ACC Basketball: Breakout candidates from each team for 2020-21 season

ACC Basketball breakout candidate – Jose Alvarado (Georiga Tech)

Hauling back three double-digit scorers from last year, Georgia Tech’s position as a team notably wealthy with their returns naturally leaves them with little room for any new stars to potentially emerge. But while an opportunity to introduce a new player might not exactly exist, an opportunity to instead substantially develop one player already present takes its place.

While an argument calling Jose Alvarado an already broken out star certainly holds some legitimacy after he averaged 14.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 4.0 APG last year, his next season might argue otherwise once the dust settles. After missing several games last year while dealing with a lingering ankle injury, his expected full health entering next year stands as the most compelling factor forecasting a significant jump for him.

When healthy, Alvarado served as perhaps the team’s best all-around player. While his offensive numbers speak for themselves, his defensive ones impress to an even further degree. Averaging 2.2 SPG, no ACC player swiped the ball away more than often than Alvarado last year. This ability combined with his offensive gifts establishes him a constant fast break threat with game-changing capabilities.

With a full season at his disposal, barring any newer injury concerns, a second outburst for Alvarado with even greater statistics and more wins for Georgia Tech feels probable. Watch for Alvarado to potentially even chase down some triple-doubles and challenge for a spot on the ACC’s All-Conference first team.