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.”
As a freshman at UMass, Gapare played sparingly until a key Dec. 2 win over Harvard, when he tallied eight points and three rebounds. He scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the Minutemen’s next game against Albany and later posted double-figure efforts against Hofstra (13 points on Dec. 11) and Rhode Island (11 points on Feb. 18). Altogether. He played in 30 games, 12.4 minutes per game, and averaged 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds. Despite his limited minutes, he led UMass with 20 blocked shots.
Gapare enrolled at UMass after reclassifying from the class of 2023 to 2022. He spent the 2021-22 year at South Kent School in Connecticut, earning a No. 1 ranking in the state and No. 10 among power forwards by 247Sports. He was tabbed No. 81 nationally and No. 18 among power forwards by Rivals.
Gapare played in 30 games as a freshman at UMass and led the Minutemen in blocked shots. (photo courtesy of UMass athletics)
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