AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > March > 02 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USYoung making all the moves
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Oh, what a difference movement makes!
When Thaddeus Young moves like he did last night, especially in the first half, Tech’s offense is quite different. His two highest scoring games this season, 24 against Georgia and 25 against the Heels (without attempting a free throw) also were his two best games moving.
Against Georgia, a lot of his action came on back cuts. Last night, he and Morrow were coming off screens very well, catching and firing. And hitting. Young hit 5 of 6 3-pointers, Morrow 4 of 10. Nobody can tell me that doesn’t change the way anybody defends Tech, not that defense is North Carolina’s forte.
And about the season-high 28 fouls, don’t need to hear that Tech got jobbed. As Hewitt said, sometimes that’s a function of the way they play defense, and he wants to play it like that. Tech has been much more physical on defense over the past eight games (while also out-rebounding every one of those opponents).
When Tyler Hansbrough got out on that break, and Mario West ran with him and didn’t try to hack him but rather tried to time his jump as if he were defending a guard only to smash Hansbrough in the process, then the Heels knew nothing would come easy. I’m a fan of that.
“The fouls? We don’t have any other way to play,” Hewitt said. “We have to play tough, physical defense, and if they call fouls, they call fouls. We’re not going to finesse anybody, and I’m definitely not going to out-coach anybody so we have to get after it. We’ve re-established ourselves after playing for a year and a half like something I didn’t recognize.”
In his first game without wearing the protective mask on his face, Zach Peacock seemed like a different player. He had eight points, six rebounds and a blocked shot in 17 minutes. Nice.
Dickey and Smith fouled out, but each took six rebounds first. And that’s not all. “I think Jeremis and Ra’Sean, they set great screens,” Morrow said. “I told them if you keep setting those screens, I’m going to keep hitting those shots and you’ll be open for slips or dunks.”
There’s some guessing as to what will happen if Tech beats Boston College Sunday, and Duke loses at North Carolina. For starters, I think that would assure the Jackets of an NCAA tournament bid. Also, Tech and Duke would be tied for sixth place in the regular season. I don’t know it for a fact yet, but I heard in the press room last night that Tech would win some sort of a tiebreaker to be the No. 6 seed in the tournament.
If Tech stays in the No. 7 spot, the Jackets most likely will play N.C. State first in the ACC tournament. The winner of that game would then play the No. 2 seed, mostly likely to be Virginia Tech (which could tie North Carolina, but has beaten the Heels twice to break that tie).
If Tech is No. 6, the Jackets would play No. 11 seed Wake Forest or Miami, with the winner going on to face the No. 3 seed, which would be UNC if the Heels beat Duke Sunday, and Va. Tech beats Clemson in Blacksburg. Va. Tech’s edge is the backcourt of Dowdell and Gordon. UNC’s is the front court duo of Hansbrough/ Brandan Wright. Which matches up worse against Tech at a neutral site?
I’ll confirm this in the next day or two.
Anyway, last night Young’s duel with fellow former Tennessee high school star Wright was special, although they didn’t often guard each other. Young, from Memphis, hit 10 of 18 shots, including 5 of 6 3 pointers, and Wright, from Nashville, hit 8 of 10 shots and 6 of 9 free throws (with two misses late) to score a team-high 22.
Both were recruited by North Carolina, and there has long been speculation that Young has a strained relationship with Wright because Wright snagged the last scholarship the Tar Heels had to offer. Young disputed that recently.
“I remember in high school everybody was talking about how I hate Brandan Wright, and Brandan hates me. It was nothing like that,” Young said of one of the leading candidates for ACC Rookie of the Year. “We always knew each other, and talked on the phone a couple times. I was seriously considering North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Memphis, Arkansas and Kentucky. He just basically made my decision easier.”
Young said last night that if he hadn’t chosen Tech, he most likely would have gone to UNC. It was reported a couple years ago that he committed to UNC, but he balked when Tar Heels officials wanted him to make his commitment public before making a visit to Kentucky. With that, Wright called to commit and allegedly UNC took Wright’s commitment to fill out the Heels’ recruiting class.
I don’t know what the drop-dead truth of the matter is, but both players are very talented. Wright’s leading all ACC players in field goal percentage at better than 65.5, and averaging roughly 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds (he had 22 points and five rebounds last night).
That guy is gold around the basket. But I think Young’s ability to shoot from afar, and work more in space, translates to more NBA potential. A lot of that stuff Wright does around the basket won’t fly as well in the NBA since it’s not based on power - like Hansbrough (a monster).
But what do I know? I know this: Young picked a good game to heat up if he wants to make the All-Rookie team. The biggest voting bloc of writers is in North Carolina, obviously, and a lot of writers were there last night. More probably watched on TV back home.
Next week, we’ll get some football on here. Later.
Comments
By March Madness Man
March 2, 2007 4:22 PM | Link to this
Matt- If Tech beats BC and UNC beats Duke, Tech would be the six seed, as the tiebreaker is head-to-head first ( a split between Duke and Tech), then record against the first place team, then record against the second place team, and so on. They both went 0-1 against UVA and VT, so it would drop to UNC, which would’ve swept Duke and split with the Jackets. You can check out the tiebreaker rules at theacc.com.
By Matt Winkeljohn
March 2, 2007 6:02 PM | Link to this
Correct. Just checked with Hewitt and another Tech official.
