This blog has moved! Yes, already!
As of Thursday, Feb. 12, this little blog has relocated to a new home on AJC.com. It’s the same newspaper, the same Web site and the same writer (feel free to groan) — there’s just a new URL.
New features: Bigger type, more graphics, comments that load 10 times faster and a larger and more recent photo that makes me look pretty doggone old. I think you’ll like it (the blog, not the photo). But I am, as we know too well, often wrong.
Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > October > 14 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.US5 things to watch for in college hoops
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This week marks the official beginning of college basketball practice, and really there’s only one plot point: Who’s No. 2? Because the team that figures to win the ACC tournament in the Georgia Dome on March 15 and the national championship at Ford Field in Detroit 22 days later might not lose a game.
And if you don’t yet know that star-spangled team’s identity … well, that’s why we hand out these cheat sheets.
Is North Carolina the greatest team ever?
Maybe not ever. (Indiana was pretty good in 1976, and the Heels weren’t bad in 1957 and 1982.) But in the era of early NBA entry, this is as potent as a collegiate squad can get. If Carolina loses a game, it will be a major upset.
Guards Tywon Lawson and Wayne Ellington and forward Danny Green all entered their names in the draft last spring, and all three withdrew.
The presence of those three would have put the Heels in any Top 10, but there’s another key contributor. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
Is Tyler Hansbrough overrated?
The folks at NBAdraft.net project the big Heel as the 20th pick in the 2009 draft. Some take such projections to mean he’s mostly hype.
Wrong.
Psycho T is the best college player of the new millennium because he plays every possession as if possessed, and also because he has expanded his game every season. Ask Rick Pitino about the jump shots Hansbrough hit to undo Louisville in the East Regional final, the same jump shots he wouldn’t have even considered as a freshman.
Can anybody give Carolina a game?
Michigan State plays the Heels in Detroit on Dec. 3, and Psycho T goes to Duke for the annual psychodrama on Feb. 11. Beyond that, it’s hard to imagine any team mounting much of a threat until the NCAA tournament.
The class of the rest of the field stands to be Louisville, Connecticut and Purdue. The best player other than Hansbrough is Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin. The most intriguing coach will be Tom Crean, who left Marquette to clean up Kelvin Sampson’s mess at Indiana.
Will this be a big year for Georgia Tech?
Truth to tell, the games themselves will be almost incidental. The Jackets were 15-17 last season and lost their leading scorer and their leading rebounder. They should finish near the bottom of the ACC.
But all is not yet lost: Rivals.com rates Tech’s four early commitments as the fourth-best recruiting class of 2009, and the Jackets are vying with Georgia and four other schools for the services of South Atlanta’s Derrick Favors, ranked the nation’s No. 1 prospect by Scout.com.
Can Georgia build on its mighty March run?
The Bulldogs are still coached by Dennis Felton, who might have been fired had his team not won four games during the tornado-tossed SEC tournament.
But Georgia, which already had to replace Sundiata Gaines and Dave Bliss, suffered more attrition when starter Billy Humphrey was dismissed from the team this summer. On the bright side, freshmen Howard Thompkins and Dustin Ware come highly regarded.
And even if the Bulldogs finish fifth in the SEC East, they have a March pedigree now.
Permalink | Comments (22) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC, UGA/SEC
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
Comments
By TideFanOne
October 14, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this
Mark: Want to revise your pre-season comment about Bama fans being irrelevant? I know a good Southern gentleman will own up to his mistake.
TideFanOne
By RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14, 2008 4:22 PM | Link to this
A big year for Paul Hewitt is breaking even in the ACC and making it to the NCAA’s (not winning in the NCAA’s, just making it)
If Favors comes to GT, we might win one post season game.
4th or 1st best class, it don’t matter. 7-9 ACC…count on it.
By GSU
October 14, 2008 4:32 PM | Link to this
You didn’t mention Georgia State. Don’t forget about the 5 Division I transfers Barnes has managed to get.
By E
October 14, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this
It’s very difficult to go undefeated, UNC has a great team, but even the great ones loss a few. UNC still has to string 6 in a row to win the NCAA tourney, single elimination is the great equalizer, anyone can be upset, especially when everyone expects you to win it all. Tech will be lucky to make the NCAA’s this year, same for UGA, both are rebuilding and hoping Favors is the Savior next year….
By GO DAWGS!!!
October 14, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this
We suck
By GT GRAD
October 14, 2008 11:16 PM | Link to this
Starting in 2009, GT will be a solid contender in the ACC every year and a mortal lock for the NCAA Tourney!
If Derrick Favors decides to join our 4 superb recruits (making the GT 2009 class #1 in the nation), GT will be a serious contender to win the ACC in 2009 and will be in the Final Four (maybe even win it all) in 2010 and/or 2011.
The future for the GT basketball program is very bright!
By gtfan
October 15, 2008 12:01 AM | Link to this
gt grad…
we could have the starting 5 for the nba all star game an paul teflon hewitt would figure out a way to screw them up.
i pray ever year that an nba team would be so stupid as to hire ph as an assitant. hell ill pay for the plane ticket.
maybe we can talk him into becoming the perament president of the BCA. afterall, he is more suited for that job.
paul hewitt is to coach as michael vick is to quarterback. duhhhh…
please god get rid of our all suit and no coach coach.
By RAMBLE ON!!!
October 15, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this
gtfan, keep praying but everyday. I’ll join in with you and maybe we can make a difference.
By burrito
October 15, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
5 things to watch for and 3 of them are about unc? ugh, i’m already sick of hearing about them.
By REF
October 15, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
The thing about Carolina is that they also added 3 Five Star Blue Chip Recruits that could start for most teams. They also have Bobby Frasor back which should make a huge difference. Frasor is a very good PG and UNC missed that at times last season when Lawson was struggling.
