AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > October > 09 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSay, is that a basketball I hear bouncing?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It doesn’t happen often, or at least I’d like to think that it doesn’t, but I swear I feel like I’m about out of original ideas about what’s wrong with Tech’s football team.
So, how about some hoop?
Practice starts Friday, and I’m interested in how the point guard position will play out. Will it be Matt Causey, the senior transfer/walk-on (who may now be on scholarship; I’ll check to see), or freshman Maurice Miller? Dunno the answer, but I bet they both play quite a bit.
Tech’s going to have more options among bigs than in a few years, but will it be too many options? Will Hewitt try too hard to play too many people? That won’t be an issue as much early in the schedule even if he does, but after the Jackets settle into the meat of their schedule, might it be?
Who will the breakout player be? Will there be more than one? Did the late-season performance of Alade Aminu (who has battled a disc problem in his back this fall) translate into better things this season?
I know this much, they have a nice looking schedule.
Now, onto football …
Tech was the better team last Saturday. I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, manpower is not the issue. They have the skill to be 4-2 at worst right now, probably 5-1. B.C. was just plain better, and not just on that night.
If Bennett plays more along the lines of the way he did in the second half at Maryland, the Jackets’ chances improve. But they’ve shown a tendency to do just enough things to lose in two games (Virginia and Maryland), and that went well beyond Taylor.
Think Jon Tenuta has more of an edge in knowing about Patrick Nix, or vice-versa, this Saturday?
Hey, my son’s team won 7-6 Friday night to break a third-place tie. We’re 3-2. He threw a touchdown pass, and completed three of four passes. Played well on defense. We nearly got a shutout; the other team scored as time expired in the first half. I’m still not sure the kid crossed the goalline, and the clock (run by parents of the team we played) did not start correctly about three plays before that. Nothing you can do.
I’ll miss Saturday morning’s game, and my son might. If my wife has her way, Patrick will travel with her and our daugthers and my mother-in-law to a family reunion in Virginia this weekend. I’m opposed, largely because our 15-boy team will already be missing at least one and possibly three other players this weekend. One of the iffy kids is the other quarterback (he has a virus again). Who’ll play quarterback?
I know it’s youth sports, but it’s also a commitment, and an obligation to teammates and coaches, and that reunion came out of nowhere (why this time of year, rather than during the summer when schedules are more relaxed?) about five weeks ago. He’s never met the majority of the people who will be at the reunion. I’ve met them once, 15 years ago. I don’t think it will register with him anyway. But what do I know? I know my wife and mother-in-law are taking a hard line on the other side.
Later,
Matt
Comments
By Dane
October 9, 2007 3:15 PM | Link to this
Nix went on to greener pastures just like most coaches that make their “appearance” at Tech. It has become a transition school for coaches. Heck, George O’Liar bailed on you, and now Tech fans are begging him to come back. How sad?
By reasonablefan
October 9, 2007 3:47 PM | Link to this
What we know for sure about Tech basketball is that they will foul incessently and unnecessarily, the coach and fans will complain about the refs and they will lose big games.
Now for football. Everything is fine on the flats so calm down. Chan is an outstanding coach and the team is together like family. They are on the cusp of winning multiple championships. I read all this from a high school recruit in the paper recently. Although he hasn’t signed with Tech yet I am sure he will, that is, if no one else offers.
As for Matts kid and his team=WHO CARES, except Matt and his kid.
By TDone
October 9, 2007 3:53 PM | Link to this
No one in the right mind wants O’Leary back. He was already on the down turn when he left.
Good riddance…
By Bobby
October 9, 2007 4:07 PM | Link to this
I retract my comments about Ugay underachieving. We have had some good recruiting classes and look at where we are. We are underachieving as well.
By wes
October 9, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this
Um, we aren’t going to offer GOL another shot at head coach. That would only divide this fan base even further.
Hire Paul Johnson, Jon Tenuta, or Jimbo Fischer.
And yes matt, mother-in-laws suck…especially when they are fat uga fans who give you the cold shoulder when they don’t get their way. Let the kid play.
By RAMBLE ON!
October 9, 2007 5:02 PM | Link to this
BASKETBALL???
Hewitt is worse than Gailey!!!
By RAMBLE ON!
October 9, 2007 5:06 PM | Link to this
Matt here’s an idea, why don’t you ask Chan why he started setting up for a field on the 25 yard line with 2 minutes left?