I was surprised to learn that Tech can still finish No. 8 in the ACC, too, if the Jackets lose and Clemson wins at Va. Tech.
By mountain_jim
March 2, 2007 6:21 PM | Link to this
Great column Matt. And great game!
By SanDiegoJacket
March 2, 2007 6:40 PM | Link to this
Matt Thanks for the roundup. When you come to the Lunch Bunch, I’d like to know how you like your job; how you get along with Bark, Terrence, Furman, Tony, et. al. that would be a great topic.
P.S. I’ve bought my tomatoes to through; or is it mackeral?
SanDiegoJacket
By GTbuzzbait
March 2, 2007 8:04 PM | Link to this
Matt, Excellent blog. Have heard different things from Carolina fans about UNC’s recruiting of Wright and Young. Most of them have been saying that Roy Williams targeted Wright over Young throughout the recruiting process, and that UNC got exactly what it wanted when Wright signed. To me, that always sounded like an easy rationalization like the Dawgs’ tired old: “Donnan wants ‘em; Donnan gets ‘em.” But I digress.
Thanks for the background info on the behind-the-scenes recruiting scene. Even if it is unconfirmable rumor, it makes for interesting reading. Good stuff for a blog.
And to San Diego Jacket: Of all the things you bring to Lunch Bunch, please refrain from selecting your dictionary to “through.”
By Matt Winkeljohn
March 3, 2007 9:36 AM | Link to this
Not mackerel, please. Maybe apples. Easier to catch and throw back.
By cltgtfan
March 3, 2007 10:01 AM | Link to this
Matt,
Just wanted to let you know that I have enjoyed your articles recently. It is nice to have someone at the AJC that is not so antagonistic toward the Jackets. Your writing often has good insight into the sport you are covering and brings out something that the TV watcher misses. Keep up the good work.
By ben
March 3, 2007 11:39 AM | Link to this
Wright will be a better pro than Hansborough. Why did it take Tech all year to learn to set a pick? Young can’t create a shot off the dribble so picks are a neccessity for this team. One more win and my comment on this season is: Whew!
By Navigator
March 3, 2007 12:43 PM | Link to this
I thought Young had a great game against NC, but I also remember he was most responsible for the loss at Virginia. I look at the whole season, and I see a player who works hard only in the high profile games. He’s going to the pros, so maybe they’ll appreciate his selfish play.
By Joe Morgan
March 3, 2007 8:30 PM | Link to this
Crit deserves more praise than Young, so don’t jump on Young’s bandwagon just yet. If Crit doesn’t finish ahead of Young in rookie of the year voting, I’ll be very surprised. Wright has it locked up, but Vasquez is good too. If voting ended today, Wright, Critt, Vasquez, kid from Duke, then Young.
By WFC
March 4, 2007 7:51 AM | Link to this
I’m a long-time Jacket fan from back in the days of Roger Kaiser. I live and die GT basketball. I’m also a retired high school coach and an “old school” kind of guy. The point is: I appreciate your “fair and balanced” coverage of the Jackets. You give credit where credit is due and critique when it is warranted. You seem to understand that there are limitations on what a coach can do in this modern age of basketball. GT’s basketball future is bright if Crit and Young have any sense and remain in college at least through their junior years, honing their skills while actually playing in games that matter. However, the lure of the NBA is great and a lot of 20-year olds have delusions of grandeur. Hewitt can’t control this so don’t hammer him if the dynamic duo bail early. Of course, I think Coach K at Duke is one step ahead of most college coaches: he now recruits guys who are rated slightly behind other guys based on his assessment as to whether they will turn pro early. I bet that Paulus, Scheyer and McRoberts will all be playing at Duke as seniors. Does anyone think that Brandon Wright will be at UNC or Crit and Young will be at GT then?
By Navigator
March 4, 2007 4:40 PM | Link to this
WFC: You nailed the point perfectly. As I said in many blogs, the new NCAA rules penalize coaches that can’t recruit 4 year players. That will penalize what Hewitt is doing now, and may limit how long he coaches here. If the team starts to lose scholarships (just like sactions), his chances of winning will drop to zero. I think his mentality is win now, and don’t worry about the future. Cinncinati fired there coach of many years, because he didn’t graduate any players. Coach K is a good example of a coach who understands the future, and as you said stays away from one and out recruits. Too bad, I thought Hewitt wanted a career at Tech, but maybe not.
By OddJob
March 4, 2007 9:03 PM | Link to this
I’m amazed at the improvement this team shows in the last nine games.If they could play on the road on a good night they could play with any team I’ve seen this year.Watching Crittenton against BC today he is a star in the making.Has anybody heard if he plans to come back next season/
By Rod Anderson
March 5, 2007 9:35 AM | Link to this
Let’s not get carried away condoning hard fouls which can easily be construed as flagrant fouls. “but rather tried to time his jump… to smash Hansbrough in the process,… I’m a fan of that.”
By crs
March 5, 2007 11:05 AM | Link to this
One and done is college basketball, I guess Roy Williams is not a good coach. Ohio St., Texas - there coaches aren’t good? Thats college basketball, it is not Hewitt’s fault, blame the NBA, the NBA could institute a rule that you can not go pro until after your third year. To compete with the UNC’s, you have to recruit some kids that may only be around a year or two. Duke has had the same problem lately with guys leaving early.