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Tech Way Suite at the Braves Game

Hey everyone we have a great opportunity for you to help contribute to Georgia Tech's NIL program!

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HOOPS RECRUITING Darrion and Doryan signed

Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball Adds Two Top Prospects

Forward Darrion Sutton, post player Doryan Onwuchekwa sign letters-of-intent to become Yellow Jackets



THE FLATS – Four-star prospects Darrion Sutton, who attends Overtime Elite in Atlanta, and Doryan Onwuchekwa from the Dallas, Texas area, signed letters-of-intent Wednesday to join Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball program, head coach Damon Stoudamireannounced.

We’re excited about this class overall,” said Stoudamire. “We’ve added versatility, athleticism and high-character guys to our young core, and we’re looking forward to seeing them develop in our program.”

Sutton is rated a four-star prospect by all four recruiting services after averaging 10.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, hitting 58.4 percent of his shots from the floor, over a 17-game schedule for Team RWE in 2023-24. He helped RWE advance to the championship series of the OTE playoff, averaging 3.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists over seven games. Sutton played his junior year at Denver (Colo.) Accelerated Way, and participated in the NBPA Top 100 and Pangos All-American camps in 2023.

“Darrion is someone we coveted for his two-way ability to rebound and slash on offense,” said Stoudamire. “That along with him defensively being able to guard multiple positions will be a plus for us from day one. I look for him to impact our program for years to come.”

Rated a four-star prospect by three of the four recruiting services, Onwuchekwa led Faith Family Academy of Oak Cliff to a 118-24 overall record, 34-0 in district play, and three state titles in the 4A level of the University Scholastic League in his four years. He earned all-state honors by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches in in 2023 and 2024, and was named to the Dallas All-Metro team by the Dallas Morning News both years. As a senior, Onwuchekwa averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks while hitting 38 percent of his three-point shots. He scored 19 points with 14 rebounds for Faith Family Academy in the state championship game.

“Doryan is one of the better shooting bigs in the country,” Stoudamire said. “He’s really worked on his body, losing 50 pounds within the last year, which showed his commitment to be the best player he can be. As he gets stronger, again just like Darrion, he can impact our program for years to come.”

Former Braves and Hawks broadcast John Sterling abruptly retired today

Of course he was very famous with the Yankees for 36 years.

Was in Atlanta in the 1980s and was very good.

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HOOPS RECRUITING GT commits in the final rankings for 2024

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Jumped up 12 spots to #47

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jumped up 11 spots to #78

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fell back 11 spots to 94 due to players entering above him in the rankings or moving up. Wasn't a true drop.


Justin Pippen who I FC to Michigan entered at 73.

GT has the 13th ranked class in the country currently.

HOOPS The latest update on GT hoops and where things stand now

Baye Ndongo signed with an agent, he is exploring his NBA stock but can return. GT signs two more HS players, here is the latest on the Jackets' roster situation moving ahead.

JOL Mailbag 4/16 Sponsored by Auto-Owners Insurance

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Sorry this is late, been swamped thanks to Tax Day and some family stuff plus the Rivals Camps.

After landing a commitment from Akai Fleming, Tech has the #1 class in the country for 2025 (for now).

Has there been any movement on Caleb Wilson or Bryson Tiller? Are there any other players we should know about?


KQ- Not really. Summer visits are coming up and eval periods.

Post Spring-top 5 guys who moved themselves up the depth chart?

KQ- This sounds like a good content item.

Do we expect anymore portal entries for basketball?

KQ- Could be one or two more. Just depends on what happens with Ibrahima Sacko for example.

OL depth best you’ve covered at Tech?

KQ- Yes

WR depth best as well?

KQ- Here, maybe or maybe not. I still need to see what the product and production looks like after McKnight has a chance to work with them more. I am hopeful.

The game highlights naturally focus on offense, how did the defense look to you vs last staff/scheme? I know it’s hard to tell with vanilla.

KQ- I think it looked a lot better.

After spring, what should we be most excited about ? What should we be worried about?

Excited about, the linebacker play so far is much improved. I'm still concerned about the rush end position.

Has Damon been looking for an assistant or is elder going to get promoted? Time table on the hire?

