On a busy day, Georgia Tech had two players leave via the transfer portal and another arrive Monday. Yellow Jackets center Rodney Howard and forward Cyril Martynov announced their departures via social media while former N.C. State forward Ebenezer Dowuona made his decision to transfer to Tech to play for new coach Damon Stoudamire, according to a report from On3 and confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution by Dowuona’s high-school coach, Joab Jerome at the Heritage School in Newnan.
Dowuona played three seasons for the Wolfpack, starting 27 games in the 2021-22 season (when he averaged 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds) before seeing his playing time drastically reduced this past season. Dowuona, 6-foot-11 and 225 pounds, is from Ghana but played his high school basketball at the Heritage School. He was teammates at Heritage with Tech guard Lance Terry.
Particularly as Howard departs, Dowuona gives Stoudamire an experienced post player who could step in for Ja’von Franklin, who averaged 9.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in his lone season with the Jackets.
A transfer from Georgia, Howard played in 70 games and started 43 over three seasons for the Jackets. While having the potential to average 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds in Tech’s final nine games of the 2021-22 season, the 6-11, 256-pound Howard had difficulty playing with consistency and lost his spot to Franklin in the final stretch of this past season.
Martynov was a late addition to former coach Josh Pastner’s 2022 signing class, signing with Tech in August 2022 just before the start of the semester. Martynov, 7-0 and 229 pounds, was seen as a developmental player, and his initial playing time reflected that. He appeared in seven games for the Jackets for a total of 18 minutes.
Another player, walk-on guard Jermontae Hill, also announced the end of his time at Tech. Hill was on the Jackets roster for two years, sitting out the 2021-22 season as a redshirt and appearing in five games this past season.
Howard and Martynov’s departures follow last week’s portal exit of guard Freds Pauls Bagatskis, another 2022 signee. With the changes Monday, Tech now has nine players on the roster with eligibility for the upcoming season.
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