Georgia Tech Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech basketball seems to be at a crossroads entering Josh Pastner’s third season as head coach. Improvement may be on the horizon, though.

Georgia Tech basketball went through some growing pains in 2017-18, finishing with a 13-19 record, 6-12 in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets are 34-35 through two seasons under head coach Josh Pastner. Pastner hasn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance with Georgia Tech yet, but entering his third season, there’s a slight chance to make some noise.

Pastner returns in 2018-19 losing three of the top four scorers from last year’s squad. Jose Alvarado is back for his sophomore season after going down on Feb. 11 against Duke with a dislocated elbow and missing the final seven games of the season.

Curtis Haywood II is also back after battling a number of injuries last year as well. Haywood missed 17 games in total but is ready to pick up where he left off. He started in seven straight games before going down with an injury in 2017-18.

Avoiding the injury bug will be one key for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets entering the upcoming season. Finding a new star to replace Josh Okogie and his 18.2 points per contest will be another key. Big man Ben Lammers, last year’s leader in rebounds per game (8.1) and blocks per game (2.4), has also graduated.

Georgia Tech ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring defense last year, allowing 67.4 points per contest. The only downside to that is Okogie, Lammers, and Tadric Jackson are all gone. Let’s hope the players waiting in the wings can help fill the void this upcoming season. Here’s a look at the season preview for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets for 2018-19.