Center Cyril Martynov Commits to Georgia Tech

On August 4th Georgia Tech got a surprise addition to their roster. 2023 recruit Cyril Martynov announced that he is reclassifying as a 2022 recruit and committed to the Yellow Jackets. This late signing should be the final roster move heading into the 2022-23 season.

Cyril Martynov is from Ontario, Canada, but has been playing his high school ball in New Jersey. He is listed at 6’11” and 230 pounds. He is not rated by the major recruiting services, but he has picked up some big interest recently, most notably by Wisconsin, which makes me think that he would be ranked this year, probably around a high 3-star.

He may have center size, but from watching his highlights and reading about his game, it doesn’t seem like he’s a traditional center. He can handle the ball fairly well and has at least some outside shot. Part of Josh Pastner’s recruiting pitch was showing him clips of Moses Wright and comparing the two. Wright went from being a raw freshman to ACC Player of the Year under Pastner so that’s not a bad comparison. I can’t find much about his defense except clips of him blocking guys 6+ inches shorter than him.

As a rule I am skeptical of guys who reclassify. A year of development in high school is a big deal. While college is generally better for development than high school, you at least have to be able to get on the floor, and that’s tough for a lot of guys. This is such a late reclassification that Martynov missed a lot of the summer practice too, one of the benefits of joining the team early. Because of that I’m skeptical that Martynov makes much of a difference this season. I’d say that he might even redshirt, but that has become less common in the transfer portal era. If he is playing decent minutes this season, then that is a sign that the Yellow Jackets got a good one.

That being said, I’m pretty excited about this signing. It’s always tough to find big men and GT got a coveted one in large part by being one of the first teams to recruit him. They beat out teams like Wisconsin, Missouri, and Arizona State for him. I like his game. A big man with handles really helps in modern offenses. Josh Pastner (and staff) has already shown the ability to develop this kind of player into a star.

Martynov should round out the 4-man 2022 signing class joining transfers Terry Lance and Javon Franklin as well as fellow incoming freshman Freds Bagatskis.

Welcome to the Flats Cyril Martynov!