Paunchier and a little less agile than they were in their youth, the members of perhaps the most fabled team in Georgia Tech history were honored Saturday.
Nine of the 14 members of Tech’s 1990 Final Four team were present Saturday for a halftime ceremony during Tech’s game against Wake Forest at McCamish Pavilion, including the “Lethal Weapon 3” trio of Kenny Anderson, Brian Oliver and Dennis Scott. Wearing navy-blue warm-up jackets bearing that year’s Final Four logo, staff (including then-athletic director Homer Rice), team members and coaches were introduced individually, with coach Bobby Cremins saved for last.
“The years before, I’ve missed these (reunions) because I’ve always had a game, so I wanted to make sure I made it,” said Oliver, now a project manager with DPR Hardin construction company. “It’s awesome, because, like I said, so much time has passed. It’s amazing it’s 25 years, and when you look at the Georgia Tech tradition and what Bobby’s been able to do, and the coaches before him and after, it’s awesome just to be able to come back and be a part of it.”
Several members of the team also took part in a letter-winners’ game after the game, won by Cremins’ gold team. In the final minutes, Cremins coached and emceed the game, calling over coach Brian Gregory for assistance.
“My wife told me that I need to get out and work out a little bit,” Oliver said, “but I thought I could just show up.”
Stopping Thomas: Center Demarco Cox did not play his best game on offense — he was 2-for-6 for seven points with a number of missed layups — but he did impact the game with his defense of Wake Forest forward Devin Thomas. Averaging 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds in ACC play this season, Thomas was held to six points on 3-for-9 shooting and five rebounds and turned the ball over four times. Defended also by forward Charles Mitchell, Thomas played only 19 minutes, 13 under his ACC season average, and sat out the final 17:41.
Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said, “I liked what the other guys were doing better than what he was doing.”
Said Tech coach Brian Gregory, “Those guys (Cox and Mitchell) get a lot of credit, but to be honest, when you defend the post and you defend ball screens, it’s a total team effort, and I thought we did a great job of that today.”
Next game: Tech will have only one day's rest before its next game. The Jackets will play Virginia Tech at 9 p.m. Monday in Blacksburg, Va., on ESPNU. The Yellow Jackets will try to win back-to-back ACC regular-season games for the second time in Gregory's tenure.
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