GEORGIA TECH (1-0) vs. HOWARD (1-0)
- Thursday, November 9, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion
- Live Stream: ACC Network Extra / ESPN+ (Announcers: Wiley Ballard, Jon Babul)
- Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports (In Atlanta: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan) | SiriusXM channel 382
- Other ways to listen: SiriusXM app | Listen Online | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets App | TuneIn
- Announcers: Andy Demetra, Randy Waters
- Live Stats: Statbroadcast.com
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech continues its new chapter in its men’s basketball history and its three-game opening homestand at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night when first-year head coach Damon Stoudamire and the Yellow Jackets play host to Howard University at McCamish Pavilion.
Tech has entered this new chapter with four starters returning from a team that went 15-18 a year ago, and nine new scholarship players on its roster. The Jackets opened the campaign Monday night with a hard-fought 84-62 victory over Georgia Southern.
The Bison, 92-80 winners over Hampton University Monday night, won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) season in 2022-23 and finished with a 22-13 overall record, losing in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Thursday’s game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and ESPN+, and is also available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage is on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station 680 the Fan (680 AM/93.7 FM). The Tech broadcast is also available on SiriusXM channel 382 and on the SiriusXM app.
THE TIP-OFF
- Georgia Tech has its first three games of the 2023-24 season in the friendly confines of McCamish Pavilion, where the Yellow Jackets are 124-68 in 11-plus seasons. Tech’s first road trip comes Nov. 22 at Cincinnati.
- Howard is one of five guaranteed non-conference opponents for Tech that won 20 or more games in the 2022-23 season, including four that played in the post-season. Mississippi State (21-13), Penn State (23-14) and Howard (22-13) all played in the NCAA Tournament last season, while Cincinnati (23-13), a new member of the Big 12, reached the quarterfinals of the NIT. UMass Lowell (26-8) finished second in the America East Conference. The Yellow Jackets potentially could play two more 20-win teams in the Diamond Head Classic, with a possible game against Hawai’i (21-11) in the second round and TCU (22-13) in the final round.
- Tech’s four returning scholarship players – Miles Kelly, Lance Terry, Dallan “Deebo” Coleman and Kyle Sturdivant – accounted for 59.4 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ points and 56.5 percent of the minutes during the 2022-23 season. They collectively shot 35.6 percent from three-point range.
- Tech has a total of nine scholarship newcomers on its roster, five transfers who were judged the 17th best transfer class in the country by 247Sports, and four freshmen.
- Tech’s five transfers combined to average 37 points and 17.2 rebounds per game last season at their previous schools. They have combined to play in 263 games in their careers, and have made 116 starts.
- Kyle Sturdivant, a transfer himself from USC prior to the 2020-21 season, is the elder statesman on the Tech roster, beginning his fourth season. He is the lone player remaining from Tech’s 2021 ACC Championship team and has played 91 games (49 starts) in a Tech uniform.
- Tech’s only starter lost from last year’s team is 6-7 center Ja’von Franklin, now playing professionally in Serbia.
Tyzhaun Claude posted a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in his Yellow Jackets debut. (photo by Danny Karnik)
SERIES VS. HOWARD
- Georgia Tech and Howard have met in the hardwood just once, a tight 84-77 decision on Jan. 2, 1991 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
- Tech is 33-0 all-time against members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, and 51-2 against Division I HBCU programs. The Jackets have played, or at least scheduled, a team from either the MEAC or the Southwestern Athletic Conference every year since 2011-12.
- Howard associate head coach Rod Balanis is a former Georgia Tech basketball player (1991-94) in his second seasonw ith the Bison after 20 years as an assistant to Mike Brey at Notre Dame.
JACKETS AT-A-GLANCE
Looking to return Tech to national prominence, Damon Stoudamire brings the experience of 13 years as a successful NBA player, 10 years of coaching experience on the collegiate level and four years on the NBA level. He has added a five-player transfer class that has been ranked No. 17 in the nation by 247Sports and four talented freshmen to the roster for 2023-24.
Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets is 6-6 junior guard Miles Kelly (Stone Mountain, Ga.), who led Tech in scoring (14.4 ppg) and three-point shooting (.379) and set a team record for free throw percentage (.898). Also back is 6-3 senior guard Lance Terry (College Park, Ga.), who averaged 10.1 points and connected on 38.8 percent of his three-point attempts, 6-6 junior guard Dallan “Deebo” Coleman (Memphis, Tenn.), who averaged 9.5 points and 2.9 rebounds, and 6-3 senior point guard Kyle Sturdivant (Norcross, Ga.), who is back for his fourth season on the Flats after averaging 8.6 points and leading the Jackets in assist average (3.3 per game).
The transfer class includes 6-4 sophomore guard Amaree Abram (Port Arthur, Texas) from Ole Miss, 6-7 senior forward Tyzhaun Claude (Goldsboro, N.C.) from Western Carolina, 6-11 senior center Ebenezer Dowuona (Accra, Ghana) from NC State, 6-9 sophomore forward Tafara Gapare (Wellington, New Zealand) from Massachusetts and 6-7 junior guard Kowacie Reeves, Jr. (Macon, Ga.) from Florida. All the transfers except Gapare have significant starting experience at the previous schools, and Gapare played in 30 games as a freshman.
The freshman class is led by 6-9 forward Baye Ndongo (Mboro, Senegal) and includes 6-3 point guard Naithan George (Toronto, Ontario), 6-6 forward Ibrahima Sacko (Conakry, Guinea) and 6-9 forward Ibrahim Souare (Conakry, Guinea).
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes. To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its first year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 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. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
