Sometimes , all that an ACC basketball team needs to reverse its fortunes is one great recruit . Georgia Tech doubled its chances of recovering from last season ' s losing record by landing two . Thaddeus Young , a 6 - 8 forward , and Javaris Crittenton , a 6 - 5 point guard , were among the country ' s top high - school seniors at their positions last season . Coach Paul Hewitt also signed Brad Sheehan , a 6 - 10 center , and Zach Peacock , a 6 - 7 forward , to give Georgia Tech one of its best - rated recruiting classes since 1989 . " It ' s a good group , " Hewitt said . " I think we missed maturity last season more than anything else . We were in a lot of games , but I thought there were some times when we showed some immaturity that cost us . We needed to get some size , and Sheehan is a great fit . " The Rivals recruiting service ranked Georgia Tech ' s class No . 2 in the ACC and No . 7 in the nation . Most recruiting analysts considered Young one of the nation ' s top 10 players , with good reason . He was a three - time all - state selection at Mitchell High School in Memphis , Tenn . , and Gatorade named him its Tennessee player of the year after last season , when he averaged 26 . 9 points and 13 . 8 rebounds and led his team to a state championship . In the Jordan Classic all - star game in April , he scored 28 points and was named the game ' s MVP . As a junior , Young averaged 23 . 6 points and 12 . 2 rebounds and was named Tennessee ' s Mr . Basketball in Class 2 - A . Mitchell was 123 - 40 during Young ' s high - school career , which covered five seasons because he made the varsity as an 8 th - grader . Many analysts considered Young talented enough to go to the NBA if not for the rule that prohibits players younger than 19 from going straight from high school to the pros . Some college coaches thought that Young would play only one season before leaving for the pros and were wary of recruiting him . Hewitt isn ' t concerned and said he believes that Young will be at Tech for more than one season . " I wouldn ' t call it ' fears ;' I think it ' s part of our game , " Hewitt said . " I ' ve always been of the belief that yes , we need to win games and we want to win games , but it ' s also about kids putting themselves in position to be successful in life and get a good job . " I can tell you that the people who helped us get Thaddeus , his closest advisors , they don ' t come into this thing with the idea that it ' s going to be ' one and done . ' The people who are closest to him , his dad and his uncle , have all said , ' Paul , this is going to be a longer stay than shorter . '" Crittenton was the priority . Georgia Tech sorely missed a point guard last season , one reason that it finished 11 - 17 . Wake Forest also wanted Crittenton , but Tech had recruited him since he was a 9 th - grader . Crittenton averaged 29 points and nine assists as a senior and led Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy to the Class A state championship and a 28 - 5 record . In one game , he outscored the opponent , finishing with 54 points in a 96 - 53 win over Eagles Landing . Hewitt considers Crittenton an almost perfect candidate for point guard in his system . " I recognized early that he was the kind of point guard that we ' ve had a lot of success with in the past , " Hewitt said . " There were so many qualities that he had that we felt like that , if all else fails , we ' ve got to get this guy . " He ' s in total command , he ' s very unselfish , and he ' s a very good athlete . The teams and programs that I ' ve worked with have had good success with point guards with size , and when I looked at Javaris , I looked at a guy that athletically might be better than those other guys . " Sheehan was a three - year starter at Shaker High in Latham , N . Y . , and averaged 21 . 5 points , 11 . 5 rebounds and 6 blocked shots as a senior . He shot 63 percent the field . Hewitt said that Sheehan needs to build his strength to play inside in the ACC but is confident that he can be a consistent rebounder . Peacock impressed Hewitt with his toughness around the basket . He averaged 21 . 2 points and 9 . 6 rebounds in helping Norland High of Miami win Florida ' s Class 6 - A state title last season . He finished second in the voting for Class 6 - A state player of the year and scored more than 1 , 700 points in his high - school career . " There ' s certainly an infusion of talent with this class , " Hewitt said , " but you know and I know that if you depend solely on freshmen , unless their name is Tyler Hansbrough , you ' re headed for a rocky road . It ' s a very good group , but where it ' s ranked is meaningless . "