PG Naithan George becomes 4th Syracuse player to enter transfer portal
In his lone year with the Orange, the Georgia Tech transfer was fifth in the ACC with 5.4 assists per game. Matthew Crisafulli | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse point guard Naithan George intends to enter the transfer portal, 247Sports reported Saturday, becoming the fourth SU player to do so. George averaged 10.9 points and 5.4 assists per game last season after transferring in from Georgia Tech.
The Orange brought in George to be their primary facilitator. He led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 6.5 assists in his sophomore year at GT, and his total with SU this year ranked fifth. However, he also led the Orange with 98 turnovers (3.1 per game), 41 more than the next closest player.
With George’s up-and-down play, SU struggled. In Adrian Autry’s third and final year leading Syracuse, it finished 15-17, missing the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.
Now, George will be looking for his third team in three years.
Alongside him, guard Aaron Womack, center Tiefing Diawara and forward Tyler Betsey will all also enter the portal. Senior guard J.J. Starling and graduate center William Kyle III are both out of eligibility, too.
It’ll be newly-appointed head coach Gerry McNamara’s job to replace them, after Autry was fired following the Orange’s ACC Tournament First Round loss. In his introductory press conference, McNamara said he was committed to helping SU build the team it needed to contend again, through the transfer portal and name, image and likeness.
“Not just X’s and O’s, I want the Jimmys and the Joes, all the players,” McNamara said. “We’ve got to get talent here.
