Damon Stoudamire’s NBA credentials already have paid off for Georgia Tech. The new Yellow Jackets coach helped secure a commitment from N.C. State transfer Ebenezer Dowuona by comparing the forward with a core member of the Boston Celtics, whom Stoudamire served as an assistant coach for the past two years before his hire at Tech. Dowuona’s commitment became public Monday.
“Damon was kind of showing him what he plans for him and how they’re going to use him, and he compared him a lot to Robert Williams with the Boston Celtics,” Joab Jerome, Dowuona’s coach at the Heritage School in Newnan, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday evening.
Williams is considered one of the top defensive players in the NBA, a 6-foot-9, shot-blocking, rebound-clearing presence who helped Boston reach the NBA Finals a year ago. The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Dowuona, who in the 2021-22 season ranked fifth in the ACC in blocked shots per game (1.7), received Stoudamire’s conception well.
“That’s his reputation on the basketball floor, a defensive guy, a rebounder and a shot blocker,” Jerome said. “Really athletic, making plays around the rim. That’s a really good comparison and how we hope he’s going to be used at the school.”
It is one thing for a coach to woo a prospective transfer by likening him to an NBA player. It is quite another to hear it from someone who actually was coaching that NBA player a month ago, as Stoudamire was with Williams. And, beyond that, from a coach who played in the NBA for 13 seasons.
“Having that NBA guy in the building is going to be an attraction to a lot of players in the city because he’s gone through it, and he knows what it takes to get to the next level,” Jerome said. “I think it was a great hire by Tech.”
Dowuona became the first player to commit to Tech since Stoudamire’s hire March 13.
“(Stoudamire) told him how he was going to be at the school, how he was the first recruit he would bring in,” Jerome said.
Stoudamire won Dowuona’s commitment over interest from Clemson, national finalist San Diego State, Tulsa, BYU, Coastal Carolina and other schools, Jerome said.
Dowuona went into the portal March 23. After starting 27 games in the 2021-22 season and averaging 24.5 minutes, he averaged 11 minutes in 30 games while making three starts. He has one season of eligibility remaining.
“He was playing, but sometimes he would play, sometimes he wouldn’t,” Jerome said. “He was just looking for that consistency and once Tech got into the picture, it was hard to put them back down. To be home and be near family, that’s a good opportunity for him.”
Dowuona’s literal family is in Ghana; he came to the U.S. to pursue an opportunity to play college basketball and earn a degree. But he has close ties in the Atlanta area, including with Jerome.
“Very humble young man, works hard, extremely disciplined,” Jerome said. “High academic kid and puts the work in on the floor.”
One of Dowuona’s teammates at Heritage was Tech guard Lance Terry.
“That helped (Tech’s recruitment) a lot, too,” Dowuona said. “And playing with him again.”
Terry appears to be secure for a final season at Tech.
“I think he’s actually met with Damon about three times already,” Jerome said of Terry, who averaged 10.1 points per game and shot 38.8% from 3-point range this past season. “I believe everything is good with him.”
Particularly with Jackets center Rodney Howard going into the transfer portal Monday (along with forward Cyril Martynov and walk-on guard Jermontae Hill), Dowuona has a clear path at playing time and the role that Stoudamire has envisioned for him.
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