AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 12 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USMan, my brain is raining!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been a while, but I’m feeling a whole lot better and that’s bad for those who think I get paid by the word (I really, really wish). I’ll go easy, though, and stick with quick thoughts, minimal depth. We’re skimming rocks across the top today, not dropping anchors.
Hoopsters have to close 6-2 and win at least one in the ACC tournament to have NCAA tournament life, or go 5-3 and go to the finals of the ACC. That still might not be enough. If that 6-2 includes a win at Duke, though, odds go up.
Say what you want about Tech’s tough schedule, but the Jackets are paying the steepest price right now for losses to much lesser lights than Indiana, Kansas, UConn or UNC. The drops to UNC-Greensboro, Georgia and Florida State (which was, remember, way undermanned when in town) are still stuck in the throat. No way to wash those clunkers down; they’re like balled-up barbed wire in the esophagus. Winthrop is a decent team, and that was at a neutral site. UNC-Greensboro at home? And Georgia is terrible. Those two games more than any other haunt.
Toughness wasn’t the problem at UConn Saturday. Having to be tough as nails over and over and over was. The Jackets mucked up their season so badly over the first 16 games (7-9) that each game since has carried enough extra weight that Tech has been like a fighter with days off between brawls instead of months. Never mind the bumps and bruises; not enough time to ice the old brainpan between throwdowns. Every game so critical. So with a little less than 7 minutes left at UConn, the Jackets became the rubber band that was stretched too far for too long. Snap! That wasn’t physical (although getting crushed on the boards was). It was mental. You can only stay wired so tight for so long.
Moe Miller will be pretty good next year. He’s getting tougher, which is most important. I personally don’t see Iman Shumpert playing point guard. I see Miller at PG, Shumpert and Bell at the wings, Lawal and Peacock down low. Clinch and Storrs off the bench on the wings, Alade and Dickey backing up in the post. Sheehan?
Backup PG? TBA. That’s a development to be developed.
On football, JC Lanier is a heck of a way to start for next year. In 2009, there will be about 27 new Jackets. A coupla early enrollees who will count against 2008, and then the max for the ‘09 signing class.
“We’re definitely going to sign 25 next year,” said recruiting coordinator coach Giff Smith. “We had 23 [scholarships] this year, and after the coaching transition we were not just going to take kids to fill extra spots.”
So the Jackets signed just 20. They’re holding for Terrelle Pryor and others.
Just kidding, although Pryor listed Tech long, long ago on his list of possibilities. I remember asking one of the alleged recruiting experts about that (Pryor had like 11 schools on his list when I saw it many months ago), and I was told, ‘Don’t believe anything until he sets foot on campuses, including unofficials.’ Good advice, I guess. Who knows, though? He could end up anywhere and I wouldn’t be surprised.
Paul Johnson may recruit preferred walk-ons more actively than Chan Gailey. Hard to say yet.
Lady hoopsters are on the rise, but clearly not yet in the cut with the elite. That’s not an indictment; just fact. At least they’re in the same room these days. Not long ago, they couldn’t get in the building.
Anybody ready for baseball?
Later,
Matt
Comments
By GT
February 12, 2008 6:29 PM | Link to this
We any good at baseball this year?
By Mike Knobler
February 12, 2008 7:00 PM | Link to this
GT
You should be OK at baseball. Problem is that the rest of the ACC is strong again. North Carolina, Miami, Virginia, Clemson and Florida State all have a lot going for them. ACC coaches picked you guys fourth in your division.
By Blue Fox
February 12, 2008 7:11 PM | Link to this
If Anthony Allen does indeed transfer to Tech from Louisville, watch out of ‘09, he could easily have as much impact as Tashard Choice did in coming in from Oklahoma.
By eyeforaneye
February 12, 2008 7:39 PM | Link to this
If UGA has a bad team , and they beat Tech , what does that make Tech ?
By Wreckhorngoes THWUGAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
February 12, 2008 7:57 PM | Link to this
I share some of your impressions of the basketball team, and think that Coach Hewitt should not be let off the hook for yet another mediocre season. When your most popular and exciting player (Causey) is not even someone you recruited, and your flirting with .500 or worse again in the conference, you should be re-evaluating your methods and approach. If we had 3 NBA players last year, why weren’t we better? And why do DRad and the Tech community ignore the fact that we’ve only had one winning conference record during PH’s tenure? I like the man and hope he stays on in some capacity, but let’s quit being timid and make a change this year. Much as I like football, we must do better in basketball when we’re in the ACC (!!!) than losing to a bad team from Athens and worse teams from lesser schools. Hewitt was a good hire image-wise, but he hasn’t gotten it done on the court…and he’s had much longer than he should have.