By Burdell's Brother
October 9, 2007 5:36 PM | Link to this
Couple of points:
Mother’s in law are a pain, plain and simple. you married the girl, you married the mom…sad but true.
GT Football, the only problem is with the guy who continues to put on the head set. Hopefully the team can out play his ability to cost us the game..doubt it. On his replacement,and YES there will be one…go get the guy from Navy, but figure out a way to keep Tenuta, will be tough but very necessary.
As far as basketball, i just read the article about the BCA which Hewitt is president of…..MESSAGE TO PAUL>>>CONECNTRATE ON GETTING US A WINNER LESS ON CIVIC DUTY>>>ELSE THE MOVERS CAN GET A 2 FOR 1 DEAL WITH YOU AND CHAN!
By RAMBLE ON!
October 9, 2007 8:03 PM | Link to this
hey Matt why do you guys let Gailey off the hook so easy?
We never have gotten a explanation on how/why RB threw the ball out of bounds on 4th down, and were never going to find out why we ran the f&$# ball 4 times in a row against Maryland to set up a f&%$ 52 yard field goal. I can take the UVA loss better than this one.
How about the NFL flirtation?
Is Gailey too nice to ask these tough questions?
We deserve answers and some accountability to this crap!
By The Big Bug
October 9, 2007 8:08 PM | Link to this
Dane: Uh, You’re an idiot.We don’t want Nix or GOL. Why anyone would want them is beyond comprehension. I guess it’s just the fact that they have GT credentials.
By Matt Winkeljohn
October 9, 2007 8:33 PM | Link to this
Ramble on,
I wasn’t helping cover Tech when Reggie threw out of bounds, unless you’re referring to a play from last year that I’m forgetting.
Mike Knobler covered the NFL flirtation, and quoted Chan about it. The net-net: He said he had friends in both places, where he had worked, and owed it to them, and his family to look at the opportunity in each case for financial and career reasons. Go look it up. Chan was asked (although he was difficult to reach at times during the process, no doubt), and his answers were printed by the AJC.
As for the game-ending sequence the other day, the Jackets didn’t run four times in a row to set up a 52-yard field goal. They ran four times, and ended up with a 52-yard try because of a penalty. And Mike asked Chan about it.
1st-and-10 from the Maryland 25, Grant for 0 (leaving a 42-yard try) 2nd-and-10 from the 25, Choice for 0 (leaving a 42-yard try) 3rd-and-10 from the 25, Grant for 2 yards (leaving a 40-yard try) Problem, Andrew Gardner was called for holding. 3rd-and-20 from the 35, Grant for 0 (leaving a 52-yard try)
I wasn’t taping this because I wasn’t writing about it; I was writing about other subjects from the game and had already taped Chan on those topics. But he said he and Bond figured that Maryland would be playing pass so they decided to try to run.
I guess looking at a 42-yard try with a kicker who’s having a very good season (or was until Saturday), and then looking at a 40-yarder, they combined the idea of trying not to lose yards with what they figured Maryland would be defending, and you saw the result.
Maybe Mike can post the full transcript on this matter later.
Matt
By RAMBLE ON!
October 9, 2007 9:41 PM | Link to this
Chan’s more conservative than Jerry Falwell when it comes to football.
Setting up the FG was sarcasm on my part. I should have said playing for it (venting). I recall that whole series of events all too clearly.
By GM
October 9, 2007 10:22 PM | Link to this
Maybe if we had mixed in a pass or two on the last four plays we would have been on the 5 yard line when the penalty was called, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Kick a 32 yarder and go home a winner. I know hind sight is 20-20, but four rushing plays for 2 yards is typical conservative Gailey, and he leaves no room for error, trying to barely win (or lose) whenever possible.
To reasonable fan: you just plain sound like a jerk.
