THE FLATS – Tafara Gapare, a 6-9 forward who was a four-star prep prospect out of high school before playing his freshman season at Massachusetts, has signed a grant-in-aid to join the Georgia Tech program, head coach Damon Stoudamire announced.
A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Gapare (pronounced “tuh-FAR-uh guh-PAR-ee”) played limited minutes as a freshman as UMass after enrolling in school late due to visa issues, but solidified his spot in the Minutemen rotation, playing in every game from Dec. 2 on. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining with the Yellow Jackets.
“Tafara is about as talented as they come,” said Stoudamire. “He’s one of the most talented players that I’ve seen. Now it’s a matter of turning talent into production. He has the ability, and it’s a matter of us being able to get everything out of him, both from a basketball perspective and as a young man. His ability to shoot the ball, the ability to get rebounds and start the break, pass the ball … you don’t really see guys like him that often. He has a world of potential.”