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Georgia Tech Basketball: Asanti Price will have opportunity for early impact

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coaches his team during a time out during the Yellow Jackets' game against the Louisville Cardinals at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: Head coach Josh Pastner of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coaches his team during a time out during the Yellow Jackets' game against the Louisville Cardinals at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Tech basketball’s latest commitment, shooting guard Asanti Price will have a chance to make an immediate impact for the Yellow Jackets next season.

Class of 2019 shooting guard Asanti Price committed to the Georgia Tech men’s basketball program on Saturday. Price, a 6-foot-5, 175-pound native of Columbia, South Carolina committed to the Jackets just a few days after taking an official visit to Tech.

For Price, coming to Georgia Tech presents him with the opportunity to become a potential immediate impact player. With the recent departure of Curtis Haywood II, the Jackets were left with just three scholarship guards. Price will now become Georgia Tech’s fourth scholarship guard on the roster for 2019 (as of right now), giving him a chance to play early and often for Josh Pastner. Price is coming off a quality high school senior season, averaging 16.0 points per game

Price will give the Jackets a potential sharp-shooter from the outside and a guard who has nice size and length. At 6-foot-5, Price will join walk-on Shaheed Medlock as the biggest guards on the Jackets roster. The Jackets are currently are on the smaller end at the guard position, with an average height of 6-foot-2 among their three other scholarship guards.

Overall, Price’s game is one that the Jackets could take advantage of early. As seen in the highlight tape below, Price has a nice and smooth shooting motion that allows him to be pretty consistent from outside the perimeter. The Jackets were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country last season, ranking 307th in the country, so any help when it comes to shooting from downtown would be a bonus for the Jackets.

Additionally, the Jackets lost one of their better three-point shooters this offseason in Brandon Alston as the Lehigh transfer finished his college eligibility. Alston  shot a solid .389 which ranked second on the team for the 2018-19 season.

If Price can step in and either replicate or come close to Alston’s numbers, the Jackets would have a formidable sharpshooter combination between him and rising sophomore guard Michael Devoe who shot .393 as a true freshman. Additionally, 6-foot-7 forward Kristian Sjolund shined at times this season and is a potential breakout player to watch for next season. Sjolund, a classic stretch-four style player was able to excel at times with his three-point shooting.

Additionally, the rest of Price’s game in his highlight tape looks pretty sound. He’s not an incredibly flashy player, he doesn’t have the prettiest jump shot but he’s able to make it work. A player who’s not afraid to get after the ball on defense, Price will fit right into Josh Pastner’s defensive scheme.

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There’s some refining that needs to be done to his game but overall, Price looks like a player who can come in and make an immediate impact off the bench for the Jackets. Don’t expect him to start and set the world on fire offensively but if Price can become a solid three-point shooter for the Jackets off the bench early on in his career, it will be a fantastic find and pickup by Josh Pastner.