Georgia Tech Basketball 2018-19 Player Previews: #1 F/C James Banks III

The transfer will have to sit out the 2018-19 season but will provide a great depth piece in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Former Texas Longhorn James Banks III joined the Georgia Tech basketball program this past spring after spending two seasons in Austin under head coach Shaka Smart. Smart had a strong freshman season with the Longhorns, playing in 32 games and looked to be a strong piece defensively, totaling 39 blocks in his 32 games. In his sophomore season, however, Banks saw his playing time decrease dramatically and only played 14 games.

With his future at Texas in question, Banks decided it was time to transfer and ultimately decided that coming back home to Georgia was the right decision.

The 6-foot-8, 243-pound forward/center is originally from Decatur, Georgia but played his high school ball in Indiana ( La Lumiere School ). A consensus top-100 prospect out of high school, Banks was heavily recruited and ultimately fielded 23 scholarship offers before deciding on becoming a Longhorn.

After the disappointing start to his collegiate career at Texas, Banks now has the opportunity to develop his game and get off to a fresh start in new surroundings.

As mentioned above, Banks will sit out the 2018-19 season due to transfer rules and will be eligible to play in 2019-20. Once Banks steps on the court for the Yellow Jackets, he will at the very least be a strong defensive specialist for the program. After averaging less than two points over the course of his two seasons in Austin, the Decatur native shouldn’t be expected to be a huge offensive contributor for the Jackets.

Either way, Banks will give the Jackets a solid depth and rotation player for the Yellow Jackets in 2019-20 or if he’s able to reinvent his offensive game, he could even sneak into a starter role for the program.