Jan. 13, 2003
ATLANTA – Will Bynum, a 5-11, 193-pound guard who played 39 games over two seasons at Arizona, has enrolled at Georgia Tech and joined the Yellow Jackets’ basketball team, head coach Paul Hewitt announced Monday.
The sophomore from Chicago, Ill., who will major in management, will be eligible to play for the Yellow Jackets following the conclusion of fall semester 2003 through the 2004-05 season. He arrived in Atlanta Sunday, and began attending classes Monday. He will begin practicing with the team this week.
Bynum requested and was given his release from Arizona on Jan. 6 after playing in eight games, including two starts, this season for the Wildcats. He averaged 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 35.6 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from three-point range.
“When we heard about him leaving Arizona, we let his high school coach know that we’d have an interest,” said Hewitt Monday. “After we received his release on Tuesday of last week, I had a chance to talk to Will on Wednesday, and he expressed an interest in attending Georgia Tech.”
As a freshman, Bynum played in 31 games, of which he started six, and averaged 6.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists, helping the Wildcats to the NCAA Sweet 16. He averaged 6.7 points in Pac-10 games and 4.0 points in three NCAA Tournament games. His high games were 17 points against Southern California and seven assists against Connecticut.
“He’s a very explosive ball-handler and scorer,” said Hewitt. “We feel like he’s going to be a tremendous addition to our program.”
Bynum, who made an official visit to Tech as a high school senior, attended Crane Tech Prep in Chicago, averaged 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists as a senior, and was ranked among the nation’s top 50 high school seniors. He earned all-city and Chicago Public player of the year honors, and was named all-state by the Chicago Tribune.
