AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 22 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USUpperclassmen come to the rescue
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m sitting here about 15 yards behind the baseline watching UCLA play Kentucky, the Bruins uber-blonde cheerleaders right in front of me buried in makeup leading a raucous timeout cheer, “UC . . LA,” which fans love. This is surreal.
But it ain’t as unreal as watching Georgia Tech freaking flip out and beat Memphis. Folks, that was sick. I wouldn’t believe it if I didn’t see it.
Honestly, we all knew this would happen, but Javaris Crittenton suddenly became a man without a plan, a player without a handle, and Tech’s offense was all out of whack. In the first half, they were taking crappy shots, and half the time getting them blocked (six) in great measure because Crittenton, who’s been so good, wasn’t running the offense. He was merely in it, when he wasn’t getting picked clean or forcing a pass into a double team.
“I was frustrated that we were going no passes and a shot, one pass and a shot,” Hewitt said.
So in the second half, about two minutes in when Hewitt wanted the ball to go into the paint only to have Crittenton force a drive, that was it. Enter Mario West. Crittenton still played plenty, but usually off the ball.
And West, who combined with Ra’Sean Dickey to do most of the halftime pep-talking rather than Hewitt, ran the show.
Now, it helped a tad (or a ton) that everybody was crashing the boards like rabid animals in the second half (29-9 edge, are you kidding me?), but if the offense hadn’t calmed down, even that might not have been enough.
How about Mario West? A former walk-on, he’s graduated already, and came back this season after Hewitt practically tried to talk him out of it. “I told him if he’s coming back just for basketball, don’t,” da coach said. “Because I can’t guarantee you’re even going to play.”
West, though, said he returned not only to work on furthering his education, but, “to make a difference on this team.”
Uh, that’s happening, huh? Better believe it.
The upper classmen bucked up today. Jeremis goes 21 and nine, Dickey 14 and 10. And we’re talking about some major muscle buckets, almost all hotly contested.
The Jackets are still looking for Anthony Morrow (one of seven from the field), but they’ve found plenty more.
Though Hewitt let West and Dickey - despite losing his starting job - do some of the principal halftime administering, he had a major hand in this one.
Handing over the keys to West, re-calibrating on defense in the second half, and more. It all mattered. “We backed off the defense because they were beating us off the dribble,” he said. “It was more about playing intelligently than playing emotionally.”
In the interest of accuracy and balance, Memphis helped. Even when the Jackets backed off a little, the Tigers - like Tech a young team - didn’t react very well. “We tried to drive in the second half, when we had some open [jump] shots and didn’t take them,” said Memphis coach John Calipari. “It was not pretty.”
Mostly, though, the Jackets worked over the Tigers. “I don’t want to take any shots, but last year happened. From coaching staff on down we didn’t have the mindset that we were tough enough to make things happen, and to make things happen down the stretch.”
Smith would second that emotion. “It’s just about grinding up. Last year we didn’t’ win because we didn’t play hard in last five minutes,” he said. “This year we can win games because we play hard.”
I’m curious what kind of pep talk Hewitt feels he needs to give Crittenton to get his psyche ready for the title game. And I do think the coach has to go on feel for that one, not over-think it if you know what I mean. Sometimes, it’s about thinking, sometimes it’s just about doing.
I don’t know the answer, but I know this: Play hard AND smart, and very good things happen when you’re talented and deep.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment | Categories: Basketball
Comments
By The G Man
November 22, 2006 12:30 AM | Link to this
Great article. And you are right - Tech was freakin’ unbelievable in the second half, especially Smith and Dickey. Nice to see them both hit free throws too. I haev a good feeling about this team. They are just so athletic and fast, but Crittenton must play better for us to consistently win in the ACC. Great win and comeback - now let’s kick UCLA’s behind. Go Jackets.
By michael freeman
November 22, 2006 12:33 AM | Link to this
Brutal invitational, three games in three days. UCLA just beat Kentucky. Can this team knock off UCLA? Really excited about Tech’s potential.
By gt fan
November 22, 2006 12:33 AM | Link to this
You are right, it was a great game. I’m just sorry I missed the UCLA cheerleaders. I’ll try to catch them during our game.
By KD
November 22, 2006 12:39 AM | Link to this
TECH, pleazzzzzz keep playing sloppy in the first half , if ya’ll keep busting tail in the second half!!!!!
By Mr C.
November 22, 2006 12:44 AM | Link to this
Matt, Great work as always. You really do a great job. I can’t believe you’ve already posted 3 reports from the game (within 2 hrs after the game). Do you file ur report while the UCLA-Kentucky game was going on. Great Job
I believe the falcons loss is Tech’s win. Asking Jim Mora for real answers probably cost you the falcons beat report. However, it’s nice to have someone not suck up to Jim Mora as everyone else in AJC does.
