Could year 3 be a big jump for Damon Stoudamire and Georgia Tech?

The Yellow Jackets were stung by injuries last year, but with a revamped roster, they could show improvements in the ACC.

Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Damon Stoudamire during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

As we countdown to the start of the 2025-26 Syracuse basketball seasonon Nov. 3, The Juice Online will be doing a team-by-team opponent analysis of every single ACC opponent. Today, we analyze the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who the Orange will play on Jan. 6 in their first game of the 2026 calendar year.

The Orange enters the New Year on the road down in Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets in their second game of conference play.

Recapping the 2024-25 Georgia Tech basketball season

In year 2 of the Damon Stoudamire era, the Yellow Jackets did take an incremental step forward. After a 14-17 year in Stoudamire's first year at the helm, Georgia Tech finished an even 17-17 on the season, and 10-10 in the ACC, good for an eighth place finish.

The Yellow Jackets were able to knock off the Virignia Cavaliers in their opening round matchup in the ACC Tournament and advance to the quarterfinals, where they were elininated by top-seeded Duke, 78-70.

Georgia Tech ended up receiving an at-large bid to the NIT, and were a four-seed in the Irvine region, but were eliminated in the first round, bowing out to Jacksonville State, 81-64.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Roster Analysis

Stoudamire enters season returning his most effective contributor, forward Baye Ndongo (13.4 pts and 8.9 rebs), as well as Jaedan Mustaf (8.3 pts and 34.4% 3p%) who had an excellent freshman season.

Georgia Tech did get hit hard by the portal, however, losing point guard Nait George to Syracuse (12.3 pts, 6.5 assists, on 35.6 mpg) and forward Duncan Powell to Providence (12.2 pts and 5.4 rebs). Another transfer, Ibrahim Souare (2.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg), followed George to the Orange.

They also lost their lead guard, Lance Terry (11.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg), to eligibility.

Stoudamire did land Kam Craft, forward from Miami (OH) in the portal. Craft is coming off a solid season where he shot 43.4% from 3.

Could this be a big jump in year 3?

Though Georgia Tech is ranked 70th in KenPom, it's difficult to get a gauge on this team. Last year's Yellow Jackets team was riddled by injuries, but if this year's edition can stay healthy, perhaps this is the year that Georgia Tech makes a jump.

A versatile roster features four players over 6 foot 9 with varying skill sets. He's got two key returning scorers and a deeper roster that can commit to defense.