was the No. 2 center and the No. 17 overall prospect in the country. He was a heavily coveted prospect and has come into Atlanta and continued to turn heads in training camp and offseason workouts. With Sylla coming in, it allows Baye Ndongo to play more of the four position, which he is more natural at. Sylla brings his two-way prowess while also being a player who can finish above the rim for the Yellow Jackets. He’s already impressed coach Stoudamire, who continues to rave about him.

“You know, Mo has become Mo, and I think that I'm excited for people to see him. I think that he'll be good as advertised. Putting a lot of pressure on him, but you know, it just is what it is. I think that, you know, he runs with the best of them. He's probably the fastest guy on my team in the end. You know, he can really score it, and he has a lot of room for growth, and that's the biggest thing that excites me. On the defensive end, he can switch one through five. A really strong guy, has a great presence, but you know, the one thing that he's given us that we just haven't had here since I've been here is that he's literally a back-to-the-basket guy. So, you got a guy where, you know, you don't have to settle for long shots all the time. He'll allow Baye Ndongo to run free. That's what I'm excited about because you can't keep two bigs off the glass like that. You know, you've got to account for one of them, then you know, the other one's running free. So, I'm really excited about that. He’s been really good, and the biggest thing is he's coachable.”

Sylla will be one of the main keys to unlocking this Yellow Jackets team and having them reach their potential. If he is as advertised, then Georgia Tech should be an NCAA tournament team.

2. Will we see improved guard play with a plethora of ball handlers?

Georgia Tech was aggressive in landing guys in the portal and the 2025 class to come in and be primary ball handlers in the offense. They added Chaz Kelley III (Boston College) and Lamar Washington (Pacific) to come in as ball handlers. The Yellow Jackets coaching staff is also expecting Jaeden Mustaf to take a jump this upcoming season as a sophomore. Georgia Tech also added Eric Chatfield, Akai Fleming, and Davi Remagen (Germany) in the 2025 class to help complete the unit. A lot of times in 2024, the ball would stick, and the ball movement was limited. One primary guard, Nait George (now at Syracuse), was the premier ball handler. Now the Yellow Jackets have options and can use different guys handling the ball, something they haven’t had before. The opening tipoff will tell us who will begin the season as a primary ball handler.

“I'm not going to lean one way or another. I got three guys, and they all got to play. You know what I mean? I don't have enough time to develop the same way I developed the last person. He had been in the program for a summer, you know, the whole season. So, you just don't have that time, you know, but Jaeden, Lamar, and Chaz all bring something different in their own way. Jaeden, he has to take a step. I try to tell guys, you know, sophomore year is not as easy as you go from just being on the scouting report to the top of the scouting report, right?” said Stoudamire.
“I think that Chaz, you know, he has a lot of ability, and I think there are things that you just can't account for. He's played in some big games. He's played in our conference. He knows our conference. And then Lamar is the guy that, you know, truthfully, if you want to go fight, he’s going to lead the pack. That's what I love about it. Each guy brings their own strength to what they're going to add. That goes along with what I said earlier. You know, it's gonna be multiple bodies. So, you guys should get familiar with nine to ten guys each night. The reality of it is that I want to wear people down. I do. I want to be up on the floor, and that's going to help those guys. That's going to help them as well.”

3. Can Georgia Tech be an improved shooting team in 2025?

In the offseason, coach Stoudamire got one of the best shooters in the country in Kam Craft, who shot it at a 43% clip from beyond the arc with Miami (OH). Craft was brought in to help space the floor for the Yellow Jackets and be one of the solutions that hurt the team last year.

“There's no question, you know, off the dribble or the spot up. He's a guy that's gonna help us, you know, he has to be accounted for. He's a guy that can get six shots and he'll still get fouled, and he'll make seven free throws and, you look up, he got 18. You know what I mean? So, when you get that kind of threat, we haven't had that in terms of the shooting aspect. You add Kowacie Reeves with that. Truthfully, Kowacie is the one who gives me the biggest comfort zone,” said Stoudamire. “It's rare, it's rare today in college that you get a guy who has been with you from day one. So, he's been with me for three years. So, I lean on him to help Cam. I lean on him to help the other guys and to tell them and talk about the things that we do here at Tech. That's been really good. Kam is gonna be good. Really shoots it. So, I'm excited about it.”

The addition of Craft should do wonders, but this team has improved as a whole. They bring back Kowacie Reeves, who is a long, athletic wing that can create his own shot and get going from beyond the arc. They also bring in a shot-creating guard in Akai Fleming, who is another marksman from long range that is tough to stop when he gets going. With improved wings and guard play, Georgia Tech should be able to get better shots at the rim and more spacing, which allows guys to get open shots. That should allow the team to be an improved unit this season.

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