Georgia Tech men’s basketball made a run to the NIT finals this season. The Yellow Jackets beat eventual national champion North Carolina as well as NCAA tourney teams VCU, Florida State and Notre Dame. Tech returns legit ACC player of year candidate Ben Lammers, promising sophomore-to-be Josh Okogie and loses only Quinton Stephens and, to a lesser extent, Josh Heath as major contributor. All of the top ACC teams except for Virginia are looking at major personnel losses.
I figured all of that (plus the love Josh Pastner gets from national media types) might get the Jackets in one of those early top 25 rankings that started circulating as soon as the clock ran out in the title game. Or, at the very least, I thought Tech would be among the teams “also considered” for those rankings.
I was wrong.
The Jackets couldn't crack SI's top 25 (TCU, the team that bludgeoned them in the NIT final, did make it at No. 24). Tech isn't in ESPN's rankings (TCU gets an honorable mention). The Jackets aren't in SB Nation's Top 25 or "next 10" (TCU made the latter group). Yahoo left out Tech, too, and also didn't include it among "others considered" (TCU got a No. 17 ranking in that one).
It's the same story at Sporting News, NBC Sports and Fox Sports: No sign of Georgia Tech anywhere.
Obviously these rankings don’t mean much at this time of year (or any time, really) but they do measure perception. And it appears the perception among college basketball observers is that the Jackets aren't going to take the next step after that NIT run. I thought Tech would find at least one pundit optimistic about their chances of doing so but I get why they aren't on the radar.
The Jackets were unexpectedly competitive in the ACC this season, earning Pastner coach of the year, but that still translated to just an 11th place finish after they were picked 14th. The Jackets were a legitimately great defensive team but dreadful on offense. It's difficult to see how that second part changes much unless incoming freshmen Jose Alvardo and Curtis Haywood II beat expectations and immediately light it up as a major contributors.
The perception of the Jackets would change overnight if they can nab Jonesboro star M.J. Walker. Getting Wheeler's Jordan Tucker would help, too. Signing both would be a bonanza for Pastner, who took over a program that had slipped badly in recruiting . Striking out on all of the top prospects in the talent-rich Georgia class of 2017 would be a major letdown.
Pastner already has inspired optimism among Tech backers that he can rejuvenate the program over the long term. He was an ace recruiter at Memphis and as an Arizona assistant and may eventually do the same for Tech once he builds relationships in the state. But if the Jackets want to appear regularly in top 25 rankings, Pastner eventually has to sign his share of top prospects.
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