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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2009 > February > 22
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Jackets still have hope with Hewitt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s bad, and it’s getting worse for Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt. Still, there is light in this darkness, and that light isn’t just named Derrick Favors. Much of that light involves the consistency of Hewitt, which is to say he hasn’t gone from skillful to numbskull when it comes to X’s and O’s and everything else.
We’ll start by getting the bleak stuff out of the way, but cover your eyes if you’re allergic to sloppiness.
With Hewitt’s Yellow Jackets dropping to 10-16 overall and 1-12 in the ACC on Sunday at home, you’d have thought there were orange paws along 10th Street leading to Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Nearly a third of the 8,339 in attendance were Clemson fans. They even did the unthinkable by infiltrating the Tech student sections with loud voices.
In the end, when Clemson surged to an 81-73 victory, the only thing missing was the Tech pep band playing “Tiger Rag.”
“You had to notice [all the Clemson fans], but it’s nobody’s fault but our own,” Hewitt said, with his ninth season at Tech resembling his sixth one — brutal. Back then, the Jackets dropped to 11-17 overall and 4-12 in the conference. That was two years after Tech played UConn for the national championship.
Even so, you shouldn’t compare the collapse of Hewitt’s post-Jarrett Jack team to the sloppy ways of this one. “This team is more talented, and we should be better,” said Hewitt, always straightforward, which brings to that light for Tech hoops. In addition to the coming of Favors, the all-everything player from South Atlanta who committed to joining the Jackets next season, Hewitt’s mindset hasn’t changed, and neither have his emotions. They are the same now as they were for that universally hugged coach who spent five seasons ago taking Tech to the Final Two.
Whether Hewitt is in the aftermath of a victory or a defeat, he’s still focused on trying to win the next game. He’s still seeking to help his athletes become better as players as well as students. He’s still avoiding the pity parties, because he’s still focused on “we” instead of “me.”
Said Hewitt, “Unfortunately, we’re experiencing a very bad season, but we can’t compound it by not doing what we need to do academically. So we’re going to get ready to play again on Saturday [at North Carolina]. We’re going to take some time off. Starting tomorrow, we’ve got nine weeks left in the semester. We’re always conscious about that as coaches — to remind them to be mindful of the academic clock and not just the basketball clock as the season winds down.”
As for Hewitt’s emotions, he isn’t exactly a Ramblin’ Wreck over the current plight of his bunch. Despite watching mostly turnovers blow at least five games for the Jackets in the fleeting minutes, he still gets a wonderful night’s sleep. “Well, I didn’t say that,” Hewitt said, laughing, referring to his heavy travel schedule.
Which brings us to the final reason for that light. Added Hewitt, “I’ve recruited more now this year than I ever have during the season. You’re trying to offset the possibility of this ever happening again.”
It won’t.
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