Tech

By aw

January 23, 2009 8:12 AM | Link to this

GT is out coached and comes unraveled and is beaten about the face and head with an ugly loss We await the return of Mark Price.

By Rob

January 23, 2009 8:14 AM | Link to this

0—6 coming up.

By RAMBLE ON!!!

January 23, 2009 8:26 AM | Link to this

I wonder if this guy is going to be at the game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoifMZd5Ewg

By ggodsey

January 23, 2009 8:29 AM | Link to this

For all “intensive purposes” I have a feeling we wont be hearing from ‘UGA is so last year’ for a while. What an idiot.

By BLAZER

January 23, 2009 8:32 AM | Link to this

ok techies the women upset n.c. women #2

we can be proud of that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By GT66

January 23, 2009 8:36 AM | Link to this

Is there a difference between feeling gay and being gay?

By HelluvaEngineer

January 23, 2009 9:28 AM | Link to this

Prediction: Tech gets behind early, is rattled by the raucous crown in Littlejohn, and lies down. Clemson by 22.

What’s the over/under on TOs this game? How about shooting pct and opponents shooting pctg? I’ll set the early lines to 23, 29, and 62, respectively.

Fire Paul Hewitt.

By Observer

January 23, 2009 9:29 AM | Link to this

RAMBLE ON - Great link. I always knew Clemson fans were a little unstable. I think Lewis Grizzard had the best description of Clemson. He referred to it as “Auburn with a lake”.

By sidewalk74

January 23, 2009 9:34 AM | Link to this

Two hours of irritation will start at 7:45 Saturday night. I will watch the game. Be hope full at times and disappointed in the end. It’s going to be a slow walk to 0-16 in the ACC.

By TONY SHUMPERT

January 23, 2009 9:39 AM | Link to this

Guy’s, keep the turnover’s under 12 and Clemson can be beat. When the ball goes into the post, if you can’t put it up right away, kick it back out, repost and Iman will get you the ball right back. The bigs are forcing the ball instead of reposting and that’s causing a major problem. Also, when you get the rebound, kick it to a guard and get the ball up court before the defense gets set. You can’t blame the coach if the player’s aren’t playing with common sense.

By RAMBLE ON!!!

January 23, 2009 10:05 AM | Link to this

TONY SHUMPERT, maybe you should tell Iman when you’re up by 10pts on the road with 4 minutes left…burn a little time off the clock, instead of driving straight to the basket after crossing mid-court and getting rejected TWICE.

I say this because Hewitt won’t, and I do blame the coach. You say common sense, I say fundamentals.

I do recall you proclaiming last year, how great we would be this year, um, what happen?

We stink, and we’ll stink next year too if Hewitt is on the sidelines.

By ga_tech_92

January 23, 2009 10:22 AM | Link to this

We could dominate inside, if we had good guard play with which to distrubute the ball. Big ‘if’…Clemson will kill us, because we don’t have good gaurd play. Good gaurd play is where everything starts, and ironically the position we seem to least value in recruiting. We have some of the best bigs in the game, but we can’t get them the ball….what a waste.

By TONY SHUMPERT

January 23, 2009 11:14 AM | Link to this

Ramble on. Bell is out, Smith is gone, and that wasn’t expected, and Lewis was out seven games and his legs are just now coming around. That wasn’t an offensive foul, it should have been a blocking foul because the defensive man was moving, but you knew that. Iman is just a freshman and getting better every game, and freshman never get any calls no matter what level you’re on. You can give up on the team and the coach, but I’m not.

By Jim

January 23, 2009 11:38 AM | Link to this

To all the people out there who say ‘fire Paul Hewitt,’ who do you have in mind to replace him? We’d look like Auburn football: “Thanks for taking us to the National Championship, but because of a couple bad years (mostly due to getting burned by recruits) but we’re going in a different direction.” Am I frustrated and p** off about this season? Hell yeah I am. Do I think we have as much talent as anyone else in this league? As much as anyone other than Duke or UNC, but we can play with them. Coach Hewitt has work to do (better movement in the half court offense, keeping the ball in Moe’s hands, pulling Lewis when he starts just chucking three balls from half court, yelling at Gani when he blindly barrels into double teams), but our players have got to take some responsibility for these losses, too. They’re the ones taking plays off when up by 10, not the coaches.

