Of ESPN’s top 100 basketball prospects in the senior class, seven remain unsigned or uncommitted. Georgia Tech is pursuing two of them, Wheeler High forward Jordan Tucker and Jonesboro High guard M.J. Walker.
On Thursday, Walker’s high-school coach explained the length of his decision-making process.
Walker and his family “are looking for a program that is very similar to where he’s come from,” Jonesboro coach Daniel Maehlman said. “I think a lot of kids just jump into picking schools — ‘This school is top five in the country’ — or different reasons, and they don’t really do a good job of looking into which program is going to fit me the best, the system I came from. And I think with all the schools that he’s picked, they’re all very similar to the way that he’s played for the past four years, defensively and offensively. I think that’s what’s making the process last a little bit longer.”
Walker has four schools on his list — Tech, Florida State, Ohio State and Virginia Tech – and may add a fifth, UCLA. This coming weekend is the last before the end of the signing period, which ends May 17, next Wednesday.
“I don’t know if he’ll make that decision by then,” Maehlman said. “He might go past it.”
Walker, or any prospect, is not required to sign a letter of intent.
Maehlman said that the fitness that Walker is looking for is in style of play.
“If you look at all four of those programs, they’re all similar,” he said. “They’re all defensive-minded schools that play fundamental basketball the right way, offensively sharing the basketball.”
Indeed, all four teams are defense first, although UCLA has not fit that mold in the past couple of seasons. A favorite statistic of coach Josh Pastner’s is assists per made field goal, which reflects ball movement. Tech ranked 13th in it past season, according to Ken Pom.
It perhaps goes without saying that Walker, rated by ESPN as a five-star prospect and the No. 25 player in the senior class, would be a huge lift for the Yellow Jackets. A McDonald’s All-American, Walker is a high-scoring shooting guard with a soft touch from the outside and the athletic ability to drive and score at the basket. For a team that often struggled to score last season, Walker would be a most helpful addition. He would be Tech’s first McDonald’s All-American since Derrick Favors, who played in the 2009 game.
Maehlman said that Tech’s first season with Pastner caught his notice.
“I don’t know if he was so much interested in Tech until he saw the job that coach Pastner and his staff did down there this year, which was amazing,” Maehlman said.
From Maehlman’s perspective, he was impressed by the defensive intensity that Pastner brought and the improvement in offensive production in certain players from two years ago to this past season, which he termed “crazy.” Center Ben Lammers and forward Quinton Stephens would be the two most notable players for their improvement from 2015-16.
“I think it shows that the kids really, really love Josh and the staff that’s working with them,” he said.
The other factors in Tech’s favor pointed out by Maehlman are the obvious — proximity to home, ACC membership and its academic prestige. Maehlman said that Walker has a 3.7 GPA and is interested in studying engineering.
“I think we’re obviously getting to the end,” Maehlman said. “I think a lot of people don’t realize what type of decision it is. A lot of people are, I wouldn’t say making judgments, but having a different view of why they think he hasn’t chosen a school yet. They’re just taking their time with the process, trying to figure out what the best place is for him.”