We will see how Crittenton and Young bounces back tomorrow. The good news is that they get to play tomorrow and get that bitter taste of their mouth. The bad news is that they get to play the #5 team in the country. Great win against a ranked team. It will help your seed when the tournament comes around.
By GT2Nash
November 22, 2006 12:48 AM | Link to this
GREAT game, TECH! I was about to give up on the team after the first half, but I’m glad the team didn’t give up on themselves! Glad I witnessed such a great win! Thanks!
By Orkin man
November 22, 2006 04:11 AM | Link to this
Tech fans should not be allowed to breed. Even if they knew how. With the opposite sex. And not in their own family (including pets).
Woof. I say, woof.
By THL
November 22, 2006 06:44 AM | Link to this
Great post Orkin Man…How about some complete sentences next time?
Tech is doing some amazing things in the second half of games so far this season. I hope Thaddeus gets his legs under him sometime soon because he looks like he shouldn’t go anywhere near the NBA draft next year. It’s still early though and he and Crittenton will get more in the flow as the season goes on.
By GTBALTFAN
November 22, 2006 06:52 AM | Link to this
This is eerily similar to the 2003 NIT when the Jackets beat #1 UConn and Texas Texch in the Garden, then went all the way to the National Championship game. That they beat a very good Memphis team without a lot of help from the Fab 3 speaks volumes. I predict we will give UCLA all they can handle.
PS, We need to beat the Hell out of Georgia!!! GO JACKETS.
By WFC
November 22, 2006 07:13 AM | Link to this
My son and I sat stunned toward the end of the first half and I said to him: if Tech will lookk inside to Dickey and Smith, they can get back in this game. OMG… I never thought we were talking “win” here! But West, Dickey and Smith were absolute warriors!The freshmen will bounce back and learn from their elders. When Morrow gets back. Clinch has stepped up. Wow… GT played soooooooo hard in that second half.
By chuck
November 22, 2006 07:14 AM | Link to this
What will happen when the team learns to play hard and under control from the very beginning? GOOD THINGS !! These past two games allowed some hard lessons to be taught and we still got the W’s. I hope our players realize that they must improve before the rigors of the ACC schedule starts - but I think they can if they want it bad enough. I must confess that I was a terrible fan last night. The pain was unbearable after the first half and I changed the channel because I couldn’t take any more. When I checked back later Dickey was completing the 3-point play that put us ahead - I couldn’t believe it !!
By hoops Jacket
November 22, 2006 07:23 AM | Link to this
Utterly amazing! To be down almost 20 and then take it to that team with their size and athleticism shows me what kind of team we have. I have been talking up Tech all week with my brothers and father (UNC and Duke grads) and they kept telling me…’yeah we know you have some Freshmen.’ They called with a different message after this ‘That team can play’ and they can! I had mentioned how talented this team is; how many scorers we have so if two (or even 3) are even having an off night, we’ve got others who can score! This is what makes this team so unbelievable. Even though the Freshmen were not that spectacular, A-Mo is still struggling…we put up 90 points against those guys! I thought if we could just chip away at it, but did not think we’d get that spread up to 13 points in the process. That’s a 32 point turn-around on those guys! This group has more scorers than any Tech team. I don’t have as many who can dribble penetrate but we are working on that. And Mario, just turn that next step in and you are driving to the hoop. I saw 3 times where you beat the guy to the spot and pull up. You are finally beating these guys and need to capitalize. Just “Send it in!” as Rafferty says and we will be unstoppable. Bilas and Rafferty had already written us off. It was funny to hear them switch gears about what they were saying. Rafferty was still thinking ‘maybe’ but Bilas and that other guy weren’t. Preseason on ESPN has us as an 8 seed……Might need to rethink that one Mr. Katz! Duke looks scrappy, Carolina looks tough. Maryland looks talented but Ga Tech baby looks amazing! WE can play with anybody!! Need to keep this up and we may be invited home to play some games in March! Go Jackets!
By Wes
November 22, 2006 08:36 AM | Link to this
The game last night was huge for the freshman. It showed them that even when they have a night off, that their is plenty of talent behind them to carry the load and win the game. Smith and Dickey played like monsters, and like someone said earlier, were nailing free throws. Just think how good this team can be once the Fab 3 get even more experience as the season goes along. Also,Mohammued Faye is in my mind just as good or maybe better than Thad Young. Keep up the hard work and beat the Bruins! GO JACKETS!!!
P.S.: beat the puppies
By mountain_jim
November 22, 2006 08:41 AM | Link to this
Matt, I want to echo Mr C. above with props to you. Great coverage for my alma mater, hope you are having a great time in Maui as I expect you are - we had our 10th anni there this spring.
I really liked your writing and coverage of the Falcons and I saw what Blank/Mora/AJC politics did to you for asking the tough questions and not taking crap from the emotionally childlike and now exposed head-coach Mora.