By Adam
October 9, 2007 10:48 PM | Link to this
Matt -
I love the job you’re doing. Keep it up. I can see how much of a Tech fan, and more importantly a family man, you are and I think this page needs something not so fabricated. Tech looked like a deer in headlights early on this past Saturday. Yes we came back and played great in the end - but to me the first half is coaching and the second is more about the players and heart. I’m with you, talent is there and in no short supply. I guess the biggest question I need answered to is how free is Bond able to run HIS plays. It doesn’t take long to see how hands-on Gailey is (stubborn to a fault). And I think a good coach needs to have that, but I would have thought by now he would realize the need to wash his hands of most of those duties. Bond doesn’t want to be a guy that just poses as the playcaller. He wants to be that guy. Don’t give him the job but take it away when you feel like it. And I didn’t like the FG situation either at the end of the game. Watching the LSU/UF game made me sick. Seeing a coach that wants to win go for it twice on 4th down at the end of the game told me what we’re missing. About basketball - is Clinch not a point? I think he’s got is act together and is ready to lead. With Morrow raining from behind the arch things look good to me. We need somebody dominant in the post. Most quality b-ball teams need that. Anyways - good luck to your son on Saturday (I know you’ll win the argument). Go Tech!
By smitty
October 9, 2007 11:01 PM | Link to this
let’s talk some football……and here’s some insight into this week’s upcoming game with miami from chan the man himself……..i was thinking that miami appears vulnerable and gt could win handily until i heard gailey’s response to a question about the upcoming contest with miami’s OC patrick nix, GT’s former OC, and what to do re his knowledge of the GT offense……and i quote…..
“we will change some things because we know what he knows……….but he probably knows that he knows what we know, so he probably will assume we’re changing”….
the only good thing about all of this is that chan will still be trying to figure out what he said, what he knows, what nix knows, and what the cheerleaders know, and since he will be so preoccupied, bond will be free to call all the plays without interference
By Navigator
October 9, 2007 11:16 PM | Link to this
Note: Paul Johnson runs most of the time do you really won’t more of what we have now.
UCONN was smart enough to sign Randy Edsell to a 10 year contract, and that is and will always be my first choice to replace Gailey. Does anyone remember who coached Tech’s defense when they last won 10 games (Randy Edsell). They led the ACC in positive turnovers, and also in interceptions. He also took a school without football (UCONN), to a good program in three years. Now I think he would really like to go to a school that can actually recruit.
By gt fan
October 10, 2007 7:26 AM | Link to this
i agree… Paul Hewitt is worse than Gailey as a coach but it goes beyond that.
Chan coaches and recruits without seeing color but Paul does not.
early on in his tenure at gt, cph would routinely make headlines with his ‘racism still lives’ type comments. every time the ncaa passed a ruling or new rule cph would say it was racist. he also said that his job was to get as many black players into college as he can.
WRONG!!!!!!!!! his job is to coach the men’s bb team. AND to recruit without the basis of color. last time i looked there is ONE or 2 white player on the team. cph likes to recruit tall lanky athletic players who are black.
to use the sorry excuse that there are no good white players is disengenious. duke has them. nc has them. uconn has them. gonzaga has them. (fill in the blank here) has them.
Bobby Cremins’ teams had a balance of black an white players. yet good ol paul hewitt would rather go to senegal to get a long tall athletic black player who has played bb for a year or only a few months …. rather than recruit a white player in the good ol usa who has played bb like forever. the fact that our teams have zero basketball smarts helps make this point.
the NBA is dominated by blacks you say…. yup it is and the last time i looked the black dominated NBA allstar teams are not exactly dominating the white european teams in the world cup and the olympics.
Coach Paul… well he likes them tall and athletic and BLACK. no bb experience? that is ok with paul because true to his word he is trying to get as many black players into college as he can.
some would point to luke schensher and say well HE was white. to you i say…. LUKE was the 3d or 4th recruiting option with the 3 options before him being black. but for the BLACK recruit named southall getting arrested for drugs Luke would never have played for gt. the current white player on our staff was NOT a first option either. more like an add on.
well good ol racist paul is making headlines once again. seems that he is the president of the BLACK COACHES OF AMERICA. (can you say sharpton or jackson in a coach’s clothe?) he has entered the fray regarding not enough black football coaches. paul in his wisdom thinks that black football coaches should be the first to be interviewed for an opening. you know kinda like quota’s or affirmative action ….. or REVERSE DISCRIMINATION.
cph is a one trick pony. he recruits black players well but cant coach a lick. our final four appearance is officially wasted.
rival coaches are pointing out to recruits the fact that paul hewitt teams routinely underachieve… this despite the fact that our ACC recruiting has been top tier.
looks like our one trick pony is soon to become a NO trick pony.
but hey paul looks great in a suit. he speaks well. and he represents gt well. NOT.
he is a closet racist who cant coach a lick.
for his sake i hope it is unintentional and misguided.
