When Georgia Tech faces No. 2 Duke Wednesday night at McCamish Pavilion, a number of prominent high-school prospects will be among those in the sellout crowd as guests of Yellow Jackets coaches. It adds all the more incentive for the Yellow Jackets to put on a strong showing against the Blue Devils.
About 10 in-state prospects are expected to attend Wednesday night’s game, including the top-rated junior in the state, Sandy Creek High power forward Jabari Smith. A long-limbed, athletic player with a nice shooting touch, Smith is rated the No. 5 player in the country (247 Sports Composite). He was the second-leading scorer on the USA U16 junior national team that won the FIBA Americas U16 championship this summer in Brazil. It is worth noting that Duke is also recruiting Smith.
Another junior prospect of note is Chance Moore, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Holy Innocents. A four-star prospect who is the No. 43 prospect nationally and No. 3 in state, Moore has already taken an official visit to Alabama and reportedly has additional official visits planned for LSU and Xavier.
A third is small forward Jusaun Holt, a four-star prospect from St. Francis. He is rated the No. 94 prospect nationally and the No. 6 prospect in the state. Holt has visited Tech previously. He also has offers from Georgia, Xavier and Washington.
The 2021 class is an important group, as coach Josh Pastner figures to have a number of scholarships available for the 2021 class. He could have as many as five scholarships open for that class, although the number will need to be sorted out as Tech appeals its scholarship-reduction penalty for recruiting infractions.
Another guest, sophomore point guard Scoot Henderson of Kell High, has already received offers from Tech, Georgia, Florida State, Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Ole Miss. He is rated the No. 1 player in the state and the No. 12 prospect nationally.
One of Tech’s three signees, power forward Jordan Meka of Mt. Bethel Christian, is also expected to attend.