Congrats to you for staying at the AJC after they did not stick up for you in that situation - since then that beat has not seen the tough questions asked and answered to the degree it deserves, and that franchise appears very close to spiralling down to the point where Blank will have to act since Mora will not fire his buddy Knapp.
This tourney is great preparation and schooling for this talented but young team and will help them greatly in the ACC season and spring tourney season later on.
By mountain_jim
November 22, 2006 08:43 AM | Link to this
Yes I have not seen a tip-in monster like Faye at Tech in many seasons.
By Kevin
November 22, 2006 08:56 AM | Link to this
Great work Matt! As a UK fan, I appreciate the coverage of both Tech and UK. Basketball is played in Georgia and it’s nice to see some of this on the front page of the Sports section. That game was unbelievable! I had written Tech off as well. Just goes to show you what FTs will do for your team? (Tech took 50 and made 35?) Definitely the reason the game went so long. You exposed the weakness in Memphis and it will show against UK today. A good matchup for both. The championship game will be very good to watch. Tech has proven that they have more than the 2 freshman and they have depth. The Hewitt/West commments were very good to read. Paul does not take it lightly on his team. He is proving more and more what a quality coach he is and Tech should be very proud to have him. I really looked forward to a UK/Tech matchup with what would have brought some interesting stories recruiting wise (Morris chose UK over Tech, and Young chose Tech over UK and Memphis.) One side note: I read the AJC article on Morris today and it stated that the NBA was not even listing him as a prospect for 2007 or 08. The reason being is that Morris went undrafted after his freshman year, somehow retained his eligibility (good for us, but Cat fans are like elephants as you say) and when he decides to finish his college career, Randolph is considered a free agent and can choose whoever to play for. He will not have to go through the draft again. An odd way to get that flexibility for the future, but Morris still has a huge future in front of him should he continue to improve.
Keep up the good work Matt and look forward to your coverage through the Final Four in Atlanta. I hope to see both UK and Tech somehow making it to Atlanta.
By Jack
November 22, 2006 08:58 AM | Link to this
I TIVO’d the game. I disagree with the Memphis coach. They took some terrible shots in the second half. Conversely, they had drives and they chose to shoot the 3. Jay Bilas even questioned their shot selection.
The Jackets are much improved.
By Vespidie
November 22, 2006 09:17 AM | Link to this
Crit has played 2 tough games in a row. Lot of pressure defensively against him. Probably wearing on him a little. Wuld not be surprised if he’s out of sync again against UCLA. The learning curve is ramping up and he’ll get it.
By Calvin
November 22, 2006 09:22 AM | Link to this
To be more exact than the writer, Tech was down by 19 in the first half, down by 16 at the half.
By Dre
November 22, 2006 09:36 AM | Link to this
That was such a great game!!!! I wish Tech could keep these guys together for FOUR years like old school.
By 2D
November 22, 2006 10:27 AM | Link to this
Interesting insight about Coach Hewitt trying to talk West out of coming back to play. I always thought he would be a major influence on this team with his experience and tenacity, similar to Clarence Moore in the 2003 Final Four run.
Every team needs role players, gritty and tough players to succeed. West, Smith and Dickey fit that bill nicely.
By Jacket
November 22, 2006 11:58 AM | Link to this
Smith and Dickey are not role players, they are the core of the team like Coach Hewitt said early in the season.
By Rick C
November 22, 2006 11:59 AM | Link to this
I’ve been saying it’s not a question of if this teams going to be good, it’s a matter of when.
The freshman are going to help this team become great, but Smith, Dickey, Morrow and West are forming the backbone of experience necessary to become a great team.
This Tech team has the potential to become the best of them all. Some of those other teams were good.
Just ask Kenny Anderson.
By rudicker
November 22, 2006 12:04 PM | Link to this
From Maui to the hedges. Tech wins!!
By ben
November 22, 2006 12:13 PM | Link to this
Two horrible first halves and two super-human second halves! Wes, can’t agree about Faye being better than Young. Young has T-Mac type talent, just hasn’t figured out this level and system yet. And he has that “I’m not giving it my all” style like T-Mac as well. It comes so easy to him that I think by the end of the year he’ll be one of the NCAA’s best. I hope the officiating isn’t as bad for the Bruins game as it was yesterday.
By OG-T
November 22, 2006 04:34 PM | Link to this
I responded to Bradley’s article last week with these predictions:
Route of Purdue.
Beat Memphis by 6.
And beat UCLA by double-digits.
I’m out West, and I can tell you that UCLA is a vastly OVERRATED team at this point. They lost Farmar(NBA/PG), Bozeman (leader/defense) and Hollins (only true post play). They lost a big part of their core. Affalo and Mata had surgery/hurt over summer. Shipp had surgery last season. They are a month or so away from figuring themselves out, let alone trying to figure out the other team. I think we get them tonight with Hewitt’s feeling all along — our veterans. They will provide the glue.