AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > January > 10 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGetting the Dookies on the rebound
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Glancing at a few things relative to Duke, whose game against Tech tonight is very large for both teams, especially the Yellow Jackets.
This is the first time in 11 years the Blue Devils are coming off a loss in their ACC opener. That was also the last time, 1996 that is, that Duke started the ACC 0-2. It was K’s first season back after back surgery, and the Blue Devils finished 18-13. He’s not really happy, whether his team is 13-2 or not.
“We’ve got to be a hungrier basketball team,” he said after being upset at home by Virginia Tech Saturday. “We’ve got to be a tougher basketball team. I don’t like to learn by losing. We try to do a lot in practice so we don’t lose. Losing is not the way to become better. Practicing hard and having a realization of who you are and what you do is the reason you win.
“We all need to be hungrier again. This decade we’ve won about 85 percent of our games. A lot more than anybody. We are not that team or those teams. We are not that Duke.”
This will be the first true road game of the season for K’s team, as Duke has played several games at neutral sites, but none on an opponent’s floor. Ball security is usually more of a problem on the road, and ball security has been a problem for Duke no matter where the Blue Devils have played.
They have 204 assists, and 242 turnovers - 23 more turnovers than opponents. That’s not normal, obviously.
Forward Josh McRoberts figures to be the biggest problem for Tech tonight in part because he’s Duke’s best passer, with a team-high 63 assists. He’s not exactly a scoring machine (12.8), but rebounds quite well (8.1) and with those passing skills he has the ability to enable Duke’s offense in a different way than PG Greg Paulus, who’s really struggling, by the way.
If McRoberts pulls one of Tech’s big men out in defense, there could be problems in the paint, although he won’t be inside to rebound when he does that. More importantly, when Tech plays defense poorly, it’s usually because they ball watch. That is, when defenders’ men don’t have the ball, they tend to look away toward the ball and their men can get free to either slice to the basket, or set up for an open shot. Watching McRoberts will be especially tempting.
Elsewhere, Javaris Crittenton is playing very well at point guard, and figures to give Tech a big edge there over Paulus, who went scoreless against Virginia Tech with three assists, and six turnovers.
As long as the Jackets mind their P’s and Q’s, and don’t get stuck ball-watching, they match up well in this one.
Lastly, good news regarding Lewis Clinch. He’s being allowed to stay in school, and as long as he fares well in the classroom this spring and summer, he’ll re-join the team in the fall.
Comments
By Burdell's Brother
January 10, 2007 04:25 PM | Link to this
Hate to call this a must win, but I hate Duke, and we cannot start 0-3 with Maryland, FSU, and UNC looming. They must come out with a since of urgency. If you look at the Clemson game we went 8 FULL minutes in the firth half without a field goal and lost by 1?
While I think Hewitt has the right idea about defense, he needs to give Gailey and Nix back their play books and run some offense!
Need a big W, what is the good word???
By GT
January 10, 2007 05:53 PM | Link to this
Some day in the name of justice the ACC may just elect to hang Krzyzewski. It may be the referees that have had enough or it may be the rest of us, but when they do I want to be one of those witnesses. I want it done before dawn of the weekend of the final four and I want to jeer him by singing “I’m a Rambling Wreck from Ga. Tech” as they march him to the gallows. They can even throw in his older step brother Bobby Knight for a double feature but I fear I would be hoarse from jubilation by then. I’m sure there are more worthy candidates for stringing up but none in any sport would I receive half the pleasure. Almost every year he recruits four or five McDonald all Americans, with what charm, I will never know, and then finds some way of poor mouthing his living conditions to such an extent school children consider sending him care packages. It is somewhere in this fog of misinformation that he takes the one eyed bald man into his confidence and lets him know that this has been the hardest coaching year of his career, leading people to believe that he is out coaching the rest of the ACC, not just out recruiting them. With his Martha Stewart style personality and Donald Trump facial expressions from the bench that American Express didn’t quit pick up on in their commercial that I suspect he wrote as a recruiting film, I think it is time to send the military helicopter over and pick him up
By ArkyTech
January 10, 2007 05:56 PM | Link to this
We’re going to see two teams laying it all out on the floor tonight. Should be a good one.