Hewitt’s not going anywhere this year, and probably not after next year either, no matter the end result of the season. If he can’t do anything with next years class after two years with them, however, then I agree that it’s time for Tech and Hewitt to part ways. Until then, people like Ramble On need to take their meds or take a deep breath or just chill out. It’s fans like these that make Tech the most fair weather ACC team in the league.

By CanHewitt

January 23, 2009 11:41 AM | Link to this

Tony Shumpert, you probably meant Dickey is gone. Yeah, losing Bell and Dickey was big because that forced to utilize Storrs and Foreman more than we should. But still I expected this team to go 500 in ACC. You know why? Because this team still has the talented core. Lawal, Shumpert, and Clinch are all 5 star recruits. Aminu and Peacock are decent big men, both experienced. Miller was supposed to be better this year, some said he’d have a breakout season. Well, he’s not a factor since he’s suffered an injury.
I would never give up on this team. I care more about this team than the football team. One national championship would mean more than any number of football championships to me. But I’ve given up on Coach Hewitt. Give this team to K, Roy, or Gary. They’ll be a tourney team. They wouldn’t have lost to UVA, MD, BC, and NCST. But with Hewitt, 3 wins by the end seem to be a lot. I used to tell myself and other doubters that it doesn’t matter how good the coach is unless players execute correctly. I’ve been just naive. Great coaches should help players excute better. With amount of talents that come to Tech, we deserve better than the worst team in the conference tag. We all suckered by Tech’s Final Four run in 04. Hence the contract extention for Hewitt. He gets paid more than $1 million a year. Shouldn’t we natually expect more than 0-5, probably 0-7 start.

By ga_tech_92

January 23, 2009 11:47 AM | Link to this

“giving up on the team” sounds really bad. I don’t think it’s entirely applicable to use that term without qualifiers. I think most folks wouldn’t ‘give up on the team’ based on THIS year. I think a common thread on these blogs is that the problem isn’t “this year”, the problem is “the same issues year after year”. The excuses about ‘didn’t expect this’ the first three years probably worked in a common sense way, but it’s been the same problem for much too long. The excuse doesn’t fly after this many years. If this same problem comes up year after year, wouldn’t you expect some adjustment to have been made? Only one of the guys mentioned is really a PG anyway. THAT is the problem. Year after year we try to make 2guards into PG’s…it doesn’t work…tall shooters are NOT PGs most of the time…a PG is a guy who likes to break people down off the dribble to setup team mates with open shots off of assists. We very RARELY recruit THIS sort of player. If we would have 2-3 of them at all times, we wouldn’t have the problems we have every year. We are too stupid or too stubborn to recruit real PG’s. You can’t have too many!! If your 2guard gets hurt, a PG can fill in…if your PG gets hur…a 2guard can’t really do it. There is a certain mentality to a PG that NO OTHER POSITION CAN PRODUCE…either you are a pass first ball control guy, or you aren’t…

We don’t get that. No surprize that we have massive turnovers…can’t get into our offense…and can’t keep the other team out of their offense at crunch time.

Why is it that only us ‘fringe lunic fans’ get this very obvious point?

RECRUIT MORE THAN ONE PG…teach them…love them…know that they are the most important piece on the floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Treat recrcuitment of them accordingly!! (We don’t. We won’t. We have shown it’s not in our game plan. We recruit bigs and 2guards and the occationaly PG…thus…we are always hurting at that position. It’s not rocket science. It’s groundhog day.)

By RAMBLE ON!!!

January 23, 2009 11:49 AM | Link to this

He should have been burning the clock. Yes he’s a freshman, that’s why Hewitt should have been screaming and jumping up and down, BURN THE FREAKING CLOCK, SLOW IT DOWN!!!, especially after the first drive…Nope. He does it again!

30 seconds later, it’s a five point game.

I’m amazed at all the excuses. Who knew injuries we’re part of the game?

I gave up on the coach in 2006 when the team admitted they quit. I haven’t seen any life in GT basketball since the fluke run in 2004. Fluke because the same team came back the following year to win one game in the post-season…our last post-eason win I believe.

