Former Georgia high school basketball stars Miles Kelly, Kyle Sturdivant making plays for Yellow Jackets
History was made inside McCamish Pavilion on Jan. 30 as Georgia Tech stunned arguably the hottest college basketball team in the nation, North Carolina. The Tarheels were led by RJ Davis, whose 28-point, 4-assist performance was overshadowed by the contributions of two Gwinnett County, Georgia, alumni: Miles Kelly and Kyle Sturdivant.
The Yellow Jackets got off to a hot start, building a 9-5 lead on the back of 7 Kelly points. The Parkview High School (Georgia) and Hargrave Military Academy (Virginia) alumnus notched all 15 of his points and 3 of his 5 rebounds in the first half alone.
Currently a junior, Kelly earned meaningful playing time even as a freshman at Georgia Tech. Being one of the youngest players on the floor is nothing new for him, though, as the former four-star high school guard averaged 17 points per game as a sophomore at Parkview.
Kelly stayed with Parkview for three total seasons before transferring to Hargrave Military Academy for his senior year of high school, where he endured a 1-10 campaign in a pandemic-stricken season.
Kelly’s first-half contributions for Georgia Tech on Jan. 30 led to a 37-37 halftime draw with North Carolina, the third-ranked team in the country.
The second half quickly became the Kyle Sturdivant show.
Coming off the bench, Sturdivant only posted 5 points in the first half, but exploded for 10 points and three assists within a seven-minute span in the second period. He also banked a clutch 3-pointer to put the Yellow Jackets up 4 with just over three minutes remaining in the contest.
Sturdivant was a borderline four-star recruit out of Norcross High School, and he became notorious there for his clutch abilities. As a senior, he scored 19 points in the second half of a quarterfinals matchup against Roswell to lead the Blue Devils into the Final Four for the third straight year. Just one year earlier, he sank a buzzer-beater against Meadowcreek to clinch a region title.
Sturdivant was popular on the Nike EYBL circuit as well, averaging 15 points per game in the summer of 2018.
This all led to his commitment to the USC Trojans, but he transferred back home to Georgia Tech a year later after the tragic passing of his father.
Now a senior at Georgia Tech, Sturdivant’s 18 points and four assists in just 23 minutes in the Jan. 30 game against North Carolina provided an early dagger into the hearts of Tarheel fans nationwide.
Kelly and Sturdivant are two of five Georgia natives on Georgia Tech’s basketball roster. The other three are Lance Terry (Christian Heritage), Kowacie Reeves (Westside-Macon), and Marcos San Miguel (Campbell).
Despite only scoring a single basket against North Carolina, Reeves has been dynamite for Tech this season, including a 14-point, four-rebound performance in the Jackets’ home upset of No. 7 Duke. (Kelly and Sturdivant combined for 22 points that night).
Under the guidance of head coach Damon Stoudamire, this trio of hometown heroes could spawn the next great stretch for Georgia Tech basketball.
