Georgia
Way-Too-Early 2024-2025 ACC Basketball Power Rankings: Where Did Georgia Tech Land?
Georgia Tech Basketball has had a good offseason under head coach Damon Stoudamire and they are a program that might be able to take a second-year leap in 2024-2025 and try to challenge for an NCAA Tournament spot. Their offseason got a whole lot better yesterday when forward Baye Ndongo announced that he was returning to Georgia Tech after declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft last month. Ndongo’s return, combined with the additions of Oklahoma transfer Javian McCollum, Colorado transfer Luke O’Brien, Georgetown transfer Ryan Mutombo, and the No. 15 recruiting class in the country has fans optimistic this team will be much better next year.
Where did the Yellow Jackets rank in the 247Sports way-too-early ACC Basketball power rankings? Not as high as you might think. Analyst Isaac Trotter ranked the Yellow Jackets 12th out of 18 teams and here is what he had to say about Georgia Tech going into next year:
Projected starting lineup:
Top bench options: G Jaeden Mustaf, G Lance Terry, Wing Darrion Sutton, C Ryan Mutumbo
The scoop: “Damon Stoudamire leans heavily on pick-and-rolls to crease opposing defenses, and he has two big-time, ball-screen weapons in George and McCollum. They’re a bit undersized, but they both have serious juice. That should create opportunities for Reeves to attack long closeouts and O’Brien to find openings with well-timed cuts. Georgia Tech’s upside is centered around prized freshmen like Mustaf and Sutton being ready to go from the jump. Oh, and Ndongo needs to return for his sophomore season. He’d be a double-double machine in 2024-25.”
I think there is potential for the Yellow Jackets to outperform this ranking, but Trotter is correct in my opinion when he says that a lot might depend on how the freshman perform and how ready to go they are. I would also add that while George and Ndongo were really good last season, they still need to take steps forward next year. They both had problems with turnovers last year and need to improve that next season.
The 6-9 freshman missed Tech’s first three games with a hand injury but started every game thereafter either in the post or at the power forward spot, and earned a spot on the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Rookie team. The Mboro, Senegal native, who prepped at Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, was one of only two freshmen in Division I to average 12.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while hitting at least 55 percent of his shots from the floor. Only Chris Bosh (2003) and Derrick Favors (2010) achieved all those numbers as freshmen.
Against ACC competition, Ndongo averaged 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds while hitting 55.4 percent of his shots from the floor and leading the team in blocked shots with 20.
Ndongo led the Jackets in scoring 10 times and in rebounding 18 times, while posting six double-doubles. He was named the ACC’s Rookie of the Week three times early in the season, once after scoring 21 points to lead Tech past No. 7 Duke in December, and again after scoring 12 points with 19 rebounds in a Dec. 16 win over Penn State at Madison Square Garden, and the third time after making the all-tournament team at the Diamond Head Classic.
Ndongo was the first Tech freshman since Josh Okogie to be voted to the All-Rookie team.
Here is how Trotter ranked the rest of the ACC in the way-too-early power rankings:
1. Duke
2. North Carolina
3. Miami
4. Louisville
5. Wake Forest
6. Clemson
7. Pitt
8. Virginia
9. Syracuse
10. NC State
11. Notre Dame
12. Georgia Tech
13. SMU
14. Virginia Tech
15. Cal
16. Stanford
17. Boston College
18. Florida State
Georgia
Georgia House Special Runoff Election 2026 Live Results
The expected vote is the total number of votes that are expected in a given race once all votes are counted. This number is an estimate and is based on several different factors, including information on the number of votes cast early as well as information provided to our vote reporters on Election Day from county election officials. The figure can change as NBC News gathers new information.
Source: Vote data via the Associated Press. Projections by the NBC News Decision Desk.
Georgia
New Safe Haven Law: Georgia ‘baby box’ bill heads to Gov. Kemp
Georgia passes anonymous ‘baby box’ bill
Georgia lawmakers have approved House Bill 350, a life-saving measure allowing anonymous infant surrender through secure, monitored safety boxes at fire and police stations.
ATLANTA – A new bill headed to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk aims to provide Georgians with a safe way to surrender an infant through the installation of “baby safe haven boxes.” The legislation, which passed both the House and Senate last week, serves as an extension of Georgia’s current Safe Haven law.
What we know:
Under existing state law, a mother can surrender a child up to 30 days after birth at a fire department, police station, or hospital without facing prosecution. The new bill would expand these options by allowing for the installation of medical-grade safety boxes at these locations.
The boxes are designed to be installed on the exterior of hospitals, fire stations, or police stations. According to the legislation, these units will be equipped with security cameras to record anyone accessing the box. Once a child is placed inside, an automated system will trigger a 911 call to alert emergency responders. The infant is then transported to a hospital before being placed into the custody of the Department of Family and Children Services.
Local governments will not be responsible for the cost of the units. Instead, individual communities must fundraise if they wish to install a safety box in their area.
What they’re saying:
Advocates like Brittany Almon, who worked with legislators to support the bill, say the mission is deeply personal. Almon became an adoptive mother in 2022 to a boy who was surrendered under the state’s current Safe Haven Law.
“In 2022, I became an adoptive mom to a little boy who was surrendered under our current safe haven law. His biological mother did a face-to-face surrender,” Almon said. “He was a healthy baby boy and whatever her circumstances were, she knew that she couldn’t give him the life he deserved, and she knew there was somebody out there that could.”
Almon explained that the boxes provide a specialized environment for the infant while offering support to the parent.
“Inside the box, there’s a medical-grade bassinet that she will place her baby in. There’s actually also some resources that will fall out to her in an orange bag,” Almon said. “Once that door is shut, there’s a 30-second delay let her, the person, walk away. And from there, an alarm goes off, and that alarm will alert fire station or hospital staff that a newborn is in the box.”
Once the alarm sounds and the child is recovered, Almon noted that “then from there that baby is placed into the Department of Family and Children Services’ custody.”
While the use of surrender boxes has sparked debate, Almon argued that increasing available options is the priority.
“The more resources offer someone, the better it can be to help someone navigate the situation they’re in,” Almon said. “We can always judge people for what they do, and why do it, because we don’t know their circumstances.”
You can read more about Almon’s efforts here.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the text of the Georgia legislation, an interview with advocate Brittany Almon, and official records from the Georgia General Assembly.
Georgia
Falcons address biggest hole with Georgia prospect in new mock draft
For a long time it seemed the Atlanta Falcons were purposefully avoiding drafting prospects from Georgia for some reason. There are signs that’s changing with the new front office regime, though. Last month Kirby Smart commented on how his program is developing a relationship with the Falcons.
That’s a good sign for Atlanta’s defensive front-seven, because that group needs all the help they can get and it’s where the Bulldogs have thrived the most in recent years. Jalon Walker is helping to reinvigorate their pass rush, and more help could be on the way soon.
In a new five-round mock draft from NFL.com, the Falcons hit up that local resource again and take Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller at No. 48 overall.
At the combine Miller checked in at 6-foot-4, 321 pounds with 33″ arms and 10″ hands. Here’s the highlight reel.
Like most nose tackle prospects, Miller’s college production (four sacks, 11.5 TFL) doesn’t exactly jump off the page.
However, the scouting report on Miller mentions both upper and lower body power in addition to good balance. Those traits should make him a solid nose tackle at the next level.
If the Falcons do end up drafting Miller, he should project to be starting up front in Week 1.
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