By RAMBLE ON!!!

January 23, 2009 11:57 AM | Link to this

Shock the world and make MaChelle Joseph the Head Coach!!!!

By Rick in Warner Robins

January 23, 2009 12:22 PM | Link to this

Fire Paul Hewitt now…he’s turned the BB program into a joke. He can’t recruit and obviously can’t inspire the players. Bring back Cremins…hire anybody!

By ggodsey

January 23, 2009 12:25 PM | Link to this

‘UGA is so last year’ where are you?? Come out of your closet and talk to us…

By noddy dred

January 23, 2009 12:40 PM | Link to this

COME BE APART OF THE BEST SUPERBOWL PARTY IN ATLEAST 11 YEARS WHEN THE 2 LIVE STEWS HOST THEIR 1ST ANNUAL STEWPERBOWL PARTY AT THE LUCKY LOUNGE. JOIN ME, THE STEWS, AND A SLEW OF CELEBRITIES FEB. 1, STEWPERBOWL SUNDAY. TELL’EM NODDY SENT YOU.

By CC

January 23, 2009 12:46 PM | Link to this

Totally agree gatech92.

This team is too big. The guys down low shouldn’t be expected to always create their shots off the dribble, and lamentably, no one out front can move the ball efficiently enough to create their own shots let alone draw low defenders in order to feed the big guys under basket.

No ball handling = turnovers = no assists.

I also expect 0-16, so now I watch without getting too upset, and with no lofty expectations I will watch just in case The Miracle happens — a team who plays as a team for a win.

By Big BCH 99

January 23, 2009 12:54 PM | Link to this

As a Tech fan, I have to admit GT will get blown out. You won’t win 1 ACC game win you leave 10 or more points at the line every night (missed FT’s) & then turn the ball over 20 + times.

Besides the fact that we don’t have anybody who can consistently hit from the outside. All people do is stack the paint, foul our big guys b/c nobody on the team (guards included) can hit FT’s.

By JB

January 23, 2009 1:50 PM | Link to this

As a tech fan, i must agree with the facts. we can’t shoot, pass, inbound the damn ball, get the big defensive stop that we need, RUN A DAMN HALF COURT OFFENSE WORTH A CRAP,and don’t forget we lead the acc at 20 turnovers a game!! 20 freakin turnovers is OUR AVERAGE?? it all points to one thing….. COACHING. Plain and simple as it gets. more bad news for tech fans. the class that we are all so excited about coming in, RANKS #23 AMONG SCOUT.COM… 6 OTHER ACC TEAMS HAVE A BETTER CLASS COMING IN. this is barely a top 25 class and yes, it includes favors. favors will be one and done, and we will be a little better next year, but the same issues will remain! There is no excuse for these turnovers and how we collapse at the end of some of our games. we got blowed out by an average usc team at best, beat on our home floor by uic?? i bet they could not beat anybody in the acc on their home floor except us. then their was penn state on our home floor. they got beat by 27 the other night by west virginia if that tells you anything. then drad comes out and says he will not fire hewitt?? but you will fire chan who had gone to a bowl every year, but not hewitt? take 2004 out, and look at hewitt’s record in the acc and in the post season! you will laugh, its pathetic!! EVERY TECH FAN, SEND DRAD AN EMAIL DEMANDING TO FIRE HEWITT ASAP, AND SEND ONE ONCE A WEEK TILL HE GETS THE PICTURE! If he doesn’t, he will have continued to disgrace a once proud and respected, college basketball program. now, we are the team that all acc teams can’t wait to play! sad times with our hoops program, and a AD who refuses to do whats best for this program! I will continue to send drad emails, until he is blue in the face, or hewitt is fired!!! i would suggest the tech nation, do the same if you are as sick, as i am of watching pathetic basketball! at least we have football to look forward to!

                       THWG

By Bill

January 23, 2009 1:54 PM | Link to this

GT might just turn the ball over 30 times against the Clemson pressure and will lose this game by about 20 points.

