AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 20 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USPlaying with ankle weights on the brain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I wasn’t at the Tech game Sunday. Took a rare game off to take my kids skiing for the first time. We went to Wolf Laurel in North Carolina, which is nothing special but very good for a first-time outing. We had a blast.
I know the Jackets played poorly. I’m told Miami played poorly as well. The big problem was turnovers, even though Miami wasn’t really pressing or anything.
Even without seeing the game, my theory is this team is just tired. I don’t mean physically, but mentally. Just worn down.
Paul Hewitt doesn’t necessarily agree with me, based on a conversation we had this afternoon, but my theory is that all the time spent on the proverbial bubble — which the Jackets have slipped off of — was fatiguing.
I’m not excusing it, or accusing it, just stating my theory. I could be altogether wrong.
But the nature of that game last week at Clemson, and the idea of turning the ball over 22 times without seeing pressure defense leads me to believe there is a killer lack of attention to details. That’s laziness or fatigue. I don’t think this team is lazy, just deflated.
It’s not as simple as saying they don’t have chemistry. I don’t know that their chemistry is bad. I don’t sense that. But this team has to be on its toes to compete, and when the Jackets are not “on,” they’re way off because they have no singular sensation-type players to elevate everybody else.
I think as a group, this team has a short attention span, and when you throw into the equation the psychological duress they’ve operated under for some time, you end up with a team that appears intermittently lost.
Comments
By BW
February 20, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this
Unfortunately, Tech stinks. Hewitt gambled that Critt and Thadd would be around this year, and sadly they aren’t. Still no consistent point guard play, no player who can create his own shot (Clinch, what happened to you?), and this team is toast. Put a fork in ‘em. Got to hope some new blood comes in and pumps life into the program. I won’t miss Anthony Morrow, tell you that much, guy disappears more than David Copperfield. Sad really. This team could’ve been something with Thadd & Critt, that’s for sure. But this hasn’t been Hewitt’s finest hour either. He’s got another two years, in my estimation. Hope he puts the pieces back together…
By StingerSplash
February 20, 2008 2:51 PM | Link to this
If they’re so mentally tired, why isn’t everybody else in their position afflicted as well? The question should be, why does it manifest itself so with this team and not with others? Why are they allowed to be mentally drained? It’s bad enough they do a poor job of thinking basketball before being “tired.”
By Gordon
February 20, 2008 3:36 PM | Link to this
When Michael Adams insisted that a change be made in late 2000 with their head football coach, Dooley wanted to give him one more year. Adams said no because there was no reason to believe they wouldn’t be having the same conversation the next year at the same time.
Is there any reason to believe we won’t be having this same conversation about Hewitt the same time next year? We know what he can do and what he can’t do. Maybe there is no one better out there and this is what we should expect. I just think we have too much talent and too much experience to be 11-13. We have underachieved for 3 straight years in my opinion.
By GTBL
February 20, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
I am mentally tired of watching.
By Matt Winkeljohn
February 20, 2008 4:14 PM | Link to this
Stingersplash, Gordon …
In suggesting that Tech is suffering from mental fatigue, I also suggested why (if not why others in their situation) are in that predicament. Remember, this is all my theory. I’m not stating any of this as fact.
The why? The tightrope they walked for so long. In sum, because their record was so mediocre coming out of preseason play and into the ACC, and then made worse by an 0-3 ACC start. Every game then took on multiplied magnitude. They were forced to play catch up. Many teams that have to play catchup don’t know they have to play catchup until the final 6-10 games. Tech knew with 15 or 16 to go.
Why did Tech have to play catchup? It’s not as simple as saying their schedule was brutal, and put together on the assumption that Crittenton and/or Young would be around.
Sure, that’s part of this, but the greater reality in my opinion is that the Jackets fell way, way behind the proverbial 8-ball with three losses that stick out more than all others, and none of them were Winthrop.
They were UNC-Greensboro at home in the season opener to set a very ominous tone, at Georgia, where the Bulldogs are awful, and at home to Florida State, which is decent at home when healthy. The ‘Noles were not healthy, though, not by a long shot, and that game was at Tech.
Those three losses made Tech’s hole exponentially deeper. And the losses had noting to do with strength of schedule. They had everything to do with what I would call a collective attention deficit disorder.
And frankly, I would suggest others in Tech’s position — which is to say rumbling along at or near .500 with just over half the season gone as the Jackets were when they began their official tightrope walk (with five of the six on the road, mind you) — more often than not have fared about the same way.
And that is poorly. I’m not going to do it, but I bet if you research and find 10 teams that were 8-9 or thereabouts at the same time Tech was, they’re in a similar predicament to that of the Jackets now. Or worse.
When you’re playing desperation ball with more than 10 to go, a couple loses let the air out of the balloon.
As for Adams’ methods with the football coach at Georgia, who cares? But I’ll say this: Donnan was winning at a clip below what the Bulldogs wanted, and — this is important — losing often enough to Tech to trigger alarm. The guy wasn’t winning friends and influencing people, either. He was not exactly uniformly appreciated, not Mr. Warm and Fuzzy. Plus, the president wanted to put his own stamp on the athletics program. There were a bunch of factors. Very rarely on most campuses in this situation does the president factor so prominently into matters.
I don’t think Dr. Clough operates remotely like Adams.
