Georgia Tech and its fans have been waiting with bated breath to see what the NCAA would decide with regard to the punishment for Jackson and Okogie, who, if you weren’t paying attention, received some improper benefits totaling about $525 for Jackson and $750 for Okogie. The NCAA standards for those values are 6 and 9 games, but Ken Sugiura has reported that they have been given lenient sentences of just 3 and 6 games.
This is a huge break for GT basketball. They were both suspended for the opener against UCLA which the Jackets nearly won anyway. Now, Tadric Jackson will be back before Tech’s next big game, Northwestern, and Okogie will be back for the remaining two big non-conference games against Tennessee and Georgia. Jackson will miss the home games against Bethune-Cookman this coming Sunday and UT-Rio Grande Valley next Wednesday before coming back against North Texas. Tech should win both of those even without their top scorers. Jackson’s return gives the team a fighting chance in the ACC-Big 10 challenge against a tough Northwestern squad. Okogie will miss those four games as well as the next matchup against Grambling State before he returns for the game against Tennessee. His hand should be ready for that one.