On New Year’s Eve, when Georgia Tech pulled off its stunning upset of North Carolina, coach Josh Pastner was grateful for the support of Yellow Jackets fans who decided to pass on watching the football team play in the TaxSlayer Bowl to come to McCamish Pavilion.
However, he might have been more appreciative of the attendance of a young man who wouldn’t qualify as a Tech diehard. Among the announced crowd of 7,754 was Joseph Toppin, a junior small forward from Norcross High who is rated a four-star prospect by 247 Sports and came to the game with his coach, Jesse McMillan.
“Couldn’t have worked out better,” McMillan said.
When Tech plays No. 6 Florida State on Wednesday night at McCamish, Tech is expected to have two other noteworthy guests — Jonesboro High guard M.J. Walker and small forward Jordan Tucker of Wheeler High. By ESPN’s rankings, they’re the two highest-rated in-state players in the 2017 class who have yet to align with a college.
It is the hope of Pastner and his staff that the Jackets’ better-than-expected season — which includes wins over VCU, N.C. State, Clemson and the aforementioned Tar Heels — has the sort of impact on Walker and Tucker that it has had on other prospects.
“They’re definitely paying attention to how things are progressing,” McMillan said of his Norcross players. “I honestly believe that when the recruiting period opens back up in April and coaches come back in the gym, when they walk back in the high school with the Georgia Tech logo on their chest, those kids are going to be a little more receptive. They’ve seen the coaches now, they’ve seen them win some games, they’re familiar with the guys.”
Norm Parker, coach of the AAU Georgia Stars, has seen a similar response with his powerhouse team’s players.
“He’s showing people that he can take the hand you’re dealt with and he can win with it,” Parker said. “He can coach ’em up, and a lot of players and parents want to see that.”
Parker is an important person for Pastner to impress. His program is consistently among the strongest nationally. Alumni include four of the best players in the ACC last season — Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt (All-ACC), Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame (ACC most improved player), Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon (ACC player of the year and a first-round pick) and Florida State’s Malik Beasley (first-round pick). Tech guard Tadric Jackson is another.
Even before the start of the season, Pastner had won over Parker (the two have known each other a long time, dating to Pastner’s days in high school when he ran his father’s AAU team), but this season has built his stature further.
“I’m going to tell you, I think he’s probably done his best job ever coaching this year’s team,” Parker said.
It isn’t merely the winning that should benefit Tech and Pastner. Tech players such as center Ben Lammers and forward Quinton Stephens have made significant strides this season, evidence of the ability of Pastner and his staff to develop talent. Also, Pastner starts two freshmen, guards Josh Okogie and Justin Moore. That also gets attention.
“Kids want to play,” McMillan said. “If you can tell them and you can show them on the floor that you’re going to give young kids minutes, that gives you some legitimacy.”
Pastner believes that what the team has accomplished thus far will make it more comfortable for a highly rated senior prospect (such as Walker or Tucker) to consider Tech, as he wouldn’t be joining a team with little hope of immediate success. It would stand more so with sophomores and juniors, he said.
Prospects who are juniors, with whom Pastner and his staff will have had more time to build relationships than they did with seniors, will be in position to sign this November, before Tech’s 2017-18 season. Hence, results this season will matter.
“I think people have a vision of what we want to do and as we continue to upgrade with talent and continue to get the right pieces in here, we’ll be better as we move forward,” he said.
Parker and McMillan agreed that Tech’s modest — and unexpected success — could sway the thinking of prospects considering Tech. Parker said that Tech’s wins have been a “positive influence” on Stars players.
“It’s hard to sell the vision just based on the possibility,” McMillan said. “Now that kids are kind of seeing how competitive they’ve been and how successful they’ve been, even with some limitations with the roster, it absolutely helps them open doors with these kids.”
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