Jackets Open 2022-23 Season vs. Clayton StateJackets Open 2022-23 Season vs. Clayton State
Men's Basketball

Jackets Open 2022-23 Season vs. Clayton State

Tech and Lakers tip off at 7:30 p.m. Monday at McCamish Pavilion

GEORGIA TECH VS. CLAYTON STATE

 

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech opens its 108th season of men’s basketball by hosting Clayton State, a Division II team from Morrow, Ga., a suburb to the South of Atlanta, for a 7:30 p.m. tip Monday night at McCamish Pavilion.

The Yellow Jackets welcome back eight players who logged significant playing time during the 2021-22 season, looking to replace the 1-2 scoring duo of Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher, who combined to average more than 32 points per game.

Among the eight key letterwinners returning are two starters from the 2021-22 squad, both seniors in 6-3 point guard Kyle Sturdivant (7.6 ppg, 2.3 apg) and 6-11 center Rodney Howard (6.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), as well as the backup point guard, 6-1 junior Deivon Smith (5.7 ppg, 2.0 apg) and a rising trio of sophomore perimeter players in 6-6 Dallan “Deebo” Coleman (6.2 ppg), 6-6 Miles Kelly (4.5 ppg) and 6-7 Jalon Moore (2.8 ppg). Junior 6-2 guard Tristan Maxwell and 6-8 junior forward Jordan Meka return to provide additional depth.

Head coach Josh Pastner and his staff have augmented the eight returnees with a pair of transfers in 6-2 guard Lance Terry (14.3 ppg at Gardner-Webb) and 6-7 forward Ja’von Franklin (12.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg at South Alabama), and over the summer signed a pair of international players who will be freshmen in 2022-23 – 6-8 forward Freds Pauls Bagatskis from Latvia and 7-foot center Cyril Martynov of Canada.

Tech finished off the 2021-22 season with an 84-74 loss to Louisville in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Tech (12-20 overall, 5-15 ACC) finished in 14th place in the ACC regular season standings, one year after winning the fourth conference title in program history.

Clayton State, which posted an 8-20 overall mark in Vince Alexander’s first season as head coach, returns six players who saw action in the Yellow Jackets’ 103-53 victory over the Lakers last Jan. 23.

Tech looks to win its season opener for the first time in three seasons. The Jackets fell at home to Miami of Ohio last season, 72-69, and lost to in-state foes Georgia State and Mercer to open the 2020-21 season.

Monday’s meeting marks the third between the two teams. Tech also defeated the Lakers, 74-41, in an exhibition game prior to the 2014-15 season.

The game will be streamed live online via ACC Network Extra, available on the ESPN app. Radio coverage will be on the Georgia Tech Sports Network by Legends Sports and flagship station WCNN (680/93.7 the Fan), as well as on satellite radio (SiriusXM app 990).

Coach Pastner Pre-Season Press Conference

Loading YouTube Video...

PRE-SEASON STORYLINES

  • 108th season – Georgia Tech will play its 108th season of basketball in 2022-23, having compiled an all-time on-court record of 1,422-1,287 (22 wins and one loss from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions).
  • Tech in the ACC – Tech is playing its 44th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, having won the conference championship in 1985, 1990, 1993 and 2021. Prior to that, Tech competed in the Metro Conference for three seasons from 1975-78, was an independent from 1964-75, and was a member of the Southeastern Conference for 32 years from 1932-64, winning one title in 1938.
  • Tech has played six seasons under head coach Josh Pastner, who has built the Tech program based on a “get old and stay old” philosophy, elevating the talent level incrementally through ever-improving high school recruiting and attracting transfers who went to high school in the Atlanta area.
  • Georgia Tech has been projected to finish last in the ACC standings by a vote of the conference’s official media panel before the season. Last season, Tech was projected to finish 10th and wound up 14th, the first time under Pastner that the Yellow Jackets finished below projections. In the prior three seasons, the Jackets surpassed expectations, having been picked to finish 13th, 12th and ninth, respectively, before eventually finishing 10th, fifth and fourth in the regular season.
  • Injuries, illnesses or off-court matters deprived Tech of 72 combined games played in the 2021-22 season. Bubba Parham missed a total of 30 games after undergoing pre-season knee surgery, center Rodney Howard missed five ACC games with a sprained ankle, and guard Deivon Smith missed the last six games under concussion protocol.
  • Tech lost its top two scorers in seniors Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher, but returns eight of the next 10 players. Tech’s returning scholarship players combined to start 100 games in 2021-22, and logged 53.8 percent of the minutes played.
  • Four seniors, all rotation players, completed their Tech careers in 2021-22 and graduated in May. Michael Devoe (G League camp) and Jordan Usher (Turkey) are pursuing professional careers. Khalid Moore (Fordham) and Bubba Parham (Samford) elected to enter the transfer portal and pursue graduate transfer opportunities for their final season of eligibility.
  • De-classification of scrimmages – Tech played a pair of closed scrimmages, at Vanderbilt and at home against Tulane. The Jackets defeated the Commodores, 80-76, while the Tulane scrimmage ended in an 88-all tie. Both scrimmages were played as 40-minute games. Tech shot the ball well in both games, combining to hit 52.9 percent from the floor (54-of-102), 44 percent from three-point range (22-of-50) and 80 percent from the foul line (40-of-50). The Jackets outrebounded both opponents and assisted on 32 of 54 made field goals, but accumulated 36 turnovers.

 

Competitive Drive Initiative

In a unified endeavor, Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech Foundation, Georgia Tech athletics and the Alexander-Tharpe Fund have come together to accelerate funding for student-athlete scholarships with the launch of the Competitive Drive Initiative. The initiative kicks off with the Accelerate GT Match Program, where any new gift to the A-T Fund’s Athletic Scholarship Fund made through Dec. 31 will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Georgia Tech Foundation, up to $2.5 million. Should Accelerate GT reach its $2.5 million fundraising goal, the matching gift would result in a $5 million impact for Georgia Tech athletics. To learn more and to contribute online, visit atfund.org/accelerate.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team has completed six seasons under head coach Josh Pastner, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2021 and making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. 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.