Georgia Tech Basketball: 5 reasons why the Jackets will dance in 2019-20

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JANUARY 19: Shembari Phillips #2 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets goes up for a three point shot against the Louisville Cardinals at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 19, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /

Deep Threats

Any Georgia Tech will tell you, there are times when it seems as if the universe is against us. For far too long, Georgia Tech coaching staffs have attempted to fix the complete lack of outside shooting in the program. Here are some numbers for you:

Since 2010-11, Georgia Tech is the only team in the current ACC to have never shot 36% or better as a team from behind the arc.
During the same period, the Yellow Jackets have ranked inside the top-260 only once in 3-point percentage. In 2015-16, they were 126th.
Since Georgia Tech appeared in the 2004 National Championship game, only 10 players have recorded seasons shooting above 34% from deep with at least 40 made triples. Anthony Morrow has three of those seasons, and only four have come since 2010-11.

Now that all of that nonsense is out of the way, let’s get to the good. Two of those 10 seasons of 34% or better belong to Michael Devoe (last season) and Jose Alvarado (2017-18). Kristian Sjolund shot 15-for-45 from deep last season, but projects as a knockdown shooter, in my not so humble opinion.

Shembari Phillips is also a name worth mentioning here. Phillips struggled last season for GT after transferring from Tennessee, shooting just 18.2% from behind the arc. The reason for optimism is that he was a 37% shooter from deep during his time with the Vols. He played extremely confidently and well during Georgia Tech’s Spain trip and looks to have figured out whatever gave him trouble from last season. If Parham is indeed denied a waiver, Phillips looks capable of picking up that slack.

The last player I want to mention is freshman Asanti Price. I want to believe in this kid so badly. The 6-foot-5, late-blooming South Carolinian looked nothing short of awesome in stretches during the Spain games. Price had a reputation as having “NBA distance” during his recruitment and put that talent on display during the tour. Many times you can chalk some of that talk up as “coach speak”, but this kid looks like a sniper. If he’s open, you want him to put it up. Now, the talent in the ACC is obviously superior to that which was faced on this tour, but you can see the ability. I am not sure how many minutes he will receive this season, but as the fourth leading scorer in Spain, I want to see more.

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