By GT GRAD
February 12, 2008 8:00 PM | Link to this
A sensible response to “eyeforaneye”:
It means GT has a pretty good basketball team who had a bad night and lost to a mediocre basketball team…..nothing more; it happens every year!
Be careful what you type…….when GT beats UGA at football, what does that “make” UGA?? GT has a dry spell right now, but we have won 38 and tied 5 of the 101 games in the series.
Why do so many of the UGA bloggers have to be so freak’n negative?
By techer head
February 12, 2008 9:20 PM | Link to this
matt, i cant imagine hewitt starting a freshman(shumpert) over a senior(clinch) and there is no way dickey wont start next year, he’s an absolute beast in the paint. never underestimate a 5th year big man full of talent ready to explode.
By Wrecker1
February 12, 2008 11:05 PM | Link to this
techer head, I don’t want to be too negative about TECH players but Dickey by no stretch of the imagination has been a beast in the paint. About 20% of the time he has been very good and about 20% of the time he’s either been bad or non-existant. I believe he has the tools to be a very good college center but he has yet shown the consistency. I also believe that some of Dickey’s problem has been the lack of effort to get the ball inside which I believe is a reflection back on Hewitt. I do hope after sitting for a year Dickey is ready to explode but after Gawal has a year under his belt he will be hard to displace underneath.
By RAMBLE ON!
February 12, 2008 11:14 PM | Link to this
Wreckhorngoes THWUGAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Amen bro!!! I think DRAD is going to give him another year. We’ll strive for the bubble and maybe become a one and done team once again.
I’ve seen these movies too many times.
By Fortech
February 13, 2008 12:48 AM | Link to this
From what I have seen of Shumpert, he could start the next game if he was eligible. The kid is special, very, very special.
By GT66
February 13, 2008 5:16 AM | Link to this
Hewitt has proven that he cannot coach in the ACC and cannot recruit ACC caliber players. He still does not go after any outstanding white players. Chan Gailey had a Much better record against ACC opponents than Hewitt does and he lost his job. Hewitt should not be give another year and should be fired.
By WFC
February 13, 2008 6:33 AM | Link to this
Miller will be fine at the point next year. Bring in a “pass first” guy from Jr. College to back him up.
Dickey will help if healthy. He’s inconsistent but a very skilled offensive player in the low post… strong with a soft touch. He could very easily have had three fouls on the big Conn. center in the first half last Sat. Would have changed the game.
I hate the psychological damage that having “one and dones” has on a college team… GTs problem last year. PH needs to recruit players whose mamas ALREADY HAVE NICE HOUSES. Young I could live with. Crit was a disaster! Who cares what the Memphis Grizz’s do? I hate the NBA.
By gtfan
February 13, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this
you read it here first… look for paul hewitt to try and force a square peg into a round hole.
he will try an hurry up the process of making schumpert into an nba pg at the expense of the gt team.
the fact that paul hewitt can not recruit good white players is not a coincidence it is an indictment.
i find it odd that paul hewitt would head the BCA yet he cant seem to find it within himself to recruit white players.
many folks would call that reverse descrimination.
its time for teflon paul to take a hike.
By Shumpert
February 13, 2008 8:27 AM | Link to this
Techer head,
A true freshman in college basketball isn’t what it you used to be. There are countless number of freshman who are carrying their teams right now. Shumpert will definitley start next year. The guy is a five-star top 5 PG coming out next year and a top 20 player in the country.
By WFC
February 13, 2008 8:50 AM | Link to this
I like PH and think he’s a decent coach. There are some concerns:
He seems to have turned the GT program into a farm team for the NBA. Most GT fans could care less about the stupid NBA or whether Crit’s mom has a new house.
PH seems uncomfortable with white players. I don’t know what to make of that. Sheehan will transfer.
GT seems capable of playing only one good half per game.
GT is doing better on the road.
By JustMe
February 13, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this
I have faith in PJ. Hope that he gets walk ons from the track team (for the speed).