By mel
January 10, 2007 06:09 PM | Link to this
If tech can rebound they should be able to win.
By JohnGTFan
January 10, 2007 07:14 PM | Link to this
Nice defense to start the game…pathetic.
By JohnGTFan
January 10, 2007 07:16 PM | Link to this
Well, Dickey came to play
By JohnGTFan
January 10, 2007 07:31 PM | Link to this
Why can’t this kid (Dickey) play like this every night…my goodness. We talked about this after the UGA game. This is how he CAN play.
By TEDDY JACK EDDY
January 10, 2007 08:55 PM | Link to this
The one year Hewitt won was with transfers at key positions.Give this team to coach k and it wins 22 or more,I will be surprized if Hewitt gets 17 out of it.As I type tech is making a move it’s now 59 /53 win or lose this one I stick by my words.
By UGA - the Cesspool of the South
January 10, 2007 09:22 PM | Link to this
I would have been the first to tell you Coach K would not lose 2 games in a row - but he did. I truly believe Duke is not the strong team they have been in the past - so, it was crucial that we finally beat them. Kinda like the GT / UGA football game where we were finally the better team - that one we lost though (thanks Chan for not playing Taylor). Glad to see we came through on this one.
By Sam
January 10, 2007 09:50 PM | Link to this
Teddy Jack Eddy: It is really dissapointing that we have such a negative fan base that just waits for bad things to happen. Hewitt is, and will be for a long time the perfect fit for GT. I don’t know what he needs to do convince everyone, but it is getting kind of annoying at bandwagon fans that claim to be “realistic”, when in reality its all negative posts about our coach. Seriously, take that crap somewhere else. Or maybe all you guys should start some kind of melancholy/loser mentality group. GO JACKETS!
By Go Tech!
January 10, 2007 10:03 PM | Link to this
Congratulations, great and very important win guys!
By Realistic Fan
January 10, 2007 10:37 PM | Link to this
Congratulations on a great win! We really needed that one!
However, to Sam, I think it is ‘realistic’ and honest to say that many of Hewitt’s teams do not have a strong offensive identity - in crunch situations they can look lost, dazed, and confused. Hewitt is more of a defensive minded coach. This is not a negative post, just what we have observed. Hopefully he is getting better. But if you look at his record against top 25 teams, it is not as stellar as his supporters would have you believe. He admitted he mis-coached the Chris Bosh team and had a losing record with the third pick in the NBA draft. I support the coach, and I hope he wins every game he coaches for Tech, but it remains a simple equation. If your team cannot score consistently, it is either coaching, or players who don’t listen to the coach, or players who cannot play. Paul Hewitt is good enough, but he has lots of room to get better - on both sides of the ball.
Don’t you want Tech to get better - and stay better? I do, and I do not think that is ‘negative’ at all.
By HSV Jacket
January 10, 2007 11:53 PM | Link to this
Teddy Jack Eddy,
What year are you talking about? Hewitt’s win at Duke was in 04, propelled us to the ACC championship and ultimately the Final 4. That was Jack, Elder, Muhammed, McHenry, Lewis, Moore, West — can’t think of one transfer on that team.
Big win - maybe this win will propel us on to big success like the 04 Duke win did.
By ben
January 10, 2007 11:59 PM | Link to this
Pollyanna: Hewitt is under the microscope just like every other coach in the ACC. He makes more money than 90% of Tech grads and even has a guaranteed contract. If we choose to grade his performance, it’s well within our rights. A big win against a sub-par Duke team. This team still needs big time improvement to finish in the top 5 of the ACC.
By ben
January 11, 2007 12:01 AM | Link to this
HSV- Bynum was the transfer and he did indeed pick up the offense when it went into it’s “lost” state.
By view from snellville
January 11, 2007 12:07 PM | Link to this
Maybe the rest of the league has caught up to Duke and NC. Is it nice to see Miami and Clemson at the top?
Over the years Duke and NC seem to get the calls when they need it. Maybe things are going back the otherway.
It will be exciting all year due to the number of first year players. Hope wecan keep them around for more than one season.
Shame the NBA does not have the same three year rule as the NFL.
Hewitt is a good coach. He has had players leave eraly and he failed to plan ahead and now appears to better understand to have players going in regardless of position.