Projecting Georgia Tech Basketball's 2023-2024 starting five

Georgia Tech is going to look a lot different compared to last season

Jackson Caudell | Jul 6, 2023

Projecting Georgia Tech Basketball's 2023-2024 starting five /

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech has undergone a roster transformation as a program this offseason with the arrival of new head coach Damon Stoudamire.

Gone are Deivon Smith (transfer to Utah), Cyril Martynov (Eastern Michigan), Tristan Maxwell, Freds Pauls Bagatskis (UT-Arlington), Jalon Moore (Oklahoma), Jordan Meka, and Rodney Howard (Western Kentucky). Some of those players did not contribute much during their careers in Atlanta, but it is a large amount of players going out the door. Ja'von Franklin is currently with the Miami Heat for the summer league in the NBA.

Lucky for Stoudamire, he managed to get last year's leading scorer Miles Kelly to opt out of the 2023 NBA Draft and return to Atlanta and he brought in a very good transfer class. This roster has a chance to compete right away, which is what Georgia Tech fans are going to be hoping for.

I think that there are four spots up for grabs in the starting lineup. Kelly is the only player I think is a lock to start and it will be interesting to see how everything else gets sorted out.

Let's take a look at what I think will be the starting lineup for Georgia Tech this season.

Guards

Starters: Amaree Abram and Miles Kelly

Backups: Lance Terry and Kyle Sturdivant

Kelly averaged 14.8 PPG and got in double figures in 25 games during this past season, including setting his career high in a single game with 30 points against Syracuse on February 28th. He also set the program record for free throw shooting percentage (89.83%) in a single season. He averaged 14.6 minutes per game as a freshman during the 2021-2022 season and shot 40.7% from the floor and 34.7% from three-point range. That is why he is a lock for a starting job, but the other spot is going to be an interesting battle.

Terry was the second leading scorer on the Yellow Jackets last season, as well as leading the team in three-point shooting percentage. Sturdivant averaged 8.6 PPG last season while shooting 39% from the field and 32% from three. Sturdivant played well toward the end of the season and has a prior history with Stoudamire:

"Me and Kyle... before Kyle was born, me and his father were really good friends and you know whats crazy is that there is so many backstories to be honest with you of people I know in Atlanta, not knowing this day would come when I would be sitting in front of you guys and talking about being the head coach here at Tech. But I knew Kyle's dad for the longest and I held him as a baby and known him for years and I have always been proud of him.

You know the thing about it is... I'll say this... I know this year he had some bumps in the road, you know he would call me and he don't know this but sometimes when he called, I would not answer on purpose... I did. Because sometimes you gotta be a man and figure it out because after a while, you gotta look in the mirror and know who is really the culprit.

I have always said this... and I believe this and I tell my kids this and I tell Kyle this and I tell my closest people who ask me questions... I don't know a coach in the world who is not going to play a guy who is going to help them win a game. Ok, now there is things we have to do. We have to exude confidence and do different things and I understand that but there is not a coach in the world, I don't care what level you play on, that is not going to put the manager in if he can help you win, so that is what I tried to get Kyle to understand that I would pick the phone up when he played better and I am like whats the difference. That is all I would ask, I never asked questions because No.1, I know how hard coaching is, but I also know how student-athletes can get in their own head about certain things."

I think it is likely that Sturdivant and Terry are going to be the top two guys off the bench and they bring experience. I think Amaree Abram was brought in from Ole Miss for a reason and that is to grab a starting spot for Georgia Tech.

Abram has gotten praise from both his head coach and others in the media, who think he will be an instant impact player. Here is what Stoudamire had to say about Abram being able to make an instant impact this fall:

"I think that Amaree Abram will do well, I really like him. He is a shifty guard and able to make open shots and as crazy as that sounds, he is a great playmaker. One of the things that I always think about and I know he only averaged eight points at Ole Miss, but I was really surprised at the way he could shoot catch and shoot and that is one of the things that I love about him, he can play with it or he can play without it. I think that he is going to have a big, big impact.

247Sports Kevin Flaherty named Abram one of the ACC's top impact transfers:

"The No. 39 transfer arrived at Ole Miss as the No. 65 recruit in the 2022 class, then averaged a solid eight points and two assists per game while starting 22 of the 33 games he played in and logging 21.0 minutes per contest. It’s not unusual to see a player take a step forward as a shooter in his second college season, and Abram already made a solid 36.4% of his 3-point attempts on more than six outside shots per 40 minutes. That kind of shooting could come in handy for first-year Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire, who knows a thing or two about the importance of making shots from deep."

I think Abram is the favorite to grab a starting spot, but don't count Terry out.

Forwards

Starters: Kowacie Reeves and Tyzhaun Claude

Backups: Deebo Coleman and Tafara Gapare

Kowacie Reeves dunking — Kowacie Reeves is hoping to make an impact for Georgia Tech in 2023 / Florida Gators Athletics

Coleman was a regular starter for Georgia Tech last season, but he is going to have some stiff competition for that spot.

Like Abram, I think Florida transfer Kowacie Reeves was brought in for a reason and that is to make an instant impact on the court. Stoudamire has praised the addition of Reeves as well:

But honestly, I think all of the guys that we added, I brought in length, I wanted long guys, I wanted athletic guys, I wanted three and D type of guys so I think that Kowacie Reeves will make an impact as well. I really like his athleticism, I love his energy and I think his ability to keep improving on his three-point shot. I think those two will make an impact out the gate."

Flaherty thought Reeves would be an instant impact player for Georgia Tech and one of the top transfers in the ACC:

Reeves arrived at Florida with a sterling reputation as a wing shooter enforced by his recruiting ranking as the No. 31 player in the 2021 class. And while that didn’t play out at Florida, with Reeves making 2.5 3-pointers per 40 minutes but only shooting 29.2% from deep over his two seasons, that’s what Georgia Tech will hope Reeves is able to tap into. The No. 45 overall player in the transfer portal, Reeves has 17 starts over the last two years and set career highs in points (8.5 per game) and rebounds (2.6 per game) last year. Don’t be surprised if Reeves is a transfer who performs better at his new home than he did at his previous stop."

Coleman will be one of the top bench players for Georgia Tech this season, I think Reeves has more upside as a starter.

For the other starting spot as a forward, Western Carolina transfer Tyzhaun Cluade and UMass transfer Tafara Gapare are the likely contenders, but I think Claude is more proven and could have the edge.

Claude played in 31 games for the Catamounts last season and averaged 15.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG in 26 minutes played per game. His best scoring game came against Samford this past season when he put up 24 points. There was only one game all season where Claude failed to score double-digit points. His season-high in rebounding came in a loss to the Citadel, where he gathered 17 boards.

Gapare played one season for the Minutemen last season and averaged 3.4 PPG and 2.1 RPG last season. He played in 31 games and averaged a little over 12 minutes a game last season.

Gapare was ranked as the top player in Connecticut and the No. 10 power forward nationally in the class of 2023 by 247Sports (Per UMass PR).

Freshman Baye Ndongo could contribute at some point this season as well.

Center

Starter: Ebenezer Dowuona

Georgia Tech has needed a steady presence in the middle and NC State transfer Ebenezer Dowuona is a potential solution to that. I think he is likely to get the first crack at starting at center due to his 6'11 225 LBS size.

Last season for the Wolfpack, Dowuona averaged 1.7 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 30 games played. He averaged a little over 10 minutes played per game in the 30 games that he played this past season.

The rotation at this position will be interesting. I could see Gapare or even Ndongo getting some minutes on the court here as well. This position is still a question mark, but my projection is that Dowuona will get the nod.