It’s not that Baye Ndongo’s season unto this point hasn’t been productive, it’s just that the expectations ahead of his second go-round with Georgia Tech were much higher, and the perception is that the sophomore hasn’t quite met the hype.
Ndongo, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound center for the Yellow Jackets, burst onto the scene in 2023-24 as one of the ACC’s top freshmen. His decision to return to Tech for the 2024-25 campaign was a big part of coach Damon Stoudamire’s building blocks moving forward.
But for someone who was a second-team preseason all-ACC selection, member of the league’s 2023-24 all-ACC rookie team and a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award given to the nation’s top freshman, there hasn’t been much in the way of dominance from Ndongo as of yet.
“What (Ndongo) has to do, for me, is get back to doing the other things,” Stoudamire said Tuesday after Tech’s loss to Clemson. “I don’t look at Baye as a guy that’s a scorer. I look at him as a guy that’s a rim-runner, a rebounder, an offensive rebounder.”
Ndongo, through 18 games this season, is scoring only 0.4 points less per game than his freshman total. His 14-point, 12-rebound night against Clemson on Tuesday was his fourth double-double of the season (he had six in 29 games last season). The Senegal native also has made four 3-pointers, matching his total from a year ago.
Where Ndongo has fallen off a bit is in the rebounding department where he is bringing in one full rebound (and one-half of an offensive rebound) less per game. Ndongo also is shooting 6.5 percentage points worse from the line and 2.6 worse from the field this season.
Ndongo averaged a little more than one blocked shot per game in 2023-24. This season he has managed to get his hands on only 13 shots in 18 games. And the sophomore is still turning the ball over about 2.5 times per contest.
Stoudamire, as far back as the summer, cautioned that Ndongo, who tested NBA waters during the offseason and played in the NBA G League Elite Camp in May, would have certain struggles during his second season in college basketball.
“When I was a sophomore (at Arizona), defenses started changing guarding me, and you have to adjust,” Stoudamire said Tuesday. “But if you’re trying to be the player you’re trying to be, you gotta raise your level. That’s what I’ve been challenging (Ndongo) on, he has to continue to try to raise his level of play.”
Ndongo’s struggles at times certainly are not the main cause of Tech’s shortcomings as a team over the past three games, all losses for the Jackets (8-10, 2-5 ACC). They’ll be looking to get back on track at noon Saturday at Florida State.
The Seminoles (12-5, 3-3 ACC) beat Pittsburgh at home Wednesday and are 7-2 this season at the Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Tech has lost six consecutive at FSU, the ACC’s best team in steals, blocked shots, 3-point defense, free throws made and turnovers forced per game, since winning there in 2016.
“We just gotta come out and play hard,” Tech forward Duncan Powell said. “They switch a lot, so attack the mismatches and just be the more physical team against ‘em.”
Injury updates
Stoudamire did not rule out guards Lance Terry (hand) and Kowacie Reeves (foot) and forward Luke O’Brien (toe) for Saturday’s game. Freshman guard Jaeden Mustaf, who left during the second half in Tuesday’s loss against Clemson with an ankle injury (although he did return to the game), also was in a walking boot Friday after practice.
Stoudamire said that quartet will be day-to-day for the immediate future.
Freshman center Doryan Onwuchekwa, meanwhile, remains without the team for personal reasons.
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