Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Basketball Season Preview

The college hoops season is right around the corner, and Busting Brackets is here to whet your basketball-starved appetite. Over the next five weeks, we are publishing season previews team by team, conference by conference, to offer a glimpse into the upcoming season. Busting Brackets is giving you the lowdown on the biggest storylines, offseason changes and x-factors for each team and each league as we roll into the 2012-13 season. Our complete season preview archive can be accessed here. Buckle up, peeps.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Last Season	11-20 (4-12 ACC) Lost to Miami (FL) in opening round of ACC tournament
Key Returning Players:	Mfon Udofia, G Kammeon Holsey, F Daniel Miller, C Jason Morris, G/F Brandon Reed, G Julian Royal, F Pierre Jordan, G
Key Additions:	Robert Carter, F (Shiloh HS) Stacey Poole Jr., F (Transferred from Kentucky) Marcus Hunt, F (North Clayton HS) Chris Bolden, G (North Gwinnett HS) Corey Heyward, G (Hargrave Military Academy) Solomon Poole, G (Terry Parker HS) Poole, a 4-star point guard in the class of 2013, is considering enrolling at Georgia Tech after the first semester just as Jarnell Stokes did last year at Tennessee.
Key Losses:	Glen Rice Jr., G/F (Kicked off team) Nick Foreman, G Nate Hicks, C (Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast)
Top Non-Conference Games:	Nov. 23 vs. California or Drake (Anaheim, DirecTV Classic) Nov. 24 vs. TBD (Final Round DirecTV Classic) Nov. 28 @ Illinois Dec. 4 vs. Georgia
Top Conference Games:	Jan. 5 vs. Miami (FL) Jan. 9 @ NC State Jan. 17 @ Duke Jan. 23 @ North Carolina Feb. 5 vs. Florida State Feb. 19 vs. North Carolina Mar. 3 vs. NC State
Breakout Player:	Robert Carter. Junior forward Kammeon Holsey earns this distinction if not for the presence of the school’s highest touted incoming freshman since Derrick Favors. Robert Carter highlights a loaded recruiting class—a top-25 group nationally—ticketed for Atlanta this season. The burly, 6-foot-9 center is an aggressive scorer who dominates on the low block and finishes at a high level. Blessed with a pair of soft hands, Carter is effect in post-up situations and has a sound back-to-the basket game. He has a soft touch on his jumper and finishes well within seven feet. In a class rife with talented big men, Carter is one of the best low-post prospects of the lot. The prized freshman could well start from day one, but it’s likely that returning junior big man Daniel Miller will get the starting assignment on opening night. By February, or so, however, don’t be surprised if Carter has already established himself as a force to be reckon with in the ACC. A note on Holsey: Glenn Rice Jr., the team’s best player from last season, is out of the picture, having been kicked off the team for his role in a shooting incident outside an Atlanta nightclub. No player on the team stands to benefit more on the court than the junior Holsey. The unheralded forward was one of the ACC’s most productive and efficient players relative to the minutes he logged last season. While shooting a touch under 60-percent from the floor and playing standout defense, Holsey averaged 15.5 points and a tick more than 8 rebounds per 40 minutes. With an expanded role in 2012-13, look out for the Sparta native to take off as an underclassman.
X-Factor:	Managing roster turnover…and lots of young talent. Georgia Tech finished last in the ACC in turnover margin last season, but it’s the roster turnover that presents the biggest challenge to head coach Brian Gregory this season. Glen Rice Jr., who was poised to have an all-conference-caliber senior year, turned in his uniform as a result of disciplinary action while backup center and transfer Nate Hicks traded in his for Florida Gulf Coast garb. The talent Gregory has funneling in, however, could make it easy for Ramblin’ Wreck fans to move past the departing Yellow Jackets. Carter figures to be an instant impact, with only holdover center Daniel Miller standing in his way. Kentucky transfer swingman Stacey Poole shakes off the cobwebs this season after sitting out last in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. The talented wing figures to slide into Rice’s role right away. Then there’s 4-star freshman Marcus Hunt, a swingman who could get significant burn in his rookie campaign. By January, prized class of 2013 combo guard Solomon Poole (brother of Stacey) could be in play as well. The high-scoring guard is considering enrolling at Georgia Tech beginning with the second semester. How coach Gregory integrates the newcomers with the holdover talent will be a tall task, but if done well, should result in a major payoff down the road. Just like his predecessor Paul Hewitt, Gregory has an arsenal of talent at his disposal. Precisely what he does with it though will ultimately define his legacy in Atlanta.
Best Case:	Mfon Udofia, the exciting and at-time out of control point guard with great playmaking ability, harnesses his talents in this, his senior season. Kammeon Holsey has a breakout junior season shouldering much of the scoring load left behind by Rice. Robert Carter is an instant impact recruit but is relegated to 20 minutes per game off the bench, not because of anything he does wrong, but because junior big man Daniel Miller holds down the fort as a capable and productive starting center. Stacey Poole shows why he was a coveted 4-star recruit once pursued heavily by Kentucky. Poole contributes immediately, serving as a valuable sixth man and spark plug off the bench. His brother, Solomon, does come on board in January and makes a similar (but less pronounced) impact as Stokes did midseason last year at Tennessee. The Yellow Jackets, which are legitimately two-deep at every position even if the younger Poole holds out until next fall, boast one of the better combinations of young talent and depth in the ACC. Georgia Tech catches several top-tier ACC squads off guard, sneaking up on the likes of North Carolina, Miami and Maryland to notch signature wins in-conference. The new-look Ramblin’ Wreck finish .500 in conference and, thanks to an easy non-conference slate, two games over on the season. A win over rival Georgia and upset wins over ACC foes North Carolina, Miami and Maryland make for a satisfying season in Atlanta, with an even brighter future on the horizon. Tech christens the refurbished Alexander Memorial Coliseum–now the Hank McCamish Pavilion–in style and gives McCamish (who donated $15 million to the renovation project) reason to believe he made a worthwhile investment.
Worst Case:	Too much [roster] turnover proves damaging to the team’s chemistry in 2012-13. The combination of youth and so many changing parts sets the Yellow Jackets back for most of the season, so much so that any hopes of a postseason berth are lost by February. Georgia Tech again finishes last in the league in turnover margin, and the inconsistency (or, put another way, consistent underperformance) of the Yellow Jackets offense continues. Minus Rice, Gregory’s team has no reliable option to turn to on offense. Udofia, despite his senior status, is characteristically erratic. Holsey struggles adapting to an expanded role as a go-to guy, while the likes of Brandon Reed and Jason Morris continue to slump from the perimeter. The outside shooting struggles continue, as do the free throw shooting woes (Tech shot just 65-percent from the charity stripe as a team last season). Carter is humbled in his freshman season by the stark jump in competition. Solomon Poole puts off his college debut to the fall of 2013 while his brother, Stacey, shows why he was in an expandable piece in Lexington. The Yellow Jackets do not capitalize on a light non-conference schedule and slip up against one or two teams they shouldn’t. Saddled with youth, inexperience and so many moving parts, Georgia Tech struggles in a deeper-than-usual ACC, finishing the season well under .500 and short of anything that could pass as a successful year.
Projected Finish:	16-14 (7-11 ACC) 9th place (ACC season) / Lose in 1^st round of ACC tournament