July 5, 2017
THE FLATS – Former Lehigh basketball player Brandon Alston is transferring to Georgia Tech and will join the Yellow Jackets’ program as a graduate student for the fall semester, head coach Josh Pastner announced Wednesday.
Alston, a 6-5 guard from Vienna, Va., comes to Tech after playing two seasons for the Mountain Hawks. He will be eligible to play immediately and has two years of eligibility remaining. Alston appeared in 62 games, starting 11, over his two seasons, for Lehigh, averaging 5.8 points while shooting 42.5 percent from the floor, 35.5 percent from three-point range and 73.0 percent from the foul line.
“We are excited with the addition of Brandon,” said Pastner, entering his second season at Tech. “He gives us added depth and experience as he is 22 years of age, so he understands the process. On top of that he graduated from a great academic institution in Lehigh in three years, which is extremely impressive with an economics degree.”
After taking a red-shirt year in 2015-16 due to injury, he averaged 6.7 points in 32 games (10 starts) last season while hitting 45.6 percent of his shots from the floor, 35.2 percent from three-point range and 72.2 percent of his free throw attempts. The Mountain Hawks went 20-12 overall and 12-6 in the Patriot League (second place). Alston started the last 10 games of the 2016-17 season, reaching double figures three times, including a career highs of 18 points against Army and in Lehigh’s Patriot League tournament semifinal victory over Boston University.
Alston studied economics at Lehigh, completing his degree requirements in three years to receive his bachelor’s degree in May.
A graduate of Herndon High School in Vienna, Va., Alston was invited to play in the prestigious Capital Classic All-Star Game following his senior year, scoring 25 points in that game. He spent the two years prior to that at Middleburg Academy, where he was the leading scorer (16 ppg) as a junior.
He joins the Tech program later this summer along with 6-foot point guard Jose Alvarado, a three-star prospect from Christ the King High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., 6-9 forward Evan Cole, a versatile frontcourt prospect from South Forsyth High School in Cumming, Ga., 6-6 wing Curtis Haywood II, a three-star sharpshooter from Oklahoma City, Okla., by way of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, 6-8 forward Moses Wright from William G. Enloe High School in Raleigh, N.C., and 6-3 transfer guard Shembari Phillips, who played two years at Tennessee.
Pastner’s 2016-17 squad, which went 21-16 and advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament, lost six seniors but returns its top three scorers – 6-4 sophomore guard Josh Okogie (Snellville, Ga.), 6-2 senior guard Tadric Jackson (Tifton, Ga.) and 6-10 senior center Ben Lammers (San Antonio, Texas).
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is beginning its second year under head coach Josh Pastner after compiling a 21-16 record and posting a runner-up finish in the NIT. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993), played in the NCAA Tournament 16 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram.
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