By sidewalk74

January 23, 2009 2:05 PM | Link to this

Below are Hewitt’s overall stats at Tech. This is why I want him gone. 17 games under .500 in the ACC and will have 17 or fewer wins in 6 of 9 seasons. If you can defend his overall record then you don’t want an elite hoops program at Tech. When a coach enters his 9th season at a school any problems he has are because of the way he has recruited or decisions he has made. A lack of depth is his fault for not recruiting well. It’s not an excuse to keep him around another year.

Overall Record at Tech: 151-121 (.559), eight seasons Hewitt As A Head Coach Year School Record Conf Post-Season 2008-09 Georgia Tech 9-9 0-5 2007-08 Georgia Tech 15-17 7-9 none 2006-07 Georgia Tech 20-12 8-8 NCAA Midwest Regional 2005-06 Georgia Tech 11-17 4-12 none 2004-05 Georgia Tech 20-12 8-8 NCAA West Regional (second round) 2003-04 Georgia Tech 28-10 9-7 NCAA National Finalist 2002-03 Georgia Tech 16-15 7-9 NIT quarterfinals 2001-02 Georgia Tech 15-16 7-9 none 2000-01 Georgia Tech 17-13 8-8 NCAA West Regional

By T-Bone

January 23, 2009 2:39 PM | Link to this

First of all, if you’re going to participate in this blog, know what the hell you’re talking about. Rick in Warner Robins - You said that Paul Hewitt can’t recruit. That’s the only thing he CAN do as a Division I head coach. JB - Tech’s class is ranked #23 because the Favors commitment doesn’t count toward their rank until he officially signs in April. Come on, people! Regardless of those who don’t know what they’re talking about, this season is an absolute joke and an embarrassment for the Institute and every Georgia Tech fan in America. Paul Hewitt is NOT a good basketball coach. It’s time the powers that be realize it and bring a true basketball mind to the Flats.

By GT

January 23, 2009 2:43 PM | Link to this

Even discussing Tech like it was a hot topic is ridiculous. They have a lucky punch chance in all these games but they do not deserve any publicity. Never has so much been given and so little returned. I guarantee you not one moment’s thought has been given to in bound plays. They will before the first half is over leave the ref to pick up the ball and hold it for long periods of time as they remember or forget who is responsible for throwing the ball in, like they are so good it doesn’t matter if they allow the defense to line up for the full court press. I understand when they are on the road and ordering off a menu, the time involved for them to make up their mind can run into the hours.

By jacketbacker

January 23, 2009 3:29 PM | Link to this

Can we hire Coach Joseph to coach the boys team??

By RAMBLE ON!!!

January 23, 2009 3:43 PM | Link to this

I beat you to that one jacketbacker!

By Born2Buzz

January 23, 2009 3:48 PM | Link to this

Now that everybody is down and we are expecting nothing, we will probably win this game.

Or more likely, lose a nailbiter due to some poor execution down the stretch.

By GT66

January 23, 2009 3:59 PM | Link to this

Jim you are the one that needs to take meds to clear up your thinking. Look at his record. He does not deserve any more time. I totally agree with T-Bone and Sidewalk74 the guy cannot coach and needs to be fired. drad@athletics.gatech.edu will get e mails to him.

By GT66

January 23, 2009 4:32 PM | Link to this

I am going to be scouting some high school games this year if anyone wants to go with me. I really like to keep my on the 15 and 16 year old boys.

By jb

January 23, 2009 4:37 PM | Link to this

T-bone, not trying to sound like sour grapes here, however you are misinformed then on the rankings! look at scout on gojackets.com and look at team rankings on the national scale! They count all five jackets as clear as day on the rankings and added favors the day after he committed. Tech was not ranked at all on their prior to his decision. I know because i look at it once a week!! Not sure where you get your info from, but oliver & rice are 3 star recruits, and thats what brings the class down with the rankings. Meanwhile, duke,unc,miami,nc state,fsu,& clemson all have better classes than we do. If hewitt can’t out recruit these teams, he damn sure won’t out-coach any of them! Again, i challenge all tech fans to EMAIL OUR AD, AND OFTEN IN REGARDS TO GETTING RID OF THIS JOKE OF A COACH!

