Georgia Tech Basketball: Jackets land transfer James Banks from Texas

The Georgia Tech basketball program has landed transfer James Banks from the University of Texas on Tuesday night.

On Monday night we informed you about University of Texas transfer center James Banks and his official visit to Georgia Tech. We promised to keep you updated on his recruitment however it seems as it has already come to an end.

On Tuesday night, Banks posted on Twitter that he is in fact “coming home” and will be joining the Georgia Tech basketball program.

A native of Decatur, Georgia, Banks was originally ranked as a four-star recruit and a top ten center coming of high school in La Porte, Indiana. A highly recruited prospect, Banks was recruited heavily by numerous programs and even visited Kansas near the end of his recruiting process. A favorite to land at Vanderbilt, he would end up committing to Texas.

Banks would spend the last two years at Texas but fail to make any huge impact as he averaged less than two points in his two seasons in Austin. With his playing time in cut in half this past season, Banks decided at the end of the season that transferring out of the Texas program was the best decision for him to make, that’s where Georgia Tech entered.

Banks ended up averaging under two points per game over his two seasons and struggled to make an impact offensively. His stats converted to per 40-minutes had Banks as a 9-point player offensively.

For Banks, Georgia Tech makes sense for two major reasons. The biggest reason in a personal aspect for Banks is his connections to the state as we mentioned before. Born and raised at least partially in Deactur, Banks is now returning home to finish off his collegiate career..

The second is that the Yellow Jackets currently have very little depth at center. While he won’t be able to play this upcoming season for the Yellow Jackets, they will still have very little depth at center with currently just one true center on the roster in Avi Schafer.

The Jackets will surely miss having Ben Lammers on the court especially defensively where he blocked over 200 shots over his four seasons with the Yellow Jackets. Banks during his time at Texas showed a strong ability to block shots, averaging 1.1 blocks per game over his two seasons at Texas, totaling 50 in 46 games. That being said, with more playing time, Banks has the ability to easily block three or four shots per game.

In his brief time on the court, Banks showed potential on defense. In both his seasons, his defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) was below 100, averaging out to 97.4 for his time in Austin. He also had defensive box plus/minuses of 9.1 and 5.3 respectively in his two seasons.

While he needs to work on his offensive game, if Banks could become a defensive specialist when his time comes to step on the court, Banks will prove to be a well worthy addition for the Yellow Jackets.

Next: Jackets host Texas transfer James Banks for official visit

For Banks, it’s impossible to not say that the start of his career wasn’t at least somewhat disappointing start to his career. Transferring to Georgia Tech will allow for a change of scenery for Banks and possibly a new beginning as he looks to finish out his college career on a high note once he steps on the court at McCamish Pavillion.