Georgia Tech Basketball is set to host 6’10 Rodney Howard this weekend. Will the Yellow Jackets be able to land the big man?
Earlier in the month I mentioned that while I didn’t think Georgia Tech Basketball necessarily needed another big man, that it was possible that’s where they would go if the opportunity presented itself. At the time of that article, Josaphat Bilau out of Spire Academy was the hot name. Apparently there was some academic issues and Bilau didn’t make it through the clearing house. Whether or not he tried to commit to Georgia Tech, I do not know.
The Jackets have moved on to another big however. Rodney Howard, a former Ole Miss signee is taking an official visit to the Georgia Institute of Technology this coming weekend. Howard, a 3 star center out of Greenville S.C., became available when JUCO power forward Khadim Sy committed to the Rebels last week. Howard says the two occurrences are unrelated though.
According to an article in the AJC, Howard has an existing relationship with Yellow Jackets assistant coach Anthony Wilkins stemming from Wilkins recruitment of one of Howard’s former AAU teammates. He is quoted in the article as “liking them (GT) alot.”
Some other schools in the hunt are believed to be Georgia and South Carolina. Georgia is currently awaiting Nic Claxton’s decision on the NBA draft, but the Dawgs have the scholarship available regardless of that turnout. Howard is expected to officially visit Athens as well.
People who have seen Howard in person have told me that during his junior campaign there were some significant holes in his game. However, there are reports that the 6’10 post put it all together last season. Georgia Tech also employs one of the best big men coaches in the entire country in Eric Reveno. Coach Rev has had a massive influence in developing recent Georgia Tech bigs Ben Lammers, AD Gueye and James Banks. Coach Wilkins has also been credited in the development of Moses Wright, who came on strong in the last couple weeks of the 2018-19 season.
Wright was actually my reasoning for thinking the 2019 Georgia Tech class was complete. The way he finished last season was unlike anything we have ever seen from him. The 6’9 sophomore averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds over his last five games. He has also shown to be a decent help side defender and rim protector as well.