AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > March > 12 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWhat memories of Jeremis, A-Mo have you?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Talking to Anthony Morrow the other day, for a story that will post tonight and run in Thursday’s paper.
He almost went out of his way to say, “I want to be remembered for something.”
I’ll have more specifics in the story, but I’ve heard it said that that recruiting class — Morrow, Jeremis Smith, Zam Frederick, Ra’Sean Dickey — under-achieved.
That’s a tough call, and subject to each person’s opinion, but it’s worth pointing out that when they came in (fall 2004), they had a tried and true point guard (Jack). Made the NCAA tournament that spring, but went out in the second round.
A lot of people considered that underachievement; most of the national title game team was back. That team was wracked with injuries throughout the season, never really hit a long stride.
Then, Jack left school a year early and the highly-touted PG recruit who was to apprentice for a a year and then take over (Austin Jackson) opted for baseball instead.
So there was no point guard their sophomore season, which was, of course, a disaster. Zam transferred, which was probably in the best interests of both him and the program, and last season Morrow was injured at first, and then sacrificed — Hewitt’s words — with the coming of Crittenton and Young.
They left, there goes another PG. Dickey waffled last season, battles knee problems to this day, fell ineligible last fall, and then redshirted in part because of continuing knee issues.
Morrow and Smith are Tech’s leading scorers this season. Smith is the leading rebounder, Morrow third I believe.
Effort has never been an issue. Lack of continuity at point guard has been.
We’ll see if they make any memories in Charlotte.
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Comments
By John
March 12, 2008 9:19 AM | Link to this
I will always remember that sweet shot of Morrow’s and how Smith from his freshman year to today was always the first guy to step in front and take a charge. These guys deserve all the praise in the word.
By HIAWASSEE
March 12, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this
SOMEONE SHOULD TELL THE A/D THAT THE SOLUTION TO SOME OF TECH’S POOR SPORTS PERFORMANCE WOULD BE TO INSTRUCT THE COACHES TO RECRUIT ANY WHITE BOY WITH THE FIRST NAME OF MATT.
MATT HARPRING, MATT CAUSEY, MATT WEINERS COME TO MIND.
By Richard
March 12, 2008 10:48 AM | Link to this
No memories of any of them. Well, I do remember Zam Frederick dribbling off his knee but that’s it. These guys haven’t done anything memorable.
On the other hand, it would take all day to list memories of Jack, Bynum, Elder, Lewis, Muhammad, Schenscher, McHenry and Moore.
By Matt Winkeljohn
March 12, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
Uh, name was Weiters
By ga_tech_92
March 12, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
Morrow had a sweet shot and would have flourished if we had a good point guard (CPH’s fault).
Smith is a beast…fighting like heck for every loose ball…getting steals…Don’t mess with Texas!
Thanks for playing your hearts out guys!
By ben
March 12, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
I don’t know if they underachieved as much as they just weren’t that good. Now, maybe that’s the coaches fault for never developing them, but when you compare them to other stars that came through the program, they just don’t measure up. I always felt that Jeremis was two inches too short to be great at his position. Morrow was a one-trick pony who could never do anything but stand in a stationary position and wait for the ball. Maybe that would have worked on a team full of stars. Dickey suffers from what all the Paul Hewitt players have suffered from- one play he looks like a superstar, the next ten he looks like a junior college level player overmatched in the ACC.
By Dale
March 12, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this
These losers will be forgotten as soon as the season ends.
By scooter11
March 12, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this
Hiawassee: Don’t forget the greatest contributor to gt lore - MATT Winklejohn.
By Matt Winkeljohn
March 12, 2008 2:18 PM | Link to this
Uh, that’s Winkeljohn, not Winklejohn
By scooter11
March 12, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this
Hiawassee: Don’t forget MATT Winklejohn. Loved the Matt ‘Weiners’ reference; no further comment necessary.
By scooter11
March 12, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this
Spelling is apparently irrelevant.
By coot
March 12, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this
Scoot11, as a dog you should feel right at home….most dogs cannot even spell D-O-G.
ps…as a frequent flyer, evidently you love Tech…can’t fool us! lol
By Rags
March 12, 2008 8:55 PM | Link to this
Matt, thanks for another good blog. I am not a basketball historian, just an interested fan, but it seems to me that the high water point of GT basketball, at least under Hewitt, was the 2 point Kansas loss on New Year’s Day, when Elder got hurt and we dropped a 14 point (or maybe 16 point) lead. Literally, from that point forward, it was like the heart went out of the program. We still played some great games, but after that we played like we were looking over our shoulders waiting for more bad luck. After that injury, GT became a tentative team. Not sure if it’s fair or not, but none of this recruiting class - or any subsequent recruiting class, really - has been able to consistently reverse that trend. Even classes with top 5 NBA picks. It has been debated endlessly if it’s talent or coaching or recruiting or the lure of the NBA, but the results are in the record book. They are fine young men, and I appreciate their contributions, but they is nothing memorable about their class except they were there when the slide from prominence began.
By yellowblood
March 13, 2008 6:59 AM | Link to this
I don’t know what to say about these players. Did they attend Tickle Piles or not? Don’t know. Never saw them at a Pile and they never seemed to play loose so I assume Paul kept them from attending.
By GTFAN
March 13, 2008 11:47 AM | Link to this
AMO and Jeremis are warriors with more class than many of the idiots who missuse the free will given us by the almighty by making idiotic comments on these blogs.
Great job guys, our program is a class act because of you. Thanks for all of the hard work the last four years. Have a blast in Charlotte and yes….”make some memories”.
Go Jackets!!
By SteveN
March 13, 2008 2:41 PM | Link to this
Agree, their recruiting class underacheived. They were VERY highly touted coming in and never lived up. Even Zam was highly touted (SC Mr. Basketball).
Smith is very effective when he plays the Dennis Rodman role, but not when he tries to create for himself. He should stick to hustling and getting put backs.
A-Mo is a very stationary player, he has developed a little bit of an ability to drive, but he always pulls up at the free throw line, he never takes it all the way to the basket.
I love their effort and enthusiasm but they just aren’t that great. Hope things get better next year!
By m sorrell
March 13, 2008 3:02 PM | Link to this
It would be a mistake to judge the impact of Jeremis and AMo (and to a lesser degree-Zam and RaSean) solely by wins and losses. At the end of the day, they were “program players” who wanted to win more than pile up individual accolades. It is a testament to their character and their love for GT basketball that they embraced Coach Hewitt’s desires over those which would have served them well personally. In my book, there is a name for players like that— “winners”.
By GT80
March 13, 2008 4:21 PM | Link to this
Here’s how I will remember them. Two solid individuals who always played hard. They weren’t great but they were pretty good, they stayed 4 years, got their degrees and became Tech men.
And Hiawassee, go away. If you are connected to Tech in anyway you are an embarrassment.
By Linda
March 29, 2008 7:39 AM | Link to this
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