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