ATLANTA – James Banks has received NCAA approval to compete immediately on the hardwood for Georgia Tech.
The 6-foot-8 Decatur native, who transferred from Texas after playing two seasons for the Longhorns, has two years of eligibility with the Yellow Jackets. In 46 total games at Texas, Banks averaged 1.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 10.7 minutes per game.
“We’re excited to have James in our program and thankful that the NCAA has allowed him the opportunity to play immediately,” said Tech head coach Josh Pastner, in his third season on The Flats. “We’re thankful for the time and effort put into this process by our compliance staff. James gives us much needed size, and he’s a very good shot-blocker. We want to play faster, with better pace, and he will help us do that.”
Banks played in 32 games as a freshman at Texas, averaging 1.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game, and ranked second on the team with 39 blocked shots. He recorded at least one block in 20 of the 32 games in which he appeared. He played in 14 games last season, averaging 6.8 minutes, 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds while blocking 11 shots.
Banks attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind., as a high school senior, leading the Lakers to a 27-4 record. He was ranked as the No. 49 overall prospect in the nation by Scout, No. 57 by ESPN and No. 83 by Rivals following his senior year. He averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds per game in his junior season while playing at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta.
He bolsters a frontcourt group for Tech that includes 6-9 redshirt senior Abdoulaye Gueye (Dakar, Senegal) and 6-10 redshirt junior Sylvester Ogbonda (Port Harcourt, Nigeria).
