In his first year on the job at Georgia Tech, head coach Damon Stoudamire made the most out of a roster that lacked a good bit of depth so that was definitely a priority in the offseason as the Jackets added pieces through the transfer portal and recruiting.

One of the main areas where additional pieces were needed were in the frontcourt as the Jackets were clearly thin there, and Stoudamire and his staff addressed some of that concern through the portal with the addition of Luke O’Brien, a transfer forward who played a solid role at Colorado over the last few seasons, including averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 2023-24 to help the Buffaloes to a 26-win campaign and an NCAA Tournament berth.

At a recent preseason media session, Stoudamire talked about his roster getting deeper and more versatile going into the 2024-25 campaign and mentioned O’Brien by name as part of that overhaul.

"I just think this roster (this year) is more versatile. We've got longer guys. We've got length, and we've got depth,” said Stoudamire, who led the Jackets to a 14-18 overall mark in his first season at the helm and a 7-13 record in ACC play, including wins over Duke, UNC and Clemson. “Last year we didn't have a lot of depth so you were relying on guys even when they were tired, and that's tough because in your mind, yes, you want them to do certain things but there's only so much they can do.

“But Luke is different because Luke can guard 1 through 5. I mean you know he's done it, and I've always said that was one of those things that he brought value with along with knowing how to win. So we just have a more versatile team and a longer team."

O’Brien, who is a Colorado native, said once he went into the transfer portal following last season, he was a little surprised when Georgia Tech reached out but quickly became very interested in the program and the opportunity to do something different in life in general, heading to Atlanta after spending his entire life in mostly-rural Colorado.

"Georgia Tech contacted me. I had a lot of schools like in the first couple days (after entering the transfer portal), and then I think Georgia Tech contacted me pretty early. It was kind of out of the ordinary because a school from that far east, I guess I didn't think they would've known me or watched me,” said O’Brien. “I was pretty excited to see a school like that, and obviously made a great choice because the coaching staff is great, the players are great.”

"It's also a great place,” added O’Brien. “This is totally different from where I grew up. I mean middle of Atlanta, I've not a city guy so I was like, 'you know what. why not?' Just having some experience. I lived in Colorado for 22 years of my life so I was like try to get experience somewhere else."

While he played his first four years of his college career at Colorado, O’Brien said he knows all about the history of ACC basketball as he grew up watching as much college basketball as he could and really just being a fan of the game.

"Oh yeah, that was a huge draw. Growing up I was always a basketball fan obviously, but I watched more college basketball than anything, more than the NBA,” said O’Brien. “You know March Madness was my thing so seeing Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina, the schools early 2000s that were really prominent, Miami was good some years. The ACC was just big so yeah, I already knew all the teams so I was excited."

O’Brien added that his knowledge of Georgia Tech basketball history isn’t as vast, but he has quickly started to do his research and become more familiar with the great teams, players and coaches that have walked the floor at McCamish Pavilion and formerly Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

For the Georgia Tech fans that might not know him as well or have seen his game while at Colorado, O’Brien describes himself as a player that can do a little bit of everything but mostly whatever is needed of him to help the team succeed rather than have individual accolades.

"Utility guy I guess, Swiss-Army Knife, do-it-all,” said O’Brien when asked to describe himself as a player. “I can guard the 1. I can guard the 5. I can play multiple positions. I say I can play the 1, but the coaches still don't trust me with that (laughs). I can shoot the ball at a really high level. I can cut really well. I just know my role. I know what I'm supposed to do, and I just want to win so whatever position I'm in at a certain spot is what I'm going to do for the team."

At 6-foot-8, 225 pounds, O’Brien might give up some size or length to other big men that he will face on the schedule this year, but he said he is not one to shy away from that challenge of guarding those kinds of opponents.

"It's no problem with me. I love the weight room so I love getting stronger in there so I have no problem guarding them (bigger guys), no problem guarding guards and stuff,” said O’Brien. “I just love being versatile and being able to have the coaches trust in me and being able to guard multiple positions. But yeah, guarding the bigs is fine. You've just got to be low and move your feet. You can't let them get the ball inside or else it's going to be tough for me because I'm not as long as them."

Georgia Tech’s offensive style should fit with O’Brien’s game as the Jackets run a similar system as he was a part of at Colorado, with a lot of five-out sets and the ability to space the floor, beat defenders and allow shooters to get looks from the outside.

While the Jackets’ season opener isn’t until Wednesday when they host West Georgia at 7:30 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion, O’Brien, Stoudamire and the rest of the team got a sneak peek at what they have in the arsenal with two “secret scrimmages” over the last couple weeks against Mississippi State and LSU. O’Brien said he didn’t see everything his team was going to offer this season, but he got a pretty good idea of what to expect and it gave him some confidence in the Jackets’ chances over the next several months.

“We've got a lot of energy that's for sure,” said O’Brien. “We play with a lot of energy defensively, very versatile on defense. We can switch 1 through 5 with a lot of guys, and when we play fast we're really dangerous. And then stuff we need to work on is just keeping control of the ball. Sometimes we play a little too fast. Once we do that, we're fine. But it was two scrimmages against two good teams."