Blue-chipper Nassir Little includes Tech in final 5

ajc.com

Blue-chip prospect Nassir Little has included Georgia Tech in his list of finalists, but he has also given coach Josh Pastner and his staff some stiff competition.

Little, a small forward from Orange Park, Fla., named Tech, Duke, North Carolina, Miami and Arizona as his five finalists on Friday. That Tech was included is not a surprise. He had already scheduled an official visit there for Aug. 26 and received a scholarship offer last year. Tech assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie began recruiting him almost as soon as he was hired by Pastner in May 2016.

“I like them a lot,” Little told the AJC in July. “I like the coaches. I’m close with them. They’ve been the most consistent school to my recruiting. I never felt like they let up at all.”

Little is a high priority for Pastner and his staff. In July, Little twisted his ankle at an AAU tournament in Las Vegas and was out for the remainder of the tournament, but LaBarrie and Pastner still attended his games to show their strong interest.

What this photo says about Tech’s interest in 4-star forward Nassir Little

Georgia Tech assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie (seated across the court, in black) attended an AAU game in Las Vegas on Friday that the player he is recruiting, Nassir Little, did not play in.

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However, the job for Tech to land Little, rated the No. 23 prospect nationally by 247 Sports, became much more difficult in recent days. In the last two weeks, Duke and North Carolina offered scholarships. Picking Tech over teams with hall-of-fame coaches that annually compete for the national championship and send players to the NBA regularly would not be the convention. But it won’t stop Tech from trying.