By Jim O
October 10, 2007 7:40 AM | Link to this
not sure if ‘gt fan’ is actually an ‘uga fan’, but i definitely do not agree that paul is a racist. he recruits the best players who can make it at gt, and that isn’t an easy thing to do.
the problem he has this year is the one that plagued cremins - recruiting a player hard only to have him bail after one year. if you have a potential freshman superstar (stephon/kenny were, jc could be), it is hard to recruit the same position that year. travis almost did not come to tech because of kenny, and if kenny did not go pro after his sophomore year, travis would have ended up elsewhere.
if we can consistently get the ball over half court this year, we will do well.
go jackets - beat miami AGAIN!
By Carter
October 10, 2007 7:40 AM | Link to this
thx for the autobiograph gtfan…this is a blog! Please don’t waste your time with a 2000 word “comment”
By RAMBLE ON!
October 10, 2007 8:55 AM | Link to this
All I know about Hewitt is he has yet to have a winning season in the ACC…and I sure don’t see it happening this year.
UGA has the better coach and boy does that hurt saying, but it’s true.
By yellarjacket4life
October 10, 2007 9:20 AM | Link to this
Honestly, I can’t wait for the basketball season to start! It looks like we have a pretty tough non-conference schedule with Kansas at home, @Vandy, @UCONN, and @Indiana. We only have to play Duke, Maryland, and UNC once this year, so it’s possible we could finish with a winning conference record for a change.
I still think we have too many issues at the point position. I hear that Causey is a smart player, but he has never played point in ACC, which worries me. He should split time with Maurice Miller. Hopefully we will get some consistency out of Morrow this year. Jeremis Smith will be a beast this year as usual. I think losing Dickey for the first half of the season maybe a blessing in disguise. I like Aminu at the 5 spot and I am very anxious to see what Lawal and Sheehan can do.
I am definitely going to miss Mario West, but I think D’Andre Bell will step in nicely and be our best on-ball defender and he is better than Mario offensively.
Clinch will be back this year, which should help our scoring and perimeter game.
It looks like we will be very deep at every position except point guard. My prediction is that we finish at 9-7 in conference play and make the NCAA tournament. What does everyone else think?
By Charles
October 10, 2007 10:33 AM | Link to this
Has the investigation into Tickle Pile proliferation been completed yet. Until it is I don’t think our football or basketball teams will be focused.
By KillerBee
October 10, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this
Well, if we can’t beat the Virginia’s and the Maryland’s of the ACC then we need to pull out and form our own conference. How about the Southern Ivy League - Duke, Wake, Vandy, Tulane, Baylor, Rice, SMU and the Techsters ?
Maybe we would at least have some peer pressure to get our graduation rate up …..
By gt2bama
October 10, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this
This football season has been as utter disaster. The O-line has been anemic all year, being unable to even convert 3rd downs against Samford and with wins coming only against ND (which would have beaten GT if we had played them in Week 6 as UCLA did), Samford (enough said) and a sorry Clemson team that has equally as poor of a coach as GT and that basically beat itself. Bennett has looked like a deer in headlights all season; I guess his moxy ended after his preseason fight against his teammate.
Chan Gailey has been a consistent letdown for GT fans, at least Hewitt got one of his teams to a national championship game. I will never forget sitting in the unceasing rain watching the GT/WF game and witnessing as poor of a demonstration of football on GT’s part imaginable. The offensive game-plan was beyond sad - simply pathetic - and quite embarrassing. GT fans outnumbered WF fans 10-to-1, and we had nothing about which to cheer.
If Chan had been a coach at Bama, he would have been gone after Season 2 (a pathetic record, losing to your primary rival and showing NO signs of promise). Yet, GT chooses to stick with mediocrity and even endorse it (i.e. Braine), while witnessing our school’s reputation and tradition of excellence go to the wayside. There is no reason GT cannot attract the BEST and BRIGHTEST of student-athletes. What we do know is that Gailey is NOT the individual to uphold Tech’s esteemed mantel.
If Radakovich refuses to do his job, then the alumni must do theirs! IMMEDIATELY STOP ATTENDING ALL FOOTBALL-RELATED EVENTS AND STOP FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING THE ATHLETIC ASSOC UNTIL CHAN GAILEY IS FIRED!
(My grandpa is nice, honorable guy, but that doesn’t mean he should be coaching Div-I football. Competence Matters!)