Jackets add dynamic big man Cyril Martynov

Georgia Tech men's basketball looked to be finished with the 2022 class when they added a late commit in early June. Still, Josh Pastner and his staff landed the missing piece for that class on Thursday with the commitment of big man Cyril Martynov from Lawrenceville Prep (NJ).

Martynov picked the Jackets over Missouri, Northwestern, and Wisconsin after reclassifying from the 2023 to 2022 class recently.

“The reason that I am committing to Georgia Tech is because of all of the boxes that it checks. Georgia Tech offers high-level basketball being in the ACC, a strong level of academics, and a coaching staff that is willing to work with its players to help them reach their maximum potential. This, along with many other factors, helped solidify my decision in committing to Georgia tech," he said.

Leading Martynov's recruitment was new Tech assistant coach Brian Eskildsen who joined the Jackets' bench over the summer. The pair have bonded since the Jackets began recruiting Martynov.

"My relationship with Coach Eski is very good. He showed a lot of care throughout my recruitment process and still does even after I have committed to Georgia Tech," he said. "He truly values his recruits both as players and as people, which is very important when building a relationship."

Things came fully together for Martynov and the Jackets during his official visit during the last week of July.

"The visit went really well. The whole coaching staff was amazing as well as the players," he said. "They treated me really well during the visit to the point of where I felt like a member of their community and could see myself being there for the years to come."

So how does Martynov figure into the Jackets' plans? He broke down what his role will be on the team and how head coach Josh Pastner and the staff view it.

"My role was broken down immediately both over zoom and on the visit. They showed lots of game highlights throughout their past seasons involving their big, Moses Wright, and compared his game to my play style. There were a lot of comparisons between how we both play and having that type of versatility that was shown on video is one of the most important aspects about fitting into a playing system, which is why I thought Georgia Tech would be a great fit," he said.

Martynov likes the plan the staff has in place for him and he sees it as a great fit for his skillset.

"I think I have a really good role-wise and will have an immediate impact in terms of playing time. I would be the tallest big on the team and have a lot of different attributes in terms of my versatility that I can bring to the 4/5 spot which would allow me the chance to earn good minutes to play," he said.

Martynov joins guard Freds Bagatskis as a late signee for the Jackets. Tech wanted to add a big man in the 2022 class but they could not find a match in the transfer portal or through the high school ranks so Martynov's addition will be a big plus for the center position that was a sore spot in 2021-22 after being a strength for the first five years of Pastner's tenure on the Flats.

The commitment makes Martynov the fourth addition this offseason for the Yellow Jackets program joining Bagatskis and veteran transfers Javon Franklin and Lance Terry. .