Syracuse men’s basketball: Scouting Georgia Tech transfer Naithan George

A look at the new point guard

Syracuse Orange men’s basketball’s third transfer acquisition of the 2025-26 cycle was Georgia Tech point guard Naithan George.

After last season’s failed experiment of Jaquan Carlos – a proven stud point guard at the mid-major level – as the Orange’s primary ball handler and distributor, George is the response to that. Alex Kline, Red Autry, and the Syracuse coaching staff were not going to let poor point guard play restrict the flow of the offense in 2025-26, so they splurged, spending big money on one of the top-rated guards in the transfer portal.

But what does George bring to the table?

Last season, George averaged 12.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 39.3% from the field and 33.9% from beyond the arc.

As a 6 foot 3, 185-pounder, he has more than enough size to run the offense and hold up on the defensive end. Additionally, George has been through the wars of the ACC, having started 62 of the 63 games he’s played at the collegiate level. Alongside BYU’s Egor Demin (a projected lottery pick), he was the only underclassman in high-major basketball with an assist rate above 30% at his height or taller. George accomplished that carrying the offensive load for nearly 90% of the minutes that Georgia Tech played.

Only four players in Division I operated out of more ball screens than George last season – Braden Smith, Bennett Stirtz, Donovan Dent, and Kam Jones – which gave him ample opportunity to see every different way defenses can defend him.

He always has his eyes up, and his teammates must always be ready to catch the ball, and is able to deliver passes anywhere on the floor.

Facing drop coverage against Jacksonville State in the NIT, George’s advanced vision allows him to see where he can create an advantage as he comes off an empty side ball screen from Baye Ndongo. He locks eyes with Lance Terry (0) early as he rounds the screen as he exits to the corner, but quickly turns his eyes back in front of him to go into the paint. He burns the corner fast enough to create a potential lob scenario over the top of the dropped big to Ndongo, and he drags the weak side corner help into the paint, his plan all along. That is why he makes the pass to the corner look so natural, turning into an easy assist.

However, while this play highlights his advanced vision, it also displays one weakness of George’s game. He struggles immensely to get to the rim and score at the rim. Last season, he attempted just 48 of his 333 half-court field goal attempts from the rim, and made just under 46% of them. That’s not the ideal formula for a bigger point guard, but Bub Carrington was a very similar way, and he made it work in the ACC.

George is an extremely skilled lob passer, even in the half-court, if a Georgia Tech big man had any sort of window, he was trying to fit the ball in. The Yellow Jackets ran different actions out of their pick-and-rolls to try to open these lobs up. It’s very easy to see George tossing lobs off of Spain actions to William Kyle next season.

He made passes with both hands, and from all spots on the floor. When he got in the paint, his first instinct was still typically to look for a pass, which contributes to his poor rim finishing numbers.

In 2024-25, George shot 45.1% on 91 two-point jumpers off the bounce, but just 32.7% on his 110 off-the-dribble three-point attempts. He likes to get moving, usually to his right, and quickly jerk his body back for a jump shot to create separation. If that doesn’t create separation, he’ll still try to beat his defender into the air with a quick jump off an off-balance motion. George is capable of making those shots, but it creates some ugly-looking misses.

Despite the shortcomings, his two-point jump-shooting is a positive trait of his game, ranking fourth in the ACC in off-the-dribble twos made per game, and making them at an attractive percentage. He also tied for second in made three-pointers off the dribble per game in the conference, but shot a lower percentage than the other two players he tied with (Chase Hunter and Nijel Pack).

George’s cadence and rhythm off the dribble is significantly better when dribbling with his right hand. He can get his steps mixed up and miss easier looks from the left, even though he’s a great passer with both hands. If he has enough space against a deep drop, he’ll cycle from the left to the right to take the jumper.

Damon Stoudamire gave him a very green light from beyond the arc, which sometimes turned into possessions that looked like George thought he was the only player on the court. His favorite move was the step back, and if a defender stayed with him, they had the chance to strip the ball as he collected for a shot.

Last season, in minutes that he shared in the backcourt with Javian McCollum – a shifty guard who plays both on and off the ball – George was nearly 10% more efficient, by effective field goal percentage than with McCollum off the floor. Having another ball handler opened up the floor to create more space, making a more efficient overall offense. George will have a ball handler next to him once again, with JJ Starling, although he and McCollum come from completely different archetypes.

On the defensive side of the ball, George’s bigger frame makes him a little bit more versatile than what Syracuse had last season. Lots of his quick, small-area movements are similar in rhythm to the way he’ll twitch his body on the offensive end to create space. It can open him up to getting beat off the dribble, but his arms are typically solid enough at keeping the offensive player within grasp.

George is not a defensive playmaker, with a steal percentage below 2% despite how much he guards the ball. Part of this comes from knowing how important he is to driving play on the offensive side, and not being an incredibly aggressive defender. He committed the third fewest fouls per 40 minutes of anybody in the ACC last season during conference play.

While an improved defense is extremely important for Syracuse next season, that was not why George is coming to the 315. He’s coming to be a maestro for the offense, to give the team a legitimate, proven, high-major point guard with elite playmaking ability and good positional size.

He’s going to have the ball in his hands a ton, and I’m curious to see if JJ Starling plays well off of him, or resorts to a the “my turn, your turn” offense that has plagued the Orange at times. With that being said, George is about as good of a point guard as Syracuse could’ve reeled in from the transfer portal, and will be a huge part of any success that the team will have.