Georgia Tech has had a quiet time in the transfer portal so far, but that may be about to change.
Javian McCollum, one of the Transfer Portal's top players and the University of Oklahoma's leading scorer last season, will receive the 247Sports Crystal Ball to land at Georgia Tech today, according to 247Sports Basketball's Top Analyst. Received from Travis Branham, List. McCollum entered the transfer portal two days ago and is already expected to join Damon Stoudemire's program.
Last season, McCollum was the Sooners' leading scorer after transferring from Siena, averaging 13.3 ppg in 31 minutes per game. Oklahoma was a contender (and arguably should have been) to make the NCAA Tournament all season, and McCollum was a big reason why. Last season, he shot 40 percent from the field and 31 percent from three. Statistically, his best season at the collegiate level was 2022-2023, when he averaged 15.9 PPG in 31 minutes, shooting 43% from the field and 36% from 3-point range. He also averaged nearly four assists in each of the past two seasons.
Georgia Tech has lost three players to the transfer portal so far (Amalie Abram, Tizhound Claude and Ebenezer Dauona) and will also lose Kyle Sturdivant.
This would obviously be a great addition to the roster. McCollum has shown the ability to be a scoring option for a team that brings a veteran presence to the locker room and program. Georgia Tech is bringing in one of the ACC's best recruiting classes in addition to returning top freshmen Knight George and Bai Ndongo, but they need veteran leadership. It's hard to win by relying solely on young talent, and bringing in someone like McCollum would solve some things for Georgia Tech. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention last season.
It has to be said that just because a team receives a crystal ball pick doesn't mean that player is coming, it's just a prediction. Momentum seems to be there, but Stoudemire and his staff still have to close out this recruitment.
From his profile on SoonerSports.com:
Honors and Awards: 2023-24 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention… 2023 Lady Children Invitational MVP and All-Tournament Team selection… Two-time MAAC Player of the Week Award winner at Siena (11/14 & 11/28).
2023-24 (Junior): Appeared in 30 games (starting 30 games) … Averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 0.8 steals per game … Field goal percentage 40.4% (132-327), 31.4% (54-172 from deep) and 94.3% (82-87) from the free-throw line…Set the school record for free-throw percentage, set by Hollis Price in 2002-03. mark (92.9%)…Set a program record with 39 consecutive free throws, breaking Nate Carter's record of 37 in 2006-07…Scored 10 or more points in 21 games…Ruddy – Children's Invitational MVP and All-Tournament Team selection… All-Big 12 Honorable Mention… OU debut against Central Michigan (11/6)… Leading the Sooners with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, leading CMU He made a team-high three 3-point shots in the game…Set a team record – Highest 4 assists in the game against Mississippi Valley State (11/10)…In the game against Texas State (11/14) Scored a team-high 15 points… Scored 11 points and 3 assists against UTRGV (11/17)… Scored 14 points and 3 assists on 6-of-11 shooting against Iowa (11/23) Records… Recorded a team-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds at the Rady Children's Invitational Championship Game vs. USC (11/24)… 15 Scored and hit a season-high 4 triples vs. UAPB (11/30) … Scored a team-best 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting and scored 7 points vs. Providence (12 /5/23) with rebounds and 4 assists… had a season-high 20 point performance and added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal against Arkansas (12/9)… scored 9 points. , had a season-high 8 assists in a game against Green Bay (12/16)… Scored 14 points and had a team-high 3 assists in a game against North Carolina (12/20) … 9 of 17 from the field Scored a team-high 23 points against Central Arkansas (12/28)… Scored 11 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals against Monmouth (12/31)… Team-high 15 points against Monmouth (12/31) Scored and had 5 assists against Iowa State (1/6)…Scored a team-high 17 points and tied a career high with 5 3-pointers against TCU (1/10). Added 6 rebounds and 5 assists against the Horned Frogs. Had a team-high 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists against Kansas (1/13). Made 8 of 8 from the free throw line. Scored 13 points and 5 assists against West Virginia (1/17). Scored 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal against Cincinnati (1/20). Scored 9 points against Texas (1/23). , recorded 4 assists…Scored his third 20+ point game.Ended the season with 21 points and 4 rebounds against K-State (1/30)…Scored 8 points and 3 points against UCF. Tied career high in steals (2/3)…Recorded his fourth 20-point performance against BYU this season (2/6), finished with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting. … Scored 7 points, 2 assists, and 1 block vs. Oklahoma State (2/10) … Scored 9 points and had 4 assists vs. Baylor (2/14) … 15 points vs. Kansas , made three 3-pointers (2/17) … Hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime at Oklahoma State (2/24). … 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists against the Cowboys … Scored 12 points with a team-high 8 assists against Houston (3/2) … 5 points, 2 rebounds , had two assists for Texas (3/9).