By G1

January 23, 2009 5:08 PM | Link to this

Giving the home teams the advantage, Their only chance to win a ACC game will be on February 14 against NC State. And that’s no given!

By UGA is so last year

January 23, 2009 5:11 PM | Link to this

Please. Unless your articles are going to be ‘Fire Hewitt’ - there is no need to write these articles before every game. Let me save you some time. Versus Clemson - a loss. Versus rest of our ACC schedule - all losses!!

By BravesFan79

January 23, 2009 5:39 PM | Link to this

Look…. Hewitts not going anywhere for at least the next 2 seasons…. lets be supportive and instead PUSH for new Assistants…. Kansas, UNC, Duke, all have some of the best assistants $$ can buy…. surely we can offer one a incentive package they cant refuse to come to GT and help with game planning.

By BravesFan79

January 23, 2009 5:48 PM | Link to this

JP.. .there is NO way 6 other ACC schools have better classes coming in next year than us! Ive been following the recruiting since 2 years ago… and we have a top 8 class in the NATION!

By ga_tech_92

January 23, 2009 6:09 PM | Link to this

BravesFan, I would be happy with some assistant that can teach inbounding the ball and half court offense…no doubt!

By UGA is so last year

January 23, 2009 6:18 PM | Link to this

Why should we support someone who can’t coach talented recruits when we could support anyone else? They obvioulsy couldn’t do any worse. Give someone else a chance.

By GT ALUM

January 23, 2009 6:24 PM | Link to this

Hewitt, needs to follow all the other programs that have brought back former players as assistant coaches. Former players know what it takes at that school in that conference and have the respect of the players. It’s worked well or Duke! By the way, UGA sucks.

By what if

January 23, 2009 6:36 PM | Link to this

Tech beats Clem(p)son?

By RAMBLE ON!!!

January 23, 2009 6:38 PM | Link to this

GT ALUM, Drew Berry was rejected by Hewitt.

By TechFan

January 23, 2009 7:52 PM | Link to this

Of course Hewitt rejected Drew Barry, his style of play was so up tempo, he sometimes got out of control. That lazy bunch Hewitt has playing for him would pass out on the court, if asked to play at that level.

By GT ALUM

January 23, 2009 9:25 PM | Link to this

No, it has to be a former player of Hewitt that played for him and understands his style. Barry didn’t play for Hewitt and has no idea what works with his style and how to express that to the players. It needs to be someone or some people that played for his NCAA Tourney Teams. Former players have a better understanding of the current system and care more about the program than an assistant with no ties.

By Mike

January 24, 2009 12:24 AM | Link to this

JB,

That ranking of Tech recruiting class does NOT yet include Favors, nor will it until he actually puts pen to paper to sign his LOI. Once he does, the class will be ranked in the Top 8 (at least).

By GT 90 Champs

January 24, 2009 12:32 AM | Link to this

When you hit rock bottom, the question is…how high can you bounce back up? Some of the responsibility has to be on the shoulders of the players too. Let’s see how high they bounce in their steps after two OT losses in a row. We are very close but I think the thing that sticks in everyone’s crawl is the way they lose. FT and Turnovers. It isn’t like they are getting blown out of the gym. That’s the frustrating part. I’m being optimistic b/c roundball is all we have until the lights on the flats turn on again.

By View from Atlanta

January 24, 2009 12:36 AM | Link to this

Pathetic.

By yellowblood

January 24, 2009 8:59 AM | Link to this

I have given up hope of having any well attended Tickle Piles until Hewitt is gone. The sooner the better.

By GT89

January 24, 2009 9:19 AM | Link to this

GT Alum, why would a coach only consider bringing back his players as assistants to teach his system, when his system obviously doesn’t work or win games. That philosophy works great for Duke and others because their coaches produce players who understand the game and how to win consistently. That is evident by their records. Maybe Hewitt should consider bringing in other players that have proven that they know how to win and try to learn from them. (i.e. Barry, Price, Scott, etc. or those from UNC or Duke). I do not think he smart enough to realize this or he is too stubborn to try. In either case it indicates that he is a poor coach and that is not likely to ever change.