Yes, our basketball team is paying for those early losses. But, remember that we had a couple of unexpected departures. The team had to re-group during those early games that resulted in losses. Obviously, they are playing much better now. Is it too late for the NCAA? Probably.
By yellarjacket4life
February 13, 2008 9:56 AM | Link to this
I agree with WFC. I think Miller is going to be a solid point guard, but it sure would have been nice for him to have the opportunity to watch and learn from Critt for at least one year. Losing Critt really crippled this team mentally and physically. It has taken us about 16 games to find our rhythm and for guys to understand their roles. Losing your starting point guard early to the NBA or for any other reason is disastrous for any ACC team.
If anyone saw the UVA vs UNC game last night, they a UNC team who looked very vunerable without their starting point guard. They had no rhythm offensively and had to settle for contested jump shots. Not to mention Singletary was carving up their defense. UNC looked like a totally different team without Lawson.
My point is any ACC team (even UNC or Duke) is just an average team without a proven point guard. I gotta give the Jackets some credit for playing hard and trying to turn their season around without having Critt to run the show. They are trying to make a run at the NCAA tourney berth with a true freshman and a walk-on senior who have never played a minute of ACC caliber basketball until this year.
If Lawson left early for the NBA last year, do you think UNC would be 22-2 this year? I think not. They definitely would not be #5 in the country. Although their record would probably be a little better than ours, because of the level of talent they have coming in every year and they also have Hansbrough.
We are finally playing decent basketball, but it may be too late. We have 11 losses already and we still have to travel to Clemson and Duke. 6-2 the rest of the way would leave us at 17-13 with only the ACC tourney left. We have played a very tough schedule and we’ve had plenty of chances to build our resume, so I don’t think 18-14 will be enough.
By WPinAZ
February 13, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
I’m tired of hearing about how the “one and doners” have ruined the GT basketball team. Tell that to NC, Duke, Kansas. I’m more concerned about the juniors and Seniors that PH has recruited who simply can not compete consistently at this level. Funny, the juniors and seniors at BUTLER, or WASHINGTON STATE, or even DAYTON don’t seem to have a problem competing against top talent. I just think PH has gone as far as he can. The white players thing has some merit. VANDERBILT certainly seems able to compete with a few basic - non track star - white players? And VANDERBILT is no picnic of an academic school either, so I’m tired of hearing that excuse also. (See STANFORD??) And why doesn’t Sheehan get any playing time at all? He red-shirted last year, he should at least use up some fouls? If he can’t play, why was he recruited? I like John Calipari’s philosophy - “I want players who can play NOW. If you can’t play, you probably don’t want to come here.” It’s coaching, plain and simple. We need a new coach, fresh blood. PH, you’re a helluva nice guy, but PH…it’s time to say good bye.
By GT80
February 13, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this
Ahh, the Bball blog I’ve been looking for…
Is it the coach or is it the player?
That was the question I had to ask after watching the last of the UCONN game. With 7 minutes to go we had a tie-game, then a 3 pt deficit due to a lapse by Miller in checking his man off the boards and a great shot by UCONN. But from that point on, we took 12 shots and Zach Peacock took 6 of them. He was 1-5 for 3’s and hit a put back of a missed Causey 3. That included 2 straight missed 3’s by Zach with 20 and 15 seconds left on the shot clock to start the run from being down 3 to down 10. Our best scorer, Morrow, took and made one shot in the last 7 minutes!
I think Peacock has some game and he has proved an ability to knock down the occasional 3. I feel like you don’t want to stifle a guys game, but at what point do you have to pull him off the court and rip his head off until he understands that down the stretch in a tight game he is not the #1 option at the offensive end. Is this just the kid getting lost in the flow and thinking he has the game to be a star, or is this a problem with the coach allowing him to have the freedom to take these shots.
And guess what, everybody’s now favorite Matt Causey also went 0-3 on 3’s during this stretch. So in the last 7 minutes of a tight game, we took 12 shots and 2 guys took 9 of them and made 2.
Additionally, have you noticed that in two other losses to top flight teams, against Kansas and UNC, who do you think had the turnovers and missed shots and the end of the games that caused us to lose. That’s right, in the Kansas game Peacock threw the ball away trying to pass to Causey and in the UNC game Peacock missed two shots after being fed the ball by Causey.
If I see this tandem screw up the end game again this year I’m going to puke.
We still have a chance at the tourney but we better beat Clemson tomorrow night or else it’s done.
