Georgia Tech Basketball: JUCO guard David Didenko joins team for 2019-20
Russian JUCO guard David Didenko considered turning pro but will instead play for Georgia Tech Basketball in 2019-20.
In my very first article for Busting Brackets I mentioned a JUCO prospect named David Didenko who had signed with Georgia Tech Basketball in November. I stated that according to a Kelly Quinlan article, that Didenko would more than likely not be attending Georgia Tech and would instead pursue a professional career overseas.
That information was apparently incorrect as Didenko appears on the Georgia Tech roster for 2019-20 which was recently released by Georgia Tech’s official website.
Didenko, a 6’8 Russian national, played last season at Palm Beach State CC where he averaged 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 27 games played. Known as a shooter, he underwhelmed from deep, shooting just 21.7% from behind the arc.
Some of the rumors that have matriculated were that there was friction between Didenko and coach Martin McCann, though those are simply rumors at this point.
In last week’s piece I also mentioned that Georgia Tech was pursuing Spire Academy forward Josaphat Bilau to round out the 2019 class. That pursuit has apparently hit a dead end as word around the way is Bilau was not cleared by the Georgia Tech Athletic Administration, more affectionately known as “The Hill.” This is also unconfirmed and should be treated as rumor, but the sequence of events certainly implies that there is some truth to it.
Didenko is a very good student and was not going to attend while the Jackets were pursuing Bilau, now all of a sudden he is on the roster and zero progress has been made in the Bilau recruitment. Of course, I still have to wonder why Georgia Tech isn’t taking a shot with Oton Jankovic, but there must be a reason.
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There was also another confirmation Georgia Tech fans received when the roster for next season was released. Director of Player Personnel and former Georgia Tech and Atlanta Hawks player Mario West is no longer on staff with the Yellow Jackets. This was rumored on Georgia Tech message boards for the past few weeks and this release provided the confirmation. West’s twitter account has yet to be updated to reflect the change, but here’s hoping the split was copacetic as “Rio” is a fan favorite among the Georgia Tech faithful.