Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire was busy this offseason. After an up-and-down first season, Stoudamire spent the offseason trying to acquire talent to upgrade his roster ahead of the 2024-2025 season. While they did lose some players, I think Georgia Tech’s roster is in a good place and they should be a better team this year. One of the key transfers they landed was Oklahoma guard Javian McCollum, who was the Sooners leading scorer last season. McCollum forms one of the best backcourts in the ACC with Nait George and can score quickly. In a recent ranking of transfers from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, McCollum was rated as the No. 31 transfer coming into the season:
“McCollum started his career with two seasons at Siena, but he didn’t skip a beat at Oklahoma, averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 assists this past season. Earned an all-conference honorable mention.”
What are the realistic expectations for these players entering this season? 247Sports analyst Isaac Trotter talked about this recently:
Javian McCollum, from Oklahoma
Expected role: Starting combo guard.
“McCollum is a stud. He was one of the top pick-and-roll scorers in the country last year for an undermanned Oklahoma club. McCollum is so dynamic off the bounce, and he can operate as Georgia Tech’s lead guard or as a spot-up assassin next to Nait George. McCollum’s 31% 3-point mark is a bit deceiving. McCollum often had to operate as Oklahoma’s late-clock, bail-us-out option. He shot just 4-for-24 on 3-pointers with less than four seconds left on the shot clock. McCollum can be one of the best guards in the ACC with a few subtle tweaks in his game.”
McCollum is getting a lot of praise from those that cover the sport and I think he is going to have a huge season for Georgia Tech. McCollum, Luke O’Brien (Colorado), Ryan Mutombo (Georgetown), and Duncan Powell (Sacramento State) are joining a young roster that had George and Baye Ndongo on it, not to mention the No. 14 recruiting class in the country.
Last season, McCollum led the Sooners in scoring after transferring in from Siena, averaging 13.3 PPG in 31 minutes per game. Oklahoma was a contender all season long to make the NCAA Tournament (you could argue they should have been in) and McCollum was a big reason why. Last season, he shot 40% from the field and 31% from three. His best season statistically at the collegiate level came in 2022-2023 when he averaged 15.9 PPG in 31 minutes while shooting 43% from the field and 36% from three. He also averaged nearly four assists in each of the last two seasons.
Source link : https://www.si.com/college/georgiatech/basketball/georgia-tech-basketball-espn-ranks-javian-mccollum-as-one-of-the-top-transfers-for-the-2024-2025-season-01j2w6jnb10z
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Publish date : 2024-07-18 15:20:59
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