By wreckmaniac

January 24, 2009 10:55 AM | Link to this

When you look at the 04 team that went to the NCAA champ game, other than Jarrett Jack, none of those kids came close to the NBA. Talent wise, that was a better than average team but certainly not a great team. They had all the intangibles including chemistry, desire, discipline, played well at both ends, and never quit. These intangibles are what is missing now.

By GT ALUM

January 24, 2009 11:43 AM | Link to this

GT89, Hewitt has done a much better job than you and a lot of people are giving him credit for. His 1st year he inherited a team that was awful the year before with Cremins with the addition of Marvin Lewis and took them to the NCAA Tournament and should have won the game. He’s been to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. I’m not sure if you know this but no other Tech coach has been to that game. He’s been to the NCAA Tournament 4 times, not too bad and has put a lot of kids in the NBA. Look at his body of work and settle down a bit, you’re going crazy because he’s had a couple of bad years. Cremins had his share of bad years as well. None of the Cremins era guys can help the program, it needs to be someone that played for Hewitt. I’m not sure if you know this but Duke was awful when K got the job and he brought in players that played for him and things picked up. LOOK AT THE FULL BODY WORK

By GT66

January 24, 2009 12:21 PM | Link to this

BravesFan79 you say keep Hewitt and get better assistants. The head coach is responsible for selecting, recruiting and hiring of assistants. You accidently point out another of the reasons he should be fired. He lacks judgement about many things this one included. Also, money has not been an issue in getting top flight assistants. Up and coming assistants do not to work for a loser and a racist.

By FULL BODY OF WORK

January 24, 2009 12:24 PM | Link to this

Ok, let’s look at the full body of work. One year with a winning conference record (03-04). If DRAD was doing a coaching search today, and Hewitt was coaching at another school, would he even be considered?

Hewitt As A Head Coach Year School Record Conf Post-Season 2007-08 Georgia Tech 15-17 7-9 none 2006-07 Georgia Tech 20-12 8-8 NCAA Midwest Regional 2005-06 Georgia Tech 11-17 4-12 none 2004-05 Georgia Tech 20-12 8-8 NCAA West Regional (second round) 2003-04 Georgia Tech 28-10 9-7 NCAA National Finalist 2002-03 Georgia Tech 16-15 7-9 NIT quarterfinals 2001-02 Georgia Tech 15-16 7-9 none

By GT ALUM

January 24, 2009 12:36 PM | Link to this

FULL BODY OF WORK, Hewitt’s 1st year was 200-2001.. 17-13, 8-8 in Conference Play. Wins vs. Kentucky, UCLA, Maryland, Wake (All ranked teams). The year before with Cremins as the coach and the same team plus Jason Collier, who played in the pros (rest his soul), 13-17, 5-11 in Conference Play, 8th place. The year before that 15-16, 6-10 in Conference Play. HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET.

By GT ALUM

January 24, 2009 12:39 PM | Link to this

Oh yeah, they went to the NCAA Tournament the 1st year too when no expected them to win more than 13 or 14 games and no one from that team played in the NBA (Alvin Jones was drafted with the last pick and played for about 3 months). Again, HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET

By GT66

January 24, 2009 1:02 PM | Link to this

Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

By GT

January 24, 2009 4:48 PM | Link to this

How quickly we forget? Oh I remember Dwayne Morrison and Whack. We were a football school and maybe that is what we are now. I would settle for that if that is what is happening here. For sure we are not a basketball school at least we have that to fall back on. Thank goodness Hewitt waited to put the worst team in ACC basketball on the floor after we had something to look forward to. We may never return to being a basketball school so be it. I never remember Duke or UNC falling this far but who cares we now have football.

By BravesFan79

January 24, 2009 6:01 PM | Link to this

lol….how can anyone claim that there proud were a “football school” when thats the ONE sport we have NO shot at winning a title in?? lol….. common im a football fan… but the NFL is SO Much better than CF its not even close.
You never hear of a team in ANY other sport going undefeated and still have NO shot at a national title game!!
Go Braves, Falcons, and Gt Hoops!!

By blackprix

January 24, 2009 9:05 PM | Link to this

Fans will support good coaching. Fans do not support bad coaching. The bottomline - coaches get fired and players don’t.