By kshizzle
February 13, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this
Dickey will start at Center. Him not being there is the reason we are struggling on the boards. Jeremis might be the best pound for pound rebounder and Lawal will be good as well, but one thing Dickey was always able to do was defensively rebound. Sure his inconsistancy was madening, but there were games where he dominated offensively and defensively. Given his last chance to make something of his college career (with a chance to move up to the next level) here’s hoping he understands what he needs to do. He makes our offense way better if he does all that he needs to do. He can knock down the midrange jumper with the best of big men. He demands a double team in the post, as his low post moves are top notch. So if he can make the quick move when given the chance or he can make the good pass when doubled we should be way more efficient. Also having Lawal down low at the same time will be very hard for anybody to deal with. Clinch and Shumpert should be able to light it up from the outside next year.
By RAMBLE ON!
February 13, 2008 11:38 AM | Link to this
The only way we should keep Hewitt is if we go to the sweet sixteen this year.
If we make it to the Big Dance then obviously we’ve gone on a nice ACC run, so we should have momentum going into the tourney. Enough to carry into the Sweet sixteen. If not, we’ve probably been eliminated again, by a less talented team.
If we don’t make the tourney (screw the NIT)…he should be fired. Losing the games we have at the beginning of the year to sorry teams is Hewitt’s fault. He has not out coached anyone since the 2004 run.
Every season since then has ended on a crappy note for a team that underachieved and got out coached the majority of the games.
…next year will be no different, start slow, juggle the line up, go on a small run, and get eliminated quickly in the ACC tourney and maybe the NCAA (if we make it).
Lets raise the bar back to where Cremins had it, or higher.
By Yurtle_the_turtle
February 13, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this
This team is simply mediocre, which reflects PH’s teams. I’m tired of PH and all the accolades given to him. What has he accomplised? Name me one guy he coaced up? Where are all the recruits and what does next year’s look like? I don’t even watch anymore. I’ve gone past being mad to simply “I don’t care”. I can’t even tell you when we play our next game.
By RAMBLE ON!
February 13, 2008 11:51 AM | Link to this
with Hewitt, everyone talks about next years team instead of this years team.
By WPinAZ
February 13, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this
Yurtle…….well…..he DID coach up LUKE. I will give him credit (or was it one of his assistant coaches who is no longer here??) for that. Bad as Luke was as a Fresh and Soph, he was rather decent and dependable by the time he graduated. I remember strong performances against DUKE in the ACC tourney (19 and 12), and I remember him killing OK ST and holding his own against Kansas in the dance. For that, i’ll give him props.
By Hugh Foster
February 13, 2008 12:27 PM | Link to this
Fouls! Too, too many. Look at the UConn game. UConn with 32 foul shots out of 40; GT only 8 made. There’s the ball game right there. And this has been the trend game after game after game; giving away too many points by fouling the opposition! Being aggressive on defense is fine, but do it without fouling. It must be in the coaching.
By ben
February 13, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this
Sorry fellas, but the truth is that we need extrordinary coaches to lift a mediocre program to championship heights. Cremins had his moments and Ross had his, but other than that, we are a mediocre program that hopes for miracles. So, I would say we should hire an AD like Homer. He’s the one that turned Tech around. I think that the last AD let us slide and the jury is still out on D-Rad.
By Vince Dooly
February 13, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
I have always been a Tech fan! I hate UGA.
By chill out
February 13, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this
Hewitt has only missed the tournament twice. We are squarely on the bubble this year after playing a ridiculous schedule. Hewitt is the first one to admit that he made this schedule with the idea that we would have Crit and Young back. The good thing about our schedule is that our RPI is a lot higher than you would think with our overall record. With that being said we have to win at Clemson tomorrow night. But, at least Hewitt has found a way win on the road, he’s done a good job this year in my opinion.
By ben
February 13, 2008 2:38 PM | Link to this
Man, my brain is raining!
Did you come up with that line yourself or did someone from the writer’s guild help you with it?
By BobinBuford
February 13, 2008 3:03 PM | Link to this
text to be linked
See above for an advance look at next year for the Jackets.
By GT80
February 14, 2008 8:41 AM | Link to this
For all of you that want to fire Hewitt, tell me who you want as our coach. Who are we going to get that is better. And don’t say “anybody will be better”. That was actually the case with Gailey but not so with Hewitt. Think the Kentucky folks are happy they ran Tubby out of town?