New Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner has his first recruit, and he owes a bit of gratitude to assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie.
Justin Moore, a three-star point guard from San Diego, signed a grant-in-aid with Tech Friday and announced his decision on Twitter in the afternoon. He said his relationship with LaBarrie, a Tech grad who was hired by Pastner after five seasons at Georgia State, was a major factor.
LaBarrie has known Moore since he was in eighth grade through Moore’s close friend David Travers, whom LaBarrie recruited to Georgia State. LaBarrie turned his attention to Moore not much later, offering him a scholarship after his freshman season.
In Moore, Tech is getting a second-team all-state selection who averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists at Mission Bay High in San Diego. 247 Sports rated the 6-foot-4 Moore as the No. 20 prospect in the state.
Moore said he made his decision Friday morning after an official visit to Tech earlier in the week. Moore chose Tech over Pacific. He had been signed with Tulane, but received a release from his letter of intent after Tulane fired coach Ed Conroy at the end of the season.
“Being in the best conference in the country is big, and then Coach Pastner is not only a great coach but a great person,” Moore said. “And also being given the opportunity to play a lot as a freshman, that was big, too.”
Tech is in need of help, as the Jackets lost 62 percent of their minutes played and 76 percent of their scoring to graduation. He’ll join forward Christian Matthews (Fort Washington, Md.) and Shiloh High guard Josh Okogie in the freshman class.
“His ability to score, along with his speed and competitive fire, gives him a chance to help out our team this year,” Pastner said in a statement. “He is the kind of student-athlete we want in our program.”
Moore will have a tight turnaround when he enrolls later this month. Moore’s high school graduation is June 21. He said he’ll leave the same day for Atlanta.
“It’s no biggie to me,” he said. “I’m just ready to start working and start this long journey.”
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