AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > December > 05
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Stop thinking, and start balling
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The good news is Tech played with some moxie down the stretch Wednesday night. The bad news? Well, you need a list.
If the Jackets didn’t summon moxie or something of the sort from deep within over the final 10 minutes last night, they would be 0-3 this season against three mid-majors who entered their games against Tech with a combined record against ACC teams of 1-72.
Georgia State had Tech on the ropes, for sure, with leads of 40:32 with 15:32 remaining, and 51-45 with 10:01 left.
The Jackets haven’t played a solid 20 minutes this season. They played pretty well over the final 10 minutes Wednsday to win by 5 against a team that lost by 30 to Florida State.
After missing four straight free throws (three by Jeremis Smith, one by Matt Causey), Tech made its final eight. That’s progress.
And Causey, Lewis Clinch and Zack Peacock made several critical plays down the stretch. It’s great that Peacock (17 points) is back, but where have some other players gone? Anthony Morrow, who was scoreless in the first half Saturday at Vandy, made Tech’s first basket, and then hit 2 of 9 the rest of the way to finish with 7 points. Jeremis may still be injured (back). Alade Aminu, who was replaced in the starting lineup by Gani Lawal, has fallen off a cliff.
He was Tech’s second-leading scorer and rebounder through the first six games, but has scored 2 in back-to-back games.
Maybe it’s just me, but he looks like he’s playing as if worried about screwing up. It looks like a lot of players are playing that way … THINKING FIRST, AND PLAYING SECOND.
Over the final 10 minutes or so, the Jackets just played. They stopped seeking perfection, and just played. That seems a solid strategy. Play your butt off, like Wednesday night spectator Mario West once did, and worry later in film study about your mistakes. Don’t think about that stuff on the court.
Causey played 31 minutes at the point after starting, Miller 9. Bell played all of his minutes, I’m pretty sure on the wing.
Causey pushes the ball instinctively, which Hewitt prefers. He was pushing with a rocket on his back over the final 10 minutes.
He made a fabulous long pass, cross-court, on the run to Clinch for a 3-pointer to tie the game at 58 with 6:28 left. Clinch dribbled into the middle of the lane on the next possession, elevated in traffic, and hit a big 16-footer.
Peacock’s jumper with 5:13 left gave the Jackets the lead for good, at 60-58.
A few minutes later, Causey poked the ball loose from Kevin Lott near the top of the (defensive) arc, pushed, and still couldn’t separate from Lott. Good thing Jeremis was busting his you-know-what to catch up. Still, a helluva play was yet to come from Causey. He probably wouldn’t have made the shot with Lott looming, but kept his dribble, pulled up hard under the basket, and after a 180-degree turn hit the hard-charging Smith for a layup. He missed the ensuing free throw, but Causey led a runout on the next play and fed the ball hard and deep to Clinch for a dunk and a 64-58 lead with 3:02 left.
Free throws sealed the deal; two by Causey, two by Clinch, two by Peacock, and two more by Clinch.
This was shaping up as a nightmare for Tech, playing at State for just the second time, and first time since 1973 (a loss). The crowd was jacked. UNC-Greensboro was 0-24 against ACC schools, and beat Tech. Winthrop was 1-29 against the ACC, and beat Tech. State was 0-19 against ACC schools (both wins against Tech came in the 70s, when Tech wasn’t in the ACC).
Tech can thank Paul Hewitt’s friendship with Ga. State AD Mary McElroy (also a neighbor, and former Tech association AD) for what almost happened. He joked with her after the game that he was not going to be in a good mood when the kids are picked up for car pool Thursday morning.
He wasn’t in a good mood Wednesday night, either. The Jackets ran into three blue streaks. The Panthers (2-5) and their crowd first, and then Hewitt. He saved his blue for the post-game, where players only were his audience.
At 4-4, this team is below where it wants to be, likely should be. Talent isn’t the issue, even if the point guard situation is unsettled (it didn’t completely settle itself in one night, by the way). This is not to say the Jackets should be 8-0, or 7-1, or that they have the material to be a 23-win team.
But tough schedule or not, they have the makings of better than 4-4 with a 5-point win at Georgia State.
The Jackets, though, need to stop thinking, and start playing. Clinch said after the game, “We’re focusing so hard on execution … “
They need to do everything with more force. Trying hard isn’t enough, and sometimes they don’t try hard enough anyway. This team can’t afford anything but max effort all the time. And they have to attach force to their actions on every play.
Just play fellas, and leave the quest for perfection to gymnasts.
