AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > January > 23 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USJackets need sharper play
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If Tech is finally going to win on the road Wednesday at Maryland, the Yellow Jackets need to play with more alacrity, be more alert.
They were like statues at North Carolina, and point guard Javaris Crittenton didn’t help by trying to prove himself against two fellow phenomenal freshmen whom he’s played against in the past.
“What happened was they were trapping me with Brandan Wright and Tywon Lawson, but at the same time, when they do that, it’s two-on-one and that means somebody’s open,” he said. “When they’re over-playing our wings because most of our offense is wing entries, we’ve got to cut back-door, and back screen, something to get open.”
It would help if somebody moved to get open, or get closer to Crittenton when he was in trouble to bail him out. Instead, the Jackets stood around, especially in the first half.
“Exactly. I talked to my teammates, even during the game I was trying to get my wings to get open, and to move a little bit,” Crittenton said. “It was everybody. It wasn’t just the wings. It was the post, myself; after I passed the ball I should have unlocked the floor. We needed to do a lot more moving to get open.”
Coach Paul Hewitt said, “We can help by screening and getting guys open.”
Well, yeah.
Again, it didn’t help that, “It was probably the first time [Crittenton] played like a freshman since the Vanderbilt game,” Hewitt said, but everybody else needs to DO SOMETHING! “Standing on the block, calling for the ball, waiting for an impossible pass to be made into the post from an impossible angle, that’s just not good basketball,” the coach said. “I can’t explain it. I was very confident, perhaps overconfident, going into that game. I didn’t have us ready.”
That first half, when Tech scored just 23 points, was terrible, and Maryland’s going to try some of the same things, knowing Tech has problems against the trap, has difficulty in-bounding the ball, has, well, just problems. The most maddening thing is, they’re not omnipresent; they pop up and don’t go away for a while, and then in another game those problems are all but gone. It must be said, though, that Roy Williams and North Carolina forced Tech into difficulty.
Yet the Jackets did so little to extract themselves. “We just didn’t try to run our offense,” Hewitt said. “For whatever reason, I don’t know. We had one possession where we dribbled the ball 28 times. By my best liberal count, we set one and a half screens. One player, 28 dribbles. You always tell your players that you’re better moving the ball with a pass than the dribble. I always tell my players, there’s three times to dribble the ball (in the half-court). One, you’re improving your passing angle; two, to attack the basket; or three, to get out of trouble. Other than that, the ball should be passed or shot.”
The only player who was aggressive, other than Crittenton when he kept dribbling into trouble, was Thaddeus Young in the final 10 minutes or so. He finished with a team-high 22 points on 10 of 16 points. Imagine what he could do if he hadn’t had a fever for a few days before that, if he hadn’t had a root canal the day of the game?
Imagine if he played like that for 25 minutes a night, and had some teammates play the same way!
Comments
By Burdell's Brother
January 23, 2007 04:00 PM | Link to this
Time to man up, look and the mirror and come to play on Wed. If not, this thing could come apart real quick and get real ugly.
By INcredibility
January 23, 2007 04:01 PM | Link to this
Please please please get your act together before Maryland! PLEASE! This team has great potential, let’s see it!
By Tech Guy
January 23, 2007 04:36 PM | Link to this
Correction: Thaddeus didn’t have a root canal until monday morning. But you’re right, if he hadn’t been sick the week before, he could have been phenomonal.
By Navigator
January 23, 2007 09:12 PM | Link to this
It isn’t going to happen. This is the Bosh team all over again, with everyone catoring to a star player.
By Jim O
January 24, 2007 08:31 AM | Link to this
Maybe TY should play sick all the time - he played one of his best games but the rest of the team did not show up.
I agree with the other comments, they have to step up to the plate and get it done. They have the talent and just need to put it together. The team a few years ago did not have this much talent but great teamwork and players off the bench who ignited the spark.
Hint to Hewitt - don’t start Mario. He did not do well starting at UNC - too much dribbling, too many bad shots, etc. He is excellent off the bench.
Being in Northern VA - please beat these turtles! GO TECH
By George P. Burdell
January 24, 2007 09:11 AM | Link to this
Well said Navigator, and I made a similar comment after watching us play FSU even though we won that game. TY is a great player, as was Bosh, but I think it is destroying the team chemistry. While Bosh had individual success, the team suffered and I’m afraid we are seeing a repeat of that. I love Hewitt but that is most definitely his responsibility. He has to recognize it and find ways to minimize the negative impact. Look at just the games where Young has passed instead of shooting, and you will see they are some of our better “team” games.
By ben
January 24, 2007 12:42 PM | Link to this
I wholeheartily disagree. I think we ought to run more isolation plays for Young and let him know he is the man. Thats what Texas does for Durant and Syracuse did for Melo(both freshmen). I think Young is scared to take over the game because Hewitt has him overthinking his role. We desperately need a guy who can take over when the going gets rough.
By George P. Burdell
January 24, 2007 01:34 PM | Link to this
I respect your opinion Ben but the fact is when Young takes 10 or more shots per game, we have a pathetic record against quality teams. Now if you want to count the Elon’s and Georgia State’s of the world, it works out OK. The only two teams we have beaten of any note are Georgia and FSU. I would love to see Young in the isolation you are talking about, but it seems to me that he ends up taking a lot of bad shots instead of finding an open teammate, very similar to Mr. Bosh. It works in the no defense NBA, but it won’t bring anything more than individual stats in the college game.