After playing one game over a 15-day stretch, Georgia Tech will begin its final approach to the start of the ACC this week with three games in six days.
The Yellow Jackets will start with a Monday night home game against Gardner-Webb, then travel to Arkansas for a Wednesday night game before finishing the week at home against Georgia on Saturday.
“We’ve been able to make some adjustments because we have the practice time to do so,” coach Josh Pastner said Thursday.
During the final-exam period that ended Thursday, Pastner practiced the team heavily, often training twice a day. A priority for Pastner and his staff has been forward James Banks, who was cleared to play only hours before the second game of the season. A transfer from Texas in May, he received an eligibility waiver after transferring in part for family reasons.
His playing time and productivity have increased, and he has started the past two games. In the past three games, he has had two double-doubles and one five-assist, four-block game. Coaches are figuring out ways to use him both in the high post –as they did with center Ben Lammers to great effect – but also closer to the basket.
“He’s a little different than Ben, where Ben didn’t want to maybe go post, he was more face-up,” Pastner said. “James is better back to the basket than he is on a face-up. And the next thing for James is his conditioning because when he gets a little tired, he doesn’t have as much production as need to be. So it’s getting his wind where he’s able to sustain it a longer level.”
Banks has shown more understanding of his role in the Tech offense. He had a career-high five assists in Tech’s last game, a 73-40 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 9, and was 5-for-5 from the field against St. John’s in the previous game, a 76-73 loss Dec. 1.
Tech has just five more non-conference games for Pastner to figure out his rotation. He has more depth than he had in his first two seasons and has spread out minutes more broadly and evenly. Where Josh Okogie, Ben Lammers and Jose Alvarado all averaged 35 minutes or more last season, the minutes leader this season is Alvarado, at 29.8 minutes per game.
Pastner has used nine players regularly through eight times, and his preference in the past has been to rely on perhaps seven. One of the nine, forward Khalid Moore, has seen his production and playing time increase in the past three games, and Pastner will have to find time for forward Evan Cole, who started the first two games, but missed the next five with a sprained ankle.
Tech’s ACC opener is at home against Wake Forest on Jan. 5.
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