By gt485
October 15, 2008 1:47 PM | Link to this
GT GRAD … what coach are you watching? At any level, having the most / best talent guarantees nothing. Just ask the 2007 - 2008 Carolina team (which, by the way, is still overrated until they prove something).
If we get Favors, and that’s a big if, he won’t stay past his freshman year and Tech will be back in the sub-NIT category. Hewitt isn’t just a bad game coach, he also doesn’t know how to maximize the talent he has. When Thad went pro, the consensus was that he came out of no-where, even though he was at a premier school in a premier conference and got plenty of t.v. face time! Now, Anothony Morrow has earned an NBA contract and was the MVP of the Rocky Mountain Review summer league. You know what the most used quotes to describe Morrow were? “I can’t believe how good this guy is,” and “He came out of no-where!”
With as much talent as we’ve had over the Hewitt years, we could have accomplished so much more. The only smart coaching decision PH has made in 8 years was allowing Will Bynum to transfer from Zona.
As much as any Tech fan out there, I hope he proves me wrong. But if history is an indicator, I will be saying “I told you so” for as many years as are left on his ridiculously long contract extension.
By GTguy
October 15, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this
Does anyone remember 2003-2004 team?! I know PH hasnt done as well as i think he could have with all the talent hes been able to recruit. But give the man a little credit! he did take GT farther than its ever gone…farther than cremins could take them. So he has the capability…and you know he will be around at least 3 more years to see how he can do with the mass of incoming talent we have for 09. Even if 1 or 2 of those 4 guys leaves after 1 yr, we still have the others. I think PH can prove himself these next few years and IF he makes the NCAA tourney and wins a few games then he will stay longer. H
HE can recruit, and we’ve seen him coach, just not consistently. Hope he proves us wrong again this year!
Go Jackets!
By BravesFan79
October 15, 2008 5:56 PM | Link to this
I told everyone who would listen last season that we were in line to get D Favors and be back in the top 10 in 2009!!
Paul Hewiitt is a Great Recruiter… and a Good Coach.
Overall i like him as head coach at GT, i just wish hed bring back that defensive assistant that left after the national title run of 2004.
Give it a break fellow GT fans, theres only so much u can do with freshman starting point guards, and since 2005 weve had alot of em.
Its not like our program is hopeless and never gets shown on national tv like UGA.
By BravesFan79
October 15, 2008 6:04 PM | Link to this
GT guy…. with all due respect… GT in 1990 lost to one of the greatest college teams EVER in UNLV. in the final 4.
In fact GT gave UNLV their toughest game of the whole tourney!! Larry Johnson, Stacy Augman (however u spell his name) and the pt guard they had.
Cremins was a GREAT coach, and if he had had the same overall talent year in and out with what Hewitt has had theres no telling what we could of done.
One difference that i DO like about Hewitt tho in his game strategy, is him using most of his players to keep them fresh and play hi intensity basketball.
By Wrong Sport
October 15, 2008 9:58 PM | Link to this
What is this Basket Ball you speak of? Is that some sport that is played between the end of football season and spring practice?
By BravesFan79
October 15, 2008 11:06 PM | Link to this
Wrong sport o you must be refering to that JOKE of a sport yall call college football.
Sorry but REAL sports dont “vote” on who goes to the title game. Any sport where you can go undefeated…and still have NO shot at a title… ISNT A REAL SPORT!!! College basketball KILLS CF.. its not even close!!
By mike jones
October 16, 2008 4:38 PM | Link to this
It amazes me how fast people forget. The MAN has been without a returning point guard since jarrett jack and we see how we did with a vetern point guard. Now with mo miller RETURNING for his sophomore year we should see much improvement for this position and such from the rest of the team. CHP runs a clean program, puts players in the league and like any acc team with a vetern point guard will be successful.
By NBA Scout
October 20, 2008 12:35 AM | Link to this
Why is Hansbrough a mid to low 1st round NBA pick?
It is obvious - where will he play in the NBA? He isn’t tall enough to do damage inside / he isn’t athletic enough to dribble drive / his shot might be OK… but he is only 6’-8” will little hops - so he will need space to get his shot off / he has limited range too.
Not to mention he will be a defensive liability. Poor lateral movement / no shot blocking ability - in essence - he has white man’s disease.
Does Tyler use his left hand?
Mark Bradley - you are so clueless to think “hype” is the reason that Tyler H. draft stock is so low. Wow, you are a professional sportswriter? Here is some sagely advice - stick with football!
By TONY SHUMPERT
October 27, 2008 2:24 PM | Link to this
Nice to see they have written off GT this year. Iman will show you who’s the big dog on the block when he play’s the one, two and three.
By BravesFan79
November 2, 2008 1:04 AM | Link to this
NBA Scout: Funny… other great players had “white mans syndrome” and still were some of the BEST ever! Larry Bird, McKale, Bill Walton, (when healthy). Funny… he has “white mans syndrome” but is better than all the other black power forwards on over 327 teams in D 1.
Trust me… if hes white… he can shoot better and hustle more than the black Power Forwards in the NBA and will be of hi value. You might call me racist for saying that, but then again isnt saying “white men cant jump or be quick”? just as bad?
By BravesFan79
November 4, 2008 7:09 AM | Link to this
my exceptions are KG and Karl Malone… man talk about having heart!!
Rockets resign Mutombo!!
By techer head
November 5, 2008 12:53 AM | Link to this
damn tech fans are absolutly anoying. we b*** about everything, beween white and hoops and coaches. support your team nad look foward to the season with a positive outlook and stop your b***.