Georgia Tech lands commitment from Oklahoma transfer Javian McCollum

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber•04/14/24

Georgia Tech has made a splashy addition through the transfer portal, landing the leading scorer off of Oklahoma’s 2023-24 team, Javian McCollum.

College hoops insider Jon Rothstein reported the news of McCollum’s new destination on Sunday afternoon, tweeting that he was headed to GT with this post: “Source: Oklahoma transfer Javian McCollum has committed to Georgia Tech.”

McCollum spent two years at Siena before transferring to Oklahoma last season. He’ll be a true senior with the Yellow Jackets in 2024-25.

His freshman year back at Siena wasn’t terribly notable, but as a sophomore, McCollum popped to averaged 15.9 points and 3.9 assists per game for a Saints squad that finished third place in the MAAC. Turns out, his departure following that season was well-timed, as Siena tanked miserably, limping to a 4-28 record and last-place finish in the MAAC.

With the Sooners, McCollum spearheaded a solid backcourt trio for Porter Moser and averaged 13.3 points per game to lead all OU players in 2024. Following the season, though, McCollum and the entire Sooner starting backcourt jumped ship and entered the transfer portal — including Otega Oweh and Milos Uzan, the latter of which found a perfect landing spot in Houston.

As for the Georgia Tech aspect of McCollum’s move, well, it’s quite the gift for rising second-year head coach Damon Stoudamire. After a few seasons away from college coaching following a decent run at Pacific, Stoudamire returned to take over GT and turned in an up and down 14-18 first year that did feature wins over North Carolina and Duke.

Miles Kelly is off to the NBA Draft and a handful of guys have transferred out, but McCollum offers some star potential as an import among a decent roster of returners. Freshmen like Baye Ndongo and Naithan Geogre were promising, and Kowacie Reeves could shine with a larger role as a senior. Lance Terry should be back to help McCollum in the backcourt as well.

Overall, Javian McCollum can definitely raise the ceiling for GT as head coach Damon Stoudamire will aim to compete for an NCAA Tournament appearance in year two with the program.