James Forrest, Georgia Tech Hall of Fame Class of 2021
The Most Outstanding Player in the ACC Tournament the last time Georgia Tech captured the championship before this year, James Forrest averaged 26.7 points and 7.0 rebounds and hit 69 percent of his shots from the floor to claim the Everett Case Award in 1993. He led Tech to victories over Duke, Clemson and North Carolina to win the program’s third ACC title, and became the first player in 17 years to score 20 or more points in three consecutive tournament games. A product of South Atlanta High School, he made the All-ACC first team in 1994 and earned third-team honors in 1995. By the time his career ended, he had scored 1,978 points and grabbed 846 rebounds, both of which still rank seventh on Tech’s all-time list, and averaged 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game over his four-year career. Forrest may be best remembered for his miraculous 25-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to give Georgia Tech a stunning 79-78 victory over Southern Cal in the second round of the 1992 NCAA Midwest Regional at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis. Just a few months later, he stunned Louisville with a half-court heave that beat the final horn in an 87-85 victory over Louisville in the first college basketball game ever played at the Georgia Dome.
