CBB Expert Gives Updated Season Outlook For Georgia Tech, Plus A New Starting Five Projection

The 2024-2025 season for Georgia Tech Basketball was an interesting one. It started off very poorly with a loss to North Florida and other non-conference losses to Oklahoma, Cincinnati, and Northwestern, not to mention another loss to rival Georgia. About halfway through the year, Georgia Tech started to play pretty well and got wins over Louisville and Clemson while being able to get a first round bye in the ACC Tournament. They defeated Virginia in the second round of the conference tournament before giving Duke all they could handle in a quarterfinals loss. A blowout loss to Jacksonville State in the NIT left a sour note on the season, but there was potential for Georgia Tech to bring back their core for a huge third season.

Then the transfer portal hit. Georgia Tech lost key guys in point guard Nait George and forward Duncan Powell, but were able to keep Baye Ndongo. Georgia Tech has not been close to making the NCAA Tournament under Damon Stoudamire and heading into his third year, there is a big question about how close the Yellow Jackets actually are to doing that.

In a recent article, CBS Sports analyst Isaac Trotter put every ACC team into tiers, with the tiers looking like this:

• Tier 1 - Title contenders: Pretty cut and dry. I think these teams have the upside to win the title. Not just make the second weekend. Not just win three in a row because of a nice draw. Six straight, do-or-die wins.
• Tier 2 - Top 25 caliber club: These teams have accrued plenty of talent and should be safely in the NCAA Tournament field today, but they have a few flaws that could keep them out of the top tier.
• Tier 3 - Bubblicious: A Big Dance appearance is in the range of potential outcomes, but the NIT, the Crown (or worse) looms if things fizzle.
• Tier 4 - The basement: These teams have a slim chance of making the Big Dance unless something drastically clicks or they make a late splash in recruiting.

Trotter put the Yellow Jackets in the basement tier with Virginia Tech, Cal, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Boston College, and Stanford. Here is what he had to say about Georgia Tech's roster, as well as projecting their starting five:

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
G Lamar Washington (Pacific transfer)
G Jaeden Mustaf*
G Kowacie Reeves*
F Baye Ndongo*
C Mo Sylla

Top bench options: G Kam Craft, F Luke O'Brien, G Chas Kelley III, G Akai Fleming, C Peyton Marshall

The scoop: "Damon Stoudamire has a frontcourt that can create some problems. Ndongo can be a 15-and-9 guy next season as he adds polish to his game. Sylla is a hyped recruit who can protect the rim at a high level. Throw it near the square, and he's dunking that thing. Reeves, Mustaf, Craft and O'Brien are all rock-solid perimeter options who can shoot it.

But Georgia Tech's outlook rests on a point guard tandem of Washington or Kelley that looks shaky, on paper. Stoudamire could've really used another year of Nait George, but he dipped for Syracuse and now the Yellow Jackets don't get to reap the rewards of the Year 3 surge that's undoubtedly coming after a couple years of seasoning.

Washington, specifically, will need to rise to the occasion. The Pacific transfer put up impressive counting stats, averaging 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists but he barely shot over 40% from the field for one of the worst teams in the WCC. If he's better than presumed, Georgia Tech has the supporting cast to beat preseason expectations"

Getting Ndongo back was huge and if Sylla is as good as advertised, Georgia Tech could have one of the best frontcourts in the ACC. There are still plenty of questions though. Can Reeves and O'Brien stay healthy? Does Mustaf make a big enough leap in his second season? Who steps up at point guard? If they can find answers to these questions, Georgia Tech can surpass preseason expectations yet again, but that is a big if right now.

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