KQ- I don't have an new info on that. I've been digging, but haven't heard anything yet.

Any chance with somto Cyril?

KQ- No

Who pleasantly surprised you in the spring game?

KQ- Chris Elko. He was great and I was happy for him to have that moment.

Does Spring change your assessment / outlook for the season?

KQ- Hell no, it was ones vs twos. They ran basic stuff. The first two closed scrimmages are when you would learn something not a spring game. Not here or anywhere else. It is just an exhibition.

What is the biggest improvement that we need to make between now and Ireland?

KQ- Pass rush.

From the looks of the spring game, we are loaded at WR. I know last year Leary made a few plays but he could be in trouble if he is inconsistent this year. Would you agree? And is Elko a guy that could be a legitimate 3rd option at the X or Y, or was yesterday more about the defense than him making plays?

KQ- Yeah I think Christian Leary has to be more consistent if he wants to keep getting more reps as they develop guys like Bailey Stockton, Zion Taylor or other receivers.

On Elko, it was a great day. I'd be shocked if he is a rotation guy. It was a fun day for him.

So far, who would you say are our biggest/most active recruiters on each side of the ball?

KQ- This seems like a @Russell Johnson question.

Was Gapare’s decision to post a surprise? Any word on why he thinks this will benefit him as a player?

KQ- It was a surprise and I have no idea what his thought process was nor does anyone at GT.

If Kelly stays (as some posts indicate he will), Terry returns, George returns, newly recruited Mustaf is aboard, add McCollum, what roles do you foresee for each?

KQ- Kelly and George definitely start. Terry not sure but he will have a prominent role and McCollum is basically Kyle Sturdivant's replacement but he could start or come off the bench.

After big days in the Spring Game, should we expect to see much action from Elko, Stockton, and Zion Taylor in the fall?

KQ- Elko isn't Wes Welker or Hunter Renfroe or whatever so don't put too high of an expectations on him. Stockton and Zion Taylor I expect will be heavy in the rotation.

I was surprised to read that @Russell Johnson noted WR as a position CBK and co. would like to upgrade given the performances in the Spring Game and what we've been reading about spring practice with roles being carved out for guys like Avery Boyd, Janneh, etc.

Where does WR rank in order of position group CBK will try to attack the Portal? Top of the board? Somewhere in the middle? Nice to have, but definitely prioritizing other positions first?


KQ- The rush end and the DT spots are the two biggest priorities and then a DB but WR is probably the last spot.

Kelly.- can you give an update on the health & development of DE Yondjouen. What was his level of participation in Spring Practice?

KQ- So he is not able to run or anything so he was just an active observer this spring as Key spoke about as camp started. He will be cleared either next month or in June and he should benefit from the summer OTAs t let him get work in with Jess Simpson and Kyle Pope learning some techniques.

Maybe a bad time to ask, right after the Spring game, but how did you like the G3 show? I saw you post that you were going a while back, but don't remember you saying anything about after the show.

KQ- Ha, nah it is nice to get asked something a little different. The G3 show out in California was amazing. We were on row four or something like that and each of the three, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai played a 45-minute set and then they jammed. Satriani's son ZZ got up on stage and played with his dad for the first time ever playing Satch Boogie. ZZ is making a documentary about the show and they were filming that night and the second night in L.A. for that. I saw every version of G3 except the original one back in 1996 because they didn't play Atlanta. One of the cool parts about being in L.A. was Nita Strauss and a metal guitarist Jason Richardson came out and jammed during the encore with the other three guitar players. They did a nice section as the encore of covers playing Crossroads, Born to Be Wild, Spanish Castle Magic and then they did Going Down and Foxy Lady. I caught a guitar pick from Vai as well.

do you think Kelly will be back?

KQ- Yes

Q's Update Sponsored by Inteleca: GT Hoops and Football notes 4/14

Thanks to our sponsor Inteleca for helping bring back Q's Take my weekly look at things around GT and college sports from my vantage.

