Jaeden Mustaf didn’t even want to take a recruiting visit to Georgia Tech in June. But his dad had known Damon Stoudamire a long time, and Mustaf and his parents had grown fond of Tech assistant Karl Hobbs from when Hobbs was at Rutgers.
So, at best, Mustaf went to McCamish Pavilion more as a favor than as an actual interested prospect.
“We went on the visit, and that changed my entire perspective on Georgia Tech,” Mustaf told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
On Wednesday, Mustaf will sign his letter of intent to play for Tech, becoming Stoudamire’s first major signee and Tech’s highest-rated prospect to join the program in a long time. The 6-foot-5, 201-pound point guard is considered a top-six combo guard nationally by the 247Sports Composite rankings and top-50 player overall.
Mustaf will hold a signing ceremony Wednesday at Overtime Elite Arena, a facility only a 20-minute walk from McCamish Pavilion. It’s at Overtime where Mustaf will be playing his final season of prep basketball before donning a Yellow Jackets jersey.
He knows that by committing to play for what is now his hometown team, more eyes will be watching, more scrutiny will come, more excitement will build for a player Tech supporters will put the onus on to change the trajectory of the program.
“I don’t really think there’s any pressure, to be honest,” Mustaf said. “I’ve been playing the game my whole life. At the end of the day, I just have to do what I’ve been doing, play hard, compete and just be myself, and I’ll be all right.”
Mustaf began playing organized basketball at the age of 6, but had a life enveloped by basketball long before that.
Mustaf’s father, Jerrod Mustaf, starred at Maryland in the late 1980s and was the 17th overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft. The elder Mustaf spent five seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns, respectively, then continued his professional career internationally until 2001.
In 2005, Mustaf’s son Jaeden was born. And Jaeden virtually was on the court as soon as he left the hospital.
“I can remember when Jaeden was born, he would just be on the sideline, on the bench in the car seat or the baby seat before working his way up to having a ball in his hands,” Patrick Robinson said. “Basketball has always been in his blood; he’s been around it.”
When Robinson, a former standout at Cincinnati, began his professional basketball career, he formed a close bond with Jerrod Mustaf. The two have been close friends since, and Robinson has watched Jaeden grow and mature into the budding star he is today.
Robinson runs a basketball skills academy in Maryland, a state where Jaeden Mustaf spent much of his childhood. Robinson said he has a clear remembrance of the young Mustaf standing out from the others, not just because of his athletic prowess, but because of his competitiveness and desire to win – traits that Robinson said reminded him of Jerrod Mustaf.
“(Jaedon Mustaf) would come back every year, and he just kept growing, getting taller and bigger and bigger,” Robinson said. “Then there was one day where he was like, ‘Check it up.’ He wanted to play 1-on-1. I’m thinking I’m playing the same kid from back in summer camp. But he was really trying to win. That was the day where I was like, ‘You know what, he’s gonna be the one. He has what it takes to not only be a collegiate athlete but make it to the pros one day.’”
Jaeden Mustaf began his prep career at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland, the same school where his father played in the 1980s. Jaeden Mustaf averaged a modest 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a sophomore.
Mustaf said at the time his parents already were considering a move to Charlotte, North Carolina. Part of the family discussions surrounding that move centered around where Mustaf could finish his high school basketball career. They were connected with coach Joe Badgett at Carmel Christian and instantly knew Mustaf had found his next basketball destination.
In April 2022, the Mustafs moved to North Carolina, and Mustaf set his sights on making a name for himself as a basketball recruit and winner. He earned an MVP award on the Adidas Under-17 AAU circuit and then averaged 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for Carmel Christian during the 2022-23 season. Mustaf led Carmel Christian to the state championship game, where it fell short to Christ School.
Scholarship offers from Georgetown, Indiana, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Miami and Virginia, among many others, arrived for Mustaf. He also was being heavily pursued by Hobbs.
After the 2022-23 season, Badgett left his post at Carmel Christian, which made Mustaf reconsider where he would spend his final year of high school. Overtime Elite reached out to see if Mustaf would be interested in joining what would become an all-star roster of recruits playing the majority of their games at Atlantic Station.
Mustaf, who turns 19 in May, said his father always has had an affinity for Atlanta anyway, so the choice to play for Overtime and enroll at Overtime’s academy for continuing his education, became a no-brainer.
But before he arrived in town, Mustaf was playing this summer for the Boo Williams Under-17 AAU team. During a weekend tournament, Mustaf and his family happened upon Hobbs, who had traded in his Rutgers gear for Tech apparel.
“Coach Hobbs gave me my second high major (scholarship offer). It was (Rutgers) and Virginia Tech,” Mustaf said. “My mom loved him when we went to visit there and loved Rutgers.
“I think we were in Atlanta for an EYBL tournament, and my dad ran into coach Hobbs and he had on Georgia Tech stuff – and we didn’t even know he was there. My dad knew Damon Stoudamire from playing, so he was like, ‘OK, we’ll give it a chance.’ Of course my dad loves Atlanta, and Georgia Tech was actually one of his top three schools (when he was a recruit).”
Mustaf announced his commitment to Tech in September. In 2024 he’ll become the first of his eight siblings to play for a major college basketball program. Three of his sisters earned opportunities at places like Maryland-Eastern Shore, Alleghany and Richmond, and a brother played at Salisbury.
But now, like his father who once was recruited by legendary Tech coach Bobby Cremins, Mustaf will play for an ACC program and be the centerpiece for its future.
“Out of his other siblings, he was the one that really got his dad’s traits, just that competitive nature,” Robinson said. “He just really wants to win.”
Mustaf has spent much of his basketball career playing the guard position, both off the ball and as a point guard. He’ll be expected to play the latter position at Tech, and because of that expectation, he has begun to grow his game as a point guard.
He talks often to Stoudamire about crafting his point guard skills and studies the play of Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, Jalen Brunson and Jrue Holiday. When Mustaf, who was courtside for Tech’s season-opening win over Georgia Southern on Monday, visits with Stoudamire, the two watch film, and Stoudamire shows Mustaf clips of himself and how the young star will fit inside Stoudamire’s offense.
Mustaf is one of two seniors expected to sign with Stoudamire and Tech this week, along with center Cole Kirouac of Brewster Academy (N.H.).
“There’s no other coach I’d rather play for,” Mustaf said of Stoudamire. “We talk all the time. Our relationship is great.”
Leaning toward being a business major, Mustaf said he’s also a big professional and college football fan. He kicked himself for missing the Jackets’ comeback win Oct. 28 over a ranked North Carolina team.
But he’ll have plenty of time in the near future to hang out at Bobby Dodd Stadium. That is, of course, when he’s not putting on a show inside McCamish Pavilion. Those who know him best have the utmost confidence that Mustaf has what it takes to become the star of that show.
“Just to see him grow as a player has been amazing,” Robinson said. “I remember him being 6 years old, and out of all the other campers after camp, he would ask to play 1-on-1 or learn a new trick or a new move. He just always had that passion and a strong desire to win. When they would play the championship games at summer camp, he would be the MVP. He always had that in him.
“And the same aggressiveness that he has on the court now, he had that back then. He’s always been a competitor.”
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