Accountability for any program starts and ends with the coaching. Coach Hewitt went to a Final Four - in 2004 - what has he done since then?

Recruited well but nothing to show for it. You get the kind of classes Hewitt’s gotten and you should be a competitor in the ACC - GT is not.

Way too many excuses for not accomplishing much the last 5 seasons. Fans are not happy and rightfully so. The AMC is empty, fan apathy will do that.

Hewitt is a nice guy and that’s probably what makes this difficult. But in the end, you are hired to win games, championships and get into and work your way through the NCAA Tourney. It’s not happening and hasn’t been for 5 seasons.

By HelluvaEngineer

January 24, 2009 9:23 PM | Link to this

To the Paul Hewitt defenders:

I fully recognize that he has had some very unfortunate circumstances with players leaving early, injuries, academic woes, etc. I am not judging his coaching ability purely on wins & losses, but rather the quality of basketball his teams play.

Exhibit A: lack of defense. His teams almost never defend, and it just amazes me how opposing teams consistently make high percentage of shots - NOT because they are good shooters necessarily but because they take relatively easy shots. His teams have been particularly poor inside on defense.

Exhibit B: offensive woes. Just like other teams shoot high percentage vs. Tech on average, Tech has consistently had poor shooting percentage. Again, not because we have bad shooters necessarily, but the offense lacks rhythm, and belongs in the NBA. Two skip passes and a 14 foot jumper with no off-ball movement is recipe for disaster in the ACC. Watch when other teams change defenses; it takes three of four possessions for CPH’s teams to even know what offensive set they are suppose to be in.

Exhibit C: Lack of production. Besides UNC, GT has had the most players in the NBA from the ACC ( I forget over what time frame this was, however ). With the excetpion of one outstanding year in which they had the best season in GT’s history, what have they produced? They had three NBA players in 06-07 in Critt, Young, and West, and could not win ONE NCAA game? (and barely made it in as a bubble team). CPH’s teams have never had chemsitry other than the one run they made.

Time for a change at the helm. Who do I think should replace CPH? I don’t know, that’s not my job. But there are no shortage of great coaches out there who would be an improvement over Paul Hewitt ( a nice guy who I would love to succeed here ).

By JWC

January 25, 2009 8:42 AM | Link to this

Well, for all the Hewitt haters, you need not worry because, IMO, he is clearly coaching for his job next season… Its tourney or fired next year no question. BUt in his defense, losing Crit and Young were huge blows… Clinch is a one dimensional player, SHumpert is a shooting gaurd playing point, Moe Miller has been an unmitigated disaster so far…. Youve got the walk on getting after it more than anyone out there on the floor…. What I notice most is the lack of defensive intesity, and getting in peoples grill like in 04-05, I mean they were physical as hell on defense back then, and Im not really seeing a passion for playing the defensinve end of the floor. Offense is pretty much alot of dribbling, no spacing, decent ball movement, and the turnovers, my God the turnovers…. well that pretty much sums it up. Thoughts anyone?

By GT2002

January 25, 2009 10:34 AM | Link to this

Sienna record since 2000 season without Paul Hewitt 149-122 (88-65) .549 winning percentage. Do you even think they would take him back at this point?

By ga_tech_92

January 25, 2009 11:21 AM | Link to this

I personally still maintain that the primary problem is they style of team Hewitt reruits. Let me bring up problems, and theorize about what could be a solution:

Q: How do the other teams get so many easy/open shots?

A: What I see happen is that the other team has a TRUE PG, who, as such, is smaller and quicker than our 2 guard (who is trying to be a PG). Small TRUE PG breaks down non-TRUE PG off the dribble, someone has to play help defense (leaving their man)…TRUE PG passes to the now WIDE OPEN guy…bamn…easy shot. That is what a TRUE PG does…gets his team easy shots…gets his team into the offense…controls the game.

Q: How do we have so many problems inbounding the ball and/or getting into our offense and/or getting easy shots?

