Georgia Tech to be ‘selective’ in recruiting from transfer portal

The basketball transfer portal is quickly filling up, and Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner plans to be active in finding a match for the Yellow Jackets.

“I think we can be selective, but there’s a lot of guys in the portal, a lot of really good guys in the portal,” Pastner told the AJC on Wednesday.

Pastner said that he’ll have space for one more player, regardless of how many of his seniors (Jose Alvarado, Bubba Parham, Jordan Usher and Moses Wright) return, as seniors who take advantage of the extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA will not be counted against the scholarship limit.

Pastner specified that the final roster addition would be a player out of the transfer portal and not a high-school signee “unless he was someone I could not turn down.” Pastner made this decision out of a desire to keep balance among classes. Three high-school seniors — guards Dallan Coleman and Miles Kelly and forward Jalon Moore — have signed. The class is rated No. 15 in the country by 247Sports Composite.

“Let’s say none of the four seniors come back,” Pastner said. “We’re going to be young in some areas. To help maybe bridge that gap would be a portal guy. The best way to bridge that would be for some of the seniors to come back.”

Pastner said that the team has reached out to about six players who have entered their names into the transfer database. It would not be a surprise if North Carolina forward/center Walker Kessler were among them. The 7-foot-1 Kessler might be the most noteworthy player to have put his name into the portal.

He finished his freshman season with the Tar Heels promisingly, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 12.8 minutes in his final 11 games. Notably, Kessler is from Newnan and graduated from Woodward Academy. He was the 2020 Georgia high schools basketball player of the year.

Pastner has plenty to offer, notably a spot on a team that won the ACC championship and a noted developer of big men in assistant coach Eric Reveno. However, any recruitment could be complicated by the fact that Kessler’s father, Chad, brother, Houston and late uncle, Alec Kessler, all played for Georgia.

Another notable is Auburn guard Justin Powell, who averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 11 games as a freshman before suffering a concussion that ended his season. Tech recruited Powell, from Kentucky, out of high school.

Another is Missouri-Kansas City guard Brandon McKissic, who averaged 17.2 points per game and was named the Horizon League’s defensive player of the year. A grad transfer, McKissic posted a tweet Wednesday indicating that Tech had reached out to him. One more is guard Kellan Grady from Davidson (17.4 points per game career average), a grad transfer candidate.

Pastner said he is not focused on a position, but on bringing in the best player available.

Pastner said he planned to meet with team members this week, including his seniors, whose stay-or-go decision has received considerable attention after the Jackets’ run to the ACC championship and the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. Pastner said no decisions have been made.

“The fan base has to know that I don’t think it’s going to be a quick process,” he said. “I think they’re going to go through the information gathering stage and go from there.”

For instance, Pastner noted, the NBA has not set a date for the draft. So as such, the NCAA can’t set a deadline for players to either remain in the draft or return to school.

“This could go on for a few months,” Pastner said.

And, despite the team’s success, Pastner said he wouldn’t be surprised if players left Tech through the portal.

“I don’t want anyone to leave, but I also understand that’s the world of college basketball we live in,” he said.