But if you happen to think AD Dan Radakovich has an ego similar to that of Adams, and I for one do not, then he’s already made a stamping move of a similar sort by replacing Tech’s football coach.
I would also suggest that every time a coach is fired it is in part because the AD (or in the aforementioned rare case the president) does not believe another year would make any difference. Doesn’t that go without saying? Wasn’t that a factor in the dismissal of Gailey?
This is wandering all over the place. Sorry to get sucked in and make it worse.
Matt
By matt Winkeljohn
February 20, 2008 4:19 PM | Link to this
Also, in transposing sports, sure, Georgia was greatly rewarded for Adams’ meddling by landing Richt. But remember, Adams also meddled in the basketball program, and the Dogs landed Mr. Harrick.
Argh! Enough!
Matt
By Gordon
February 20, 2008 4:42 PM | Link to this
Yes, it goes without saying that if the A.D. does not think another year will make a difference, the coach is fired. That is my point. Adams (and you’re right - it should have been Dooley) short-circuited the waiting because he had no reason to believe anything would change. Donnan was Donnan, Gailey was Gailey, and Hewitt is Hewitt.
I think DRad DOES want to put his stamp on the program. That is not so much a function of ego, but of believing that every program should either be winning or OR AT LEAST IMPROVING over a period of time. Any program can have a bad year, but it seems we have been stagnant for 3 years now.
Again I ask, why should Georgia Tech be 11-13 given it’s talent, experience, and depth? Why are we no better now than we were in November? Haven’t we asked these same questions for 3 years now? And finally (and most importantly), what leads anyone to believe we won’t be asking them again in February 2009?
By CC
February 20, 2008 4:43 PM | Link to this
Lets see… some definitions of words often thrown around —
Over-achievers: They exert the effort needed to play up to the maximum potential of their skills, but don’t always. SHAME! LAZY!
Under-achievers: They play worse than they actually could if they exerted maximum effort. SHAME! LAZY!
If those two words are used to describe the current Yellow Jackets, then either way they’re described perfectly: A shameful, lazy team.
Something’s wrong in heads and hearts, not in skills.
Maybe next year. It’s too late for ‘08.
By Gordon
February 20, 2008 5:05 PM | Link to this
Matt, I appreciate you providing this forum and taking the time to respond to some of our opinions. I wanted to make one final point.
I remember when Gailey was fired, one of the things I noticed DRad talking about was the “product” that was being put on the field. He was talking about more than winning and losing. I think GTBL’s post above says a lot. He said he was mentally tired of watching Tech basketball. I know exactly how he feels. It isn’t so much the losing, it is the frustrating inconsistency from game to game, knowing what they are capable of producing (North Carolina, Kansas) and what they too often produce (UGA, Clemson). They aren’t fun to watch for that reason. It’s not a good product for many of the same reasons Gailey’s football team wasn’t.
By Matt Winkeljohn
February 20, 2008 5:10 PM | Link to this
Also, in defense of Hewitt, he lost two very good freshmen players. That makes a difference.
Ohio State lost three freshmen to the NBA, two of them very, very, very good. The Buckeyes have a much better record than Tech, 17-9, 8-5 Big 10, but the Big 10 ain’t the ACC. Ohio State has not beaten anybody of significance, and is very much on the NCAA tournament bubble with games to go against all four teams ahead of it in the conference. They could be on the sidelines one year after playing for it all.
The point: the loss of preternaturally talented freshmen more often than not hurts bad. Ohio State was in the national title game last year. But those are not easy losses to overcome.
Neither Ohio State or Tech has stopped recruiting potential one-and-done players, though.
Tech has an incoming McDonalds All-American, and Ohio State has two, not that any of them are necessarily projected at this point to be one-and-dones. But it could happen. See Daequan Cook for Ohio State.
Like it or not, some will attach an asterisk to this season because of Crittenton and Young leaving early.
By RAMBLE ON!
February 20, 2008 7:01 PM | Link to this
AMEN GORDEN!
Thanks MATT always nice hearing what you have to say!!!
How about this John Drew guy, how many stars will he be?
By GreenJacket
February 20, 2008 8:59 PM | Link to this
It has been tough to watch. I thought Morrow and J. Smith would be very good, experienced ACC players by now. Did Clinch really come back to the team or is it an imposter? The ACC schedule has not been that tough. Tech only had to play UNC and Duke once ( and they have not even played Duke yet). I never thought Tech would have so much success against Miami in football and so little against them in hoops. Tech needs a talented point guard and some on the court leaders.
By Yurtle_the_turtle
February 21, 2008 1:24 PM | Link to this
I’m done with Paul Hewitt. Three years of bubble watching, a losing ACC record, and annual road trips that produce nothing. He is nothing more than a mediocre coach and this program is boring. I don’t even watch anymore and could not give you their schedule. I used to be able to do that. This is year 3 of apathy for me.
By ben
February 21, 2008 2:04 PM | Link to this
Thaddeus Yound got 20 and 8 for the 76ers last night. I always felt he was a great player who got tired of being shuttled in and out and not being “the man”. The fact is the team last year didn’t belong in the NCAA tourney. They lost first round ACC and NCAA. I think Hewitt has a tough time getting great players and average players to buy into his system. Mario was the only one who did last year and Bell seems to be the only one who does this year. And yea, both last year and this year, they seem to get tired of pretending to buy into his system after they see it isn’t working.