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DEL.ICIO.USNo holiday giving here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
After losing three of its previous four games, Georgia Tech easily handled that scrappy bunch from Centenary College on Saturday, reaffirming that it can still dominate schools with an enrollment of 910, to say nothing of teams nicknamed the Gentlemen.
Tech won, 86-41. It was a nice, stress-free way to begin a winter break, even if 86-41 was pretty much expected.
The Jackets were coming off a loss in a winnable game against Kansas. They also lost a winnable game at Indiana. But Paul Hewitt does not embrace the “good loss.”
Nor did Hewitt embrace being under .500 (4-5) through nine games for the first time in six seasons. This Tech team had exhibited enough cracks and hiccups that the coach mandated double practices during the break. He also gave his players a one-hour exam on the playbook Friday — believed to be significantly more difficult than the “Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball.”
“I think they thought I was kidding when they walked in there,” Hewitt said, “and I had all of the No. 2 pencils and the paper out.”
It has not been a good start to this season. If you live in the world of illogically high expectations, it hasn’t been Nirvana since the Jackets went to the national title game in 2004. Going to the NCAA tournament in two out of three years since should appease most, but Hewitt understands the landscape.
“Today in college sports, we just can’t win as coaches,” he said. “If we don’t go to the tournament enough but we graduate our players, we can’t win. If we go to the tournament all the time but we don’t graduate our players, then you’re prostituting the guys. So you tend to set your own expectations.
“If you look at where we were when I took over seven years ago, and if you would’ve told me we would go to four NCAAs, an NIT third round, a Final Four, I’m not going to say I would take it, but I’d be comfortable with it.”
Hewitt does not suddenly feel extraordinary pressure at Tech, nor should he. But these are uneasy times on campus. Athletics director Dan Radakovich fired the football coach, Chan Gailey. Last season, in the midst of a bad stretch of games, Hewitt admitted telling his assistants, “We’re not impressing the new guy [Radakovich].”
But the situation with Hewitt is much different than with Gailey. We saw Gailey’s best. It was generally seven wins and a second-tier bowl game. We’ve seen Hewitt’s best. It was one win short of a national championship. The football stadium has empty seats. Basketball season tickets are sold out. A football stadium obviously dwarfs a basketball arena, but that doesn’t discount that difference in perceptions about the respective directions of the programs.
A pro coach gets fired, it doesn’t quite have the impact with other pro coaches in a city as when a college coach gets fired. College coaches walk the same campus, eat in the same cafeteria, share the same support group.
It’s logical to assume Hewitt felt some of the aftershocks of Gailey’s firing in the athletics offices, but he chose his words carefully Saturday.
“We all know what we sign on for,” he said. “The day you become a coach, that takes you one step closer to being fired. You understand that. There are very few guys who leave on their own terms. Chan goes to six bowl games. He graduates his kids. But it’s just the way it is.”
The basketball team is 5-5. Such balance is not what an ACC coach strives for before even playing a conference game. But when you lose two freshmen (Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton) to the NBA, the team is going to take a hit.
So a coach doubles up on practices. And he gives them a written exam.
Hewitt said the 4-5 start “didn’t put any doubts in my mind what we can accomplish. What it does is put in your mind a little more sense of urgency that we have to get this turned quickly. We let a great opportunity get away against Kansas. We let a great opportunity get away against Indiana. But those games are lost now.”
The games are lost. The season’s not. Making it to a championship sometimes skews perspective.
Permalink | Comments (16) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Tech / ACC
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By TDone
December 22, 2007 7:44 PM | Link to this
Had to get another cut in on Gailey, didn’t Schultzie?
Nice technique…
By TDone
December 22, 2007 7:46 PM | Link to this
By the way, does Muttland have a basketball program?
By Bob
December 22, 2007 8:00 PM | Link to this
TDone,
Seems that Muttland has beaten you guys quite a bit lately? Guess that answers your question.
By hallcountyobserver
December 22, 2007 8:26 PM | Link to this
schultz, i understand that you are so much wittier than everyone else but… centenary has an enrollment about 15% higher than you said and the “Gentlemen” have already beaten a 6-5 Texas Tech team that is coached by Bobby Knight (in case you didn’t know), so this wasn’t quite the walkover opponent that you are trying to portray them as.
By hotrod
December 22, 2007 11:56 PM | Link to this
its dirtdawbers,who cares,GO DAWGS,hey blogging on there site is fun
By JSS
December 23, 2007 2:29 AM | Link to this
First “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!” to all except for the NO TALENT HACK Jeff Schultz and that CHRONIC HATEMONGER John Kincade… Here’s wishing a wiser, prosperous, and safe 2008 to each of you…
To hallcountyobserver, research is a oxymoron to Schultz… It is kinda like honesty and ethics to him, not in his lexicon…
By D-Cider
December 23, 2007 8:36 AM | Link to this
All I want for Christmas is for Jerk Schultz to be fired.
By Muttland's finest
December 23, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this
T-Done, does the north ave. trade school have any women worth dating? Or are you guys all Priests?
By Imbred County
December 23, 2007 9:20 AM | Link to this
Muttland, does Clarkes County Community college have any woman with all their teeth or they still using dentgers? And Bob, were talking about Basketball not Football. OWNED. To hard for you to comprehend I take it.
By Muttland's finest
December 23, 2007 10:21 AM | Link to this
Uh… No such school. Oh, I get it, humor. Happy Holidays. For census enlightenment, are you under 40 and a non-Tech grad? Just interested in the 5% of the state’s population that didn’t attend Tech, but is a fan of the program. How one chooses to identify with and support a loser program?
Yes, UGA alumni here…
By WFC
December 23, 2007 11:01 AM | Link to this
When one has a GT education, lives in Riverwalk, owns a Mercedes CLK cabriolet, and has plenty of money, one can ALWAYS find women and don’t really care where they went to college.
By Dr. Ming
December 23, 2007 12:49 PM | Link to this
Honorable Readers,
Jeff Schultz, Confucius say, “Man with little gland stirs up hatred”.
Confucius say, UGA boy meet UGA girl in park. That is good. TECH boy park meat in UGA girl. That is better.
Dr. Ming B.S. ME, Southern Cal Master of ME, Georgia Tech Doctor of ME, Georgia Tech
By Gene
December 23, 2007 12:53 PM | Link to this
Hey, WFC, are you Mike Vick? Oh, he had a VA Tech education and all of those toys, but I think they belong to his attornies now.
By Muttlands Finest
December 23, 2007 1:27 PM | Link to this
WFC, Why would drive that nice (emotional perception) of car and live in an apartment?
By 74 Dawg
December 23, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this
a clk? that’s the one for wannabes who can’t afford a real mercedes, right ? kinda like tech fans , a bunch of wannabees(sic). Anyway, Merry Christmas to one and all (even tekkies) and a Happy New Year to the Dawgs!
By College Football Fan
December 23, 2007 3:48 PM | Link to this
I do not understand Hewitt’s comment of Chan Gailey. Wasn’t Georgia Tech rated as the ACC school with the LOWEST graduation rate for football players in the conference?
He obviously did not graduate his players, in addition to not beating Georgia, and only taking his teams to the crappiest of bowls where no one from Tech showed up.
It does not sound like an outstanding coaching record to me, unless it is based on Tech standards.