Georgia Tech Forward Baye Ndongo Named Preseason Second Team All-ACC

Playing The Four Instead Of The Five

A thing to watch this year for the development of Ndongo is his playing more of the four, which would be the power forward. In years past, he had to play the five, which is a position he can play, but he is more comfortable playing forward instead of the center. Big additions in helping him play the position he wants to play are former Missouri big man Peyton Marshall and true freshman Mouhammed Sylla.

“I've even told the staff there are some things we have to get comfortable with, and we have to live with. Sometimes the spacing might not be ideal and different things of that nature, because we'll be playing with a lot of two big lineups. The biggest thing is that you said Baye is not playing the five. Him being known, predominantly at the four except in small ball situations, I think it'll help him. The past couple of years, he just hasn't had a lot of people who could take pressure off of him. It's either he gets the rebound or we don't get the rebound,” said head coach Damon Stoudamire.”

“By the time the games were on, they were putting two and three guys on him on the box, out, you know, to his credit, he was still a monster and did a whole lot of good things. Having him at the four, you know, expanding his game, he'll have to guard perimeters. Things with him we've talked about, and he has to get comfortable, especially moving on from Tech when he leaves Tech.”

This should also allow Ndongo to stay fresher for longer in games and not have to play as many heavy minutes as he did last season with all the injuries the Yellow Jackets endured. This year will be different because they have more depth and two guys that can pick up the slack in Marshall and Sylla, who should keep Ndongo playing at a high level this season. Ndongo will be a catalyst for the success of Georgia Tech, and his development during his junior year could be the difference.