ATHENS, Ga. — Justin Abson, the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has signed scholarship papers to join the Georgia Bulldogs next season, head coach Mike White announced on Friday.
A 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward originally from Pompano Beach, Fla., Abson played at Appalachian State for the past two seasons. He started 56 of 66 games played with the Mountaineers and compiled 446 points (7.1 ppg), 428 rebounds (6.5 RPG), and 166 blocked shots (2.5 bpg) while shooting 61.3 percent from the field. He notched 18 double-digit scoring performances, and 10 double-figure rebound counts en route to a trio of double-doubles.
Abson ranked among the top 20 nationally in blocked shots as a freshman and a sophomore. Last season, he ranked No. 5 at 2.8 bpg, leading the Mountaineers to a nation-leading average of 6.8 bpg. As a freshman, Abson ranked No. 19 nationally at 2.2 bpg. Abson’s 166 career blocks were the second-most of any Division I sophomore at the end of the 2023-24 season.
As a sophomore, Abson started 33 of 34 games played, averaging 7.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg while helping App State finish 27-7 overall and 16-2 in Sun Belt action. The Mountaineers won the Sun Belt regular-season championship and earned an NIT bid. Abson started 23 of 32 games during his freshman year, contributing 6.2 ppg and a team-leading 5.9 rpg.
Abson was a standout at North Broward Prep School from 2018-22, helping the Eagles to the Round of 16 in the FHSAA Class 4A state tournament as a junior and a senior. He earned All-State honors from the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches in 2022 and All-Broward County recognition from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel thrice. In 97 career contests, Abson averaged a double-double of 13.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game, as well as 2.9 blocks per game.
Abson is the third newcomer for Georgia’s 2024-25 roster. Last fall, the Bulldogs signed Asa Newell, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound power forward from Destin, Fla., who was ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite ledger for Class of 2024 prep prospects. Georgia also has signed De’Shayne Montgomery, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who won 2024 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Year accolades playing for Mount St. Mary’s last season.
Mike White has produced impressive results in his first two seasons at Georgia. During the 2022-23 campaign, the Bulldogs improved its regular-season win total by 10 victories, the second-largest increase of any Power conference program. Georgia advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 NIT en route to securing the program’s first 20-win season since 2016.
