AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 10
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Tech was good enough today
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey, Georgia Tech was not especially sharp Saturday, but the Yellow Jackets didn’t need to be to beat a bad Duke squad.
Taylor Bennett completed his first two passes, and looked like he might be in the mood to play as if he had nothing to lose as opposed to playing as if he has something to lose. That’s the way he’s looked to me all too often this season.
Then, he reverted, although his receivers again did not help him out very much. I counted at least five dropped passes.
This team is a lot better when Tashard Choice plays, even when he’s not 100 percent healthy. I don’t think he was today.
The defense? So-so. Duke can’t run the ball a lick, and Tech was hurt occasionally by the pass, but not bad.
The game wouldn’t have been this close if not for miscues, like Choice’s fumble and Bennett’s interception in the first quarter, the punt Duke blocked in the third quarter to set up a short touchdown run.
So Tech is bowl eligible, not that that will be enough to make everybody happy. Nor should it be enough.
Matt
Permalink | Comments (67) | Post your comment |
Hoops thoughts in down time
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve got another 50 minutes before this football game, and I’m bored so I think I’ll pontificate on the basketball teams.
First, in order to be fair, UNC-Greensboro is going to be a good team this year. They have four starters back from a 16-14 team, start three seniors, and have a very, very good player in forward Kyle Hines. He was second in the Southern Conference in scoring (20.9) last season, and first in rebonding (9.0). He’s ACC-caliber through and through.
The Spartans ran their sets well, made some nice adjustments (spreading the floor a little more in the second half), and rebounded with an edge after intermission.
But …
Why did the Jackets run so little offense through the post? Alade Aminu had four shots, and given that he had four offensive rebounds, I’d venture to say at least two and perhaps three of his shots came off rebounds. Lawal dunked at least twice. I remember him driving to score once very late.
Sure, the Jackets were without their starting centers from last season (Peacock’s foot, which has a stress reaction, or near stress fracture, is healing, and he may, I say may, play in the Virgin Islands; Dickey’s academically ineligible), but so what?
I think Brad Sheehan would’ve been hard pressed to slow Hines last night, too, but at 6-11, and after scoring 18 points in the exhibition game, he doesn’t play a second? Hmmm. I know Brad needs to get stronger. He was in the weight room, in uniform, lifting weights by himself after the game.
Might he have played a little when Hines was out? Or even when Hines was in? Nobody else was slowing him down in the first half (18 points).
Tech did a poor job feeding the post. Storrs seems comfortable and efficient doing that, and Hewitt complimented him for that after the game. But he played just 10 minutes, and he’s not a point guard anyhow.
The point guards, Miller, Causey and Bell combined for five assists and five turnovers. Some of Bell’s numbers (one assist, three turnovers) may have come when he was playing off the ball, I don’t know for sure.
The offense was stale. In the second half, it was just awful. In the first half, the Jackets took a four-point lead not so much because the offense was prettier, but because the Jackets had 17 offensive rebounds (four in the second half, one in the first 14 minutes or so of the second half).
None of the point guards looked horrible, although the offense seemed to slow most dramatically when D’Andre was running it. But none of them made much of a difference for the better, either. The late flurry, small as it was, came with Causey at the helm. He hit a 3, made a nifty interior pass for an easy bucket, but … they’re going to need more at the point.
The defense rotations were not as bad as you might think from the stats (UNCG hit 26 of 53 shots, 9 of 25 3-pointers, including 6 of 16 in the second half). But the Spartans were necessarily patient much of the time, and often used much of the shot clock, waiting until they caught the Jackets ot of position. The killer came when they worked the ball and worked it, and then fed Hines as time wound down. He kicked it back out for an inside-out 3 by Koivisto, his second in as many possessions, and that was the last straw.
Tech’s press was only moderately successful relative to what you might have expected. There was a stretch in the first half when the Jackets were forcing tempo nicely, but it didn’t last. In the second, Tech didn’t press much. When you can’t score (Tech had 13 points in the first 14 or so minutes after halftime), you can’t press anyway.
I don’t think Faye played a second in the second half, and while he made some marks on defense in the first half, he put up three wild shots on offense, missing all of them. I’m not sure where he fits.
Later, the women were impressive in wiping out Davidson. Crisp in much of what they did. They have a lot of experience back, and seemed to have a very good idea of where to be and when.
Two very different showings. Better hope this was an eye-opener for the men, an aberration. It won’t take long to get an idea, although Sunday’s game at Tennessee State is not exactly like a match with the Celtics.
Matt
