Group of 4 Brings Promise
This is probably the highest ranked recruiting class I’ve seen as a GT fan since the Brian Gregory era. You have three recruits that were ranked as a 4-star by at least one major recruiting service. This class can be attributed to two things. First is Damon Stoudamire’s skill as a recruiter. He relates well to players, has bonafides as both an NBA player and (assistant) coach, has tons of connections, and seems to have found a way to sell Georgia Tech to recruits and their parents. The other thing is the growth and success of Overtime Elite. When the league for top high school players was announced I was very skeptical that it would succeed. They have proved me wrong at least so far. They’re going into their fourth season now and continue to sign top high school players to their league. This is a major boost for Georgia Tech because OTE built their arena in Atlantic Station, just blocks from GT’s campus. All of a sudden many top recruits are coming to play and live just next to Georgia Tech. It is now essentially a hometown team for loads of top recruits. Two of this year’s bumper crop played at Overtime Elite and neither are from Atlanta. GT probably doesn’t get these kids if they aren’t living in Atlanta beforehand. There is a third thing I haven’t mentioned. Assistant coach Karl Hobbs seems to be a recruiting monster. When he came to GT from Rutgers he was able to convince Baye Ndongo to switch his commitment to the Jackets. Now he was named by all three recruits as a reason for coming to the Flats.
Probably the biggest recruit of this class is guard Jaeden Mustaf. Mustaf is a big, physical guard at 6’5” and 200 pounds. He has the physicality to bully smaller players and GT thinks he can continue to develop his skills on offense to play as a point guard. He’s a little raw on the offensive side, but looks to be competitive defensively on day 1 and that’s something Stoudamire really needs in the backcourt. He has intensity as well. Mustaf was the highest rated recruit of the bunch and I think should get some solid time this year even with several proven players already in the backcourt. Mustaf is from Maryland and played some high school ball in North Carolina before going to OTE for his last season (he committed to Tech before going to Overtime Elite). His dad is former Maryland star and first round NBA pick Jerrod Mustaf.
Joining him from Overtime Elite is big-time wing Darrion Sutton. Sutton is tall (6’7 or 6’8 depending on who you ask), lanky, and athletic. He shows good on-ball skills and a solid general feel for the game. He does not have a good jump shot which I’m sure Stoudamire will be working on. But Sutton can get some play right away despite that. His feel for the game and athleticism should make him a solid defensive player right away. And I expect he’ll start the season on the bench behind Kowacie Reeves and Luke O’Brien, but his playmaking means he brings a different skillset than those players. I’m very interested in how his freshman season goes. Sutton and Mustaf are close friends.
Doryan Onwuchekwa is probably the most important of these freshmen this season. He is a four-star center who has the potential to play right away and could play next to Baye Ndongo. With Ndongo being the only proven ACC big man on the roster, that is critical. Onwuchekwa has the size (6’11 with a 7’3 wingspan), the skill, and athleticism. He’s not an athletic monster, but he has the speed and agility to be a good defender and rim protector at his size. He probably needs to put on a little weight, but has the frame to do it comfortably. He has a well-rounded game with good offensive touch around the rim and a decent jumper. I think Onwuchekwa has a good chance of being a big piece right away.
The final recruit was a late commit. Dyllan Thompson committed to the Yellow Jackets in late June and it wasn’t clear originally if he’d get a scholarship or be a walk-on, but it appears he got a scholarship. He has size (as a wing) and some decent athleticism and has played a lot of very competitive AAU and high school basketball. He’s not a top, top recruit because he’s very lanky with just okay athleticism and does not have the best offensive skillset as of yet (although he looks like a solid shooter). I don’t expect to see much of Thompson this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he redshirts as he gets used to the speed and skill of the college game. His mom is WNBA legend Tina Thompson. I don’t know if Stoudamire is targeting sons of NBA/WNBA players, but he signed three this offseason (Mustaf, Thompson, and transfer Ryan Mutombo).
Cole Kirouac was committed to the Jackets for a long time, but late in the offseason came to an agreement for the team to take a year before college to play at Overtime Elite for a year. Kirouac is skinny skinny and played in a relatively weak high school league. So even though he has good skill, the coaching staff and Cole decided that getting more experience at a higher level before joining the team. I’m not sure I’ve heard of a similar deal anywhere else so I’m keeping on eye on it just to see how it works out.