Georgia Tech Preview-Capsule
Eds: With: BKC–Georgia Tech Preview
By The Associated Press=
Georgia Tech
Last season: 13-19, went 6-12 in league play to finish 13th.
Nickname: Yellow Jackets.
Coach: Josh Pastner.
Conference: Atlantic Coast.
Who’s gone: Guard Josh Okogie, center Ben Lammers, guard Tadric Jackson.
Who’s back: Point guard Jose Alvarado, guard Curtis Haywood III, guard Brandon Alston, center Abdoulaye Gueye, forward Moses Wright and forward Evan Cole. Pastner doesn’t plan to settle on his starters for another couple of weeks, but Alvarado, Haywood, Gueye and Wright will have to play their way out of a job. The team will rely heavily on Alvarado, a sophomore who averaged 12 points last year and led the Jackets in assists. Gueye and Alston are seniors. Haywood, Wright and Cole are sophomores.
Who’s new: G Michael Devoe, G Shembari Phillips, forward Khalid Moore, forward Kristian Sjolund.
The Skinny: Okogie’s early departure for the NBA essentially ended any chance Georgia Tech had of making the NCAA Tournament. The Jackets have no proven scorers, so the responsibility will fall to Alvarado, Haywood, Alston, Wright, Phillips and Devoe to shore up the offense.
Expectations: Pastner knows his team will be hard pressed to compete in the ACC as the Jackets are likely to miss the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year. Pastner’s predecessor, Brian Gregory, made it to one NIT before he was fired. Pastner led the Jackets to the NIT title game in 2017. Las Vegas oddsmakers list Georgia Tech’s chance of winning the national title at 600-1.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
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