AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2006 > February > 17 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USProblems at point linger
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just finished looking at some numbers, and I’ve come up with these conclusions:
Tech’s two biggest problems are turnovers by players other than point guards, and the failure of point guards to get the Jackets efficiently into their offense or extract them from trouble when other teams’ pressure.
Point guards Zam Fredrick (89 assists, 80 turnovers) and Mario West (39 assists, 32 turnovers), and freshman reserve D’Andre Bell (30 assists, 29 turnovers) are the only players among the top nine with more assists than turnovers.
The other six have 155 assists and 247 turnovers.
That’s scary, although I’m not saying Fredrick and West are wizards at taking care of the ball.
As for getting into the offense, Tech has players who can score, but they have to get the ball in their spots. Morrow can obviously shoot, and so can Clinch. Dickey’s very good in the paint, and Jeremis Smith is the requisite garbage man.
As Paul Hewitt said after losing 80-79 to Florida State:
“I keep kicking myself, saying, ‘What am I not doing to get these guys to understand how talented they are?’ What you saw tonight in stretches was what this team is capable of. We got guys who can shoot it, guys who can post it. Look at rebounds; we out-rebounded them 37-28. This is the best rebounding team I’ve coached since coming to Georgia Tech.
“This team is diverse offensively. Lewis Clinch is a good freshman who can score. Morrow may be the best shooter we ever had. Ra’Sean’s the best back-to-the-basket scorer with the exception of Chris Bosh. But again, that’s why I keep coming back to myself … I’m not being phony … we have not done a good job with this team. We have not gotten them to understand to be fundamentally sound every possession of the game.”
And as Hewitt said to me yesterday about point guards:
“There are times when point guards are off the ball, and [the defense] sets up a trap, they’ve got to go back and get it instead of running away from it. That’s something an experienced point guard understands.
“He’s not like, ‘OK, we’ve broken the pressure, I’m not going to leave it to my power forward, or leave it to our two guard to get us into the offense. I’m going to go get the ball back, and set it up … ’ as opposed to standing and watching. You’ve got to be traffic cop.”
Maryland’s lost five of six since beating Tech in Atlanta Jan. 25. Who knows?
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Basketball
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By GT
February 17, 2006 04:44 PM | Link to this
One thing surprised me against Carolina. Tech ran out of gas. They started short arming the ball late in the game and stopped any movement without the ball. This is a team that almost beats everybody but doesn’t beat anybody. These kids have never played at this speed on both offense and defense. I think conditioning is a factor here. When they played all out like they did the first half they have nothing left for the second.
By wes
February 17, 2006 05:29 PM | Link to this
Excellent, excellent point. I too have noticed that, upon being trapped, Tech seemingly refuses to come back to the ball. That’s when lob passes get easily picked off. And that’s exactly what we’ve been watching all year long. Hard to believe its still a problem.
By wes
February 17, 2006 05:32 PM | Link to this
GT, my take on the late-game break-down by Tech had nothing to do with conditioning. Yeah, they froze up, but not cause they were tired. Its because they have become used to losing…which is a not so good thing.
By Jim O
February 18, 2006 09:01 AM | Link to this
wes, i agree fully. when GT stops their dribble, NOBODY comes to help - they stand there and watch. frustrating, and it has been like this all season.
By GT
February 18, 2006 11:36 AM | Link to this
Wes and Jim O you are probably right. I get the picture of Hewitt not putting up with out of conditioned players, but I look at Fredrick’s body and I wonder. Hewitt was talking the other night about how he can’t seem to get Fredrick to come back and help Smith or some of the big men when they are bring the ball up the court. They get trapped in the backcourt and everybody including Fredrick or West just stares at them until it’s too late.
By ben
February 18, 2006 11:54 AM | Link to this
Gt, my thoughts were exactly the same. The players seemed to run out of gas, but I thought: How could that be with a Hewitt coached team? Perhaps it’s just like a good minor league hitter facing a 100 mph fastball. When UNC sped up the pace of the game at the beginning of the 2nd half, Tech seemed overmatched.
By Ga_Tech_92
February 18, 2006 06:53 PM | Link to this
Just watched the Maryland game…/bummer
By Rags
February 18, 2006 07:10 PM | Link to this
Just saw the Maryland game. I have been buying the conventional wisdom that Tech had a ton of talent and just lacked a good point guard and some time to mature. Sorry, that is not the case, at least not the team I saw today. They are just a bad team. Period. Some folks say they are better than the record shows. Sorry, that is not the case. They are a bad team. I saw a team that had no offensive plan, allowed the Terps to beat them off the dribble all day long, and absolutely could not inbounds the silly ball if their life depended on it. This was a team that looked totally lost, and lacked any manner of self-confidence. Either they are being taught and are not learning, or they are not being taught, but either way they are bad. The best thing was Hewitt finally getting angry - but he was angry at the wrong folks. He should have crawled all over the players who insisted on throwing the ball right into the Maryland trap time after time after time. Maryland is not a good team, and Tech made them look great today. This team needs much more than a point guard. It needs a total makeover - physical, mental, emotional. It needs direction and a heart transplant. I wish it was as simple as “get one or two more players and a year’s experience and then watch out” but it’s not. This is a bad team, badly coached. The record speaks for itself.
By old Tech Fan (in NC)
February 18, 2006 07:51 PM | Link to this
I wonder what was the planned play in the last half minute of OT…dribble, pass, and runout the clock? You might have thunk we were ahead! And, for the 800th game in a row, we cannot get the ball inbounds/across the time line….NIT my *!
By ND
February 18, 2006 08:16 PM | Link to this
The question is why in the heck did Jeremis pass the stinkin ball instead of dunking it or at least drawing a foul at the end of regulation? The game should have never gone to OT.
By HushHush
February 18, 2006 09:07 PM | Link to this
I’m just waiting for Winkeljohn to blame the refs.
As for the Jackets number ONE whiner, I wish Hewitt would devote more time to working with his team instead of working the refs.
By jackets fan
February 18, 2006 11:21 PM | Link to this
ND, I could not agree more. Jeremis missed an opportunity to dunk the ball, or get fouled at the end of the game. I’m not a super athlete, but no way I’d have given up the ball with 3 seconds to go and 4 feet from the hoop. That’s another big problem the Jackets have….not knowing the situation of the game on the fly. Sure coming off a timeout they know what to do, but during the flow of the game they lose all consciencousness. Hence the lack of concern for the shot clock.
I’ve said all along that the guards on this team are afraid of the ball for some reason. They constantly pick up their dribble in bad court positions and they never come back to the ball when a teammate is in trouble. It’s like they don’t want the pressure of handling the ball. Jarret Jack wanted the ball in his hands and wanted to penetrate. They need to find someone with that confidence and killer instinct. They also have a problem with on the ball defense. How many times have you seen the opponent’s ball handler dribble up the court quickly, but instead of a Tech defender in front of him, they are trailing in his hip pocket? Since when is a guy who has to dribble the ball faster than the entire Tech defense? That is a problem that needs to be rectified with sprints, until everyone is puking. That’s how you remedy that type of poor defense.