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I'll start with the round ball. GT picked up the commitment from Javian McCollum on Sunday and that was expected. They opted to not get into a bad bidding war for Kanaan Carlyle given how desperate Indiana is at the moment. Spot-up wing Luke O'Brien will visit this coming week as well. I've been sitting on this until he actually scheduled the visit and then Rothstein beat me to the punch. ND is also involved. A source referred to O'Brien as a glue-type guy who will give GT a wing that can actually sink those corner threes that Tafara Gapare and Deebo Coleman often missed this past season. O'Brien shot 37.6% from three last year at Colorado starting 19 games. Decent defensively and a decent rebounder. He is like a better version of Carter Murphy only taller, quicker and longer. Notre Dame will play a similar style to GT so you will see some overlap on guys they both target as Micah Shrewsberry is also a believer in the NBA offense via the Celtics that Damon Stoudamire is putting in. O'Brien should fill Deebo's role as the 7-8th guy off the bench who will give you consistent play.

They are looking for a big man still. Jared Coleman-Jones (MTSU) is one of the guys they've had contact with. He is a really dynamic big who can shoot the three and do the normal big guy stuff like block shots and rebound.

Justin Pippen was at Michigan this weekend for an official visit. They are trying to close it fast and have some sort of connection.

On the football front, this is going to be an interesting time as the portal opens up tomorrow. GT hopes to be doing most of the poaching, but you can always lose someone. I had a G5 coach tell me he is spending a lot of his time fending off schools just throwing cash and his good players to get them to leave to be backups in the SEC. That is how wild things are at the moment. Now is a good time if you are inclined to donate to NIL to do so. I'm sure Key will have to get the collective to pony up some cash to fend off unsolicited advances. We've seen at least one odd poaching happen every year since the portal started up going back to the 2021 offseason.

Overall the football program is in significantly better shape than it has been top to bottom since probably 2000. They aren't quite there with player development just yet as a lot of the talent is very young, but it is deeper on both sides of the ball than I've seen in a long time. Guys are leaving who probably would've been starters or two-deep guys just two years ago. I mentioned to Key in the post-spring presser how dire the QB situation got in 2022 when he was the interim after Jeff Sims got hurt and he smirked thinking about how much better off they are now with two legit ACC-starter level QBs and two really talented freshmen and a walk-on in Brody Rhodes who is better than one of the QBs who had to play in 2022. Speaking of Rhodes he was put on scholarship along with Will Scissum and Henry Freer recently. That is always good to see. Rhodes plans to get into coaching and is like another coach for Buster Faulkner and Chris Weinke in that room now.

They intentionally held back a lot defensively and some key guys on offense in the spring game. You will notice a few guys barely played and some didn't play much if at all that you've heard about some this spring. That was the plan. Make it fun for everyone, but don't give away anything. Key probably regrets letting Aidan Birr kick the 62-yarder as well after the fact, but it was a cool moment and he has a chance to be an All-ACC kicker and that helped start some hype on him for this upcoming season which is cool.

As far as money goes, I get asked a lot about this. They have a budget but right now everyone is out raising money. Kirby Smart is going from one UGA event to another acting like they are flat freaking broke even though they have money because he is afraid of what happens if they start getting outbid or if something tanks their donations. It has turned into political fundraising cash grabbing or TV evangelists at some places. That is not what GT is doing, they have a more modest plan but it is workable, but this place is always going to be able to develop talent over time so you need to hang on to the best pieces and then surround them with key portal guys. Sort of how a mid-market MLB team is built. They won't be the Yankees, but they aren't the Pirates either. They do need people who care to invest in the product like the ones who are on here that deeply care about the program.

I can say I've very optimistic about the state of GT football and men's basketball after this spring and seeing what both coaches are doing on and off the field/court. I'm planning to do a video to recap this spring game this week, but I want to rewatch it first.

FOOTBALL GT Portal Updates 4/14

Out at the Rivals Camp in Charlotte today. GT should have about six guys enter the portal officially maybe up to eight over the next few weeks per sources that includes guys who have announced and a couple who haven’t.

The two newer names I’ve confirmed are Gavin Stewart who announced this morning and WR/DB Justin Brown who left the team recently and hasn’t announced his departure. They join James BlackStrain who quit mid-camp.

There are a few obvious other guys who will hit the portal as well.
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