2022-23 (Siena 2nd year): Played in 27 games (starting 25 games)…Average 15.9 points, 3.9 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 1.1 rebounds per game…Field goal percentage 43.0% (136-316), 35.6% (52-146) ) 3-pointers, 89% from the free throw line (105-118) … Two-time MAAC Player of the Week (11/14 & 11/28) … 18 games with 10 or more points, 12 games Scored 5 or more assists in… Opened the season with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting against Holy Cross (11/7)… Scored 20 points and had 6 assists against Albany (11/12)… 3 games in a row He scored over 20 points in the season's opening game against Army (11/16), scoring 21 points on 6 of 13 shots…Scored 18 points on 5 of 9 shots and recorded 8 assists. ESPN event invitational game against Florida State (11/24)…Enjoyed 24 games – Recorded a scoring performance with 9 of 17 shots, 8 assists and 4 rebounds against Ole Miss (11/25) Scored 14 points, 2 steals, and 2 blocks against Seton Hall (11/27)… Scored 27 points and made 8 of 14 shots against Canisius (12/2)… vs. Georgetown (12/7) ) recorded 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists… Scored 23 points on 7 of 13 shots in the game against San Bonaventure (12/19)…Enjoyed the battle for over 20 points for the second consecutive year in the match against Quinnipiac (12/30), hitting 9 of 15 shots Scored 25 points with success…27 total points; recorded a season-best 8 assists against Niagara (1/13)…13 points and 5 assists against Canisius (1/15)…17 against Mount St. Mary's Scored, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal (1/20) … 22 points and went 10-of-10 from the line against Mount St. Mary's (2/10) … vs. Marist Scored 23 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds in (2/12)… Had a fun season – 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting against Manhattan (3/2), a great performance… 5 against Jaspers He sank a 3-point shot and added 6 assists… He ended the season with a streak of 20 or more points… Scored 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting against St. Peter's (3/4)… Against Niagara (3 /9), he scored 24 points and had a season-high 9 assists.
2021-22 (Freshman at Siena): Appeared in 24 games (2 starts)…Averaged 6.7 points, 1.8 assists, 0.9 rebounds per game…Shooting percentage from the floor 48.2% (53-110), Shooting percentage 42.6% (23-54) Made 84.2% from the free throw line (32-38) … Had a season-high 6 assists against Georgetown (11/19) … Made 4 of 5 shots against Harvard. 10 points (11/22) … Started his career against St. Peter's, which took first place (12/5), scored 6 points … Scored 8 points and 3 assists against Canisius (2/1) … 6 shots Scored 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting and had 2 assists against Rider (2/1) 4) … Scored 11 points and hit 6 of 6 at the line against Iona (2/11) … St. Peter's Scored 15 points on 4-of-8 shots in the game (2/20)…Scored 9 points in back-to-back games against Monmouth (2/22) and Quinnipiac (2/24)…Niagara Scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the game against Quinnipiac (3/3) and scored a season-high 16 points in 33 minutes of action against Quinnipiac (3/10).