A: Very often, we have a 2 guard trying to fill in or translate to PG. Most 2 guards cannot beat a TRUE PG off the dribble, as the PG is quicker latterally. Additionally, a 2 guard doesn’t think of breaking down the other team with the goal being to draw a double team and pass to the open guy for an easy shot. To further cause problems, the smaller quicker guy can usually steal the ball from the slower/taller guy more often than the other way around. THUS…we find that we cannot get open shots, have turnovers, cannot inbound…and it looks like we are discombobulated…which we are…because the PG is the team leader and controls the Defense and Offense at the Point of attack.

I submit that during Hewitt’s time, he has never had more than one guy on the team who is a half decent PG. That’s understandable for a year, but then you learn your lesson and you focus recruiting on PGs…you get 3 on your team…one guy gets hurt or tired?…you have another one…something goes wrong and a guy leaves early?…you still have 2 quality TRUE PGs on the team. Hewitt seems to like 2 guards instead of TRUE PGs, to the point that he refuses to commit 3 scholarships to the PG position. When I say the PG position, I DO NOT mean a 2 guard trying to play PG…or even a DUAL THREAT guard…I mean…GET THREE TRUE POINT GUARDS…guys who have always played PG…because it’s a mentality that you cannot just teach…if we always had three true point guards on the team, we would not have these problems.

Too many years have passed for us to believe this situation will change. Year after year Hewitt CHOOSES (CHOOSES) NOT to recruit PGs and stack them deep.

I will go a step farther. I would rather have too many PG’s than too many SG’s. A PG can fill in reasonablly well for a SG, but not visa-verse. There is just a mental skill set that a PG must have that no other player on the team can truely replace.

That’s what the problem is…and since the coach has consistently NOT solved this problem (They dont’ have to be 5 star guys even)…ultimately the blame falls right back onto Hewitt.

Hewitt doesn’t “get” the importance of a TRUE PG. If he did, he would bring in two every year in recruiting, reguardless of their “star rating”, until he was satisfied that his team had 3 quality guys to play that position.

By gt4ever

January 25, 2009 2:14 PM | Link to this

“We’re not a bad basketball team,” says senior guard Lewis Clinch said. “It’s all about perseverance at this point of the season.”

I agree with Mr. Clinch, this team is not a bad team. It’s a TERRIBLE team. Good grief guys, don’t you have any pride! Can’t shoot a free throw, can’t play defense for the whole game, and you can’t play team ball…..Oh, and you can’t dribble the ball from one end of the court to the other without giving it back to the other team. PITIFUL!

By what if

January 25, 2009 10:03 PM | Link to this

First few minutes were acceptable…then allowed clemmons a 17-2 run and looked like a non coached team…..AGAIN!

PS the guy wearing #1 for Tech will NEVER be a point guard…so it would seem time to allow someone else to try….season is in the tank anyway….try some who can pass and/or dribble.

Poor coach H…he was sweating there at the end.

By StingerSplash

January 25, 2009 10:23 PM | Link to this

GT ALUM, The biggest addition to that Final 2 team was Will Bynum, a transfer. Hewitt’s record for the three years prior to the national runner-up team was four games above .500, cumulative. Hewitt’s had three losing seasons since he took over. BC had four in his entire tenure, with the bulk of those coming at the end. The problems with this team are the same ones that have plagued Hewitt-led teams through the years. No offensive discipline, especially in the half-court, continuous defensive breakdowns and no semblance of blocking out on rebounds. Mr. Hewitt is a class person off the court. But his time at the Thrillerdome needs to end. Soon.

By moboman

January 25, 2009 11:57 PM | Link to this

Who recruited these guys? Cant shoot, cant catch, cant hit free throws, cant play. Is anyone coaching?

By moboman

January 26, 2009 12:18 AM | Link to this

Look at the last game when it got close at the end. How many times in a row did we let the opponent run the same switchoff play and force Aminu to guard the point guard and get scored on. Where was the change in strategy, assingments from the bench??? Where was the coach?

By Bob

January 26, 2009 8:33 AM | Link to this

Deep in the Heart of Texas we have girl BBallers that could put the mighty stingers to sleep. Pleasssse fire this intramural coach.

By GT66

January 26, 2009 9:02 AM | Link to this

Enough is enough. This guy is a pitifull coach. Please write to the AD at drad@athletics.gatech.edu This guy must be fired. He is an embarrassment.