In four seasons, Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory has shown his teams can rebound and defend. Even last season, in finishing with his third sub-.500 record, the Yellow Jackets set a school record for rebound margin and ranked 29th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.com.
The challenge has remained on offense for the Jackets, who open the season Nov. 13 at McCamish Pavilion against Cornell with a roster infused with three transfers who could lift the Jackets out of the bottom of the ACC standings and into postseason contention. To significantly improve upon their record and make a run at the postseason, the Jackets simply will need to be better when they’ve got the ball.
Here are three things that could shape the season:
Two new scorers
The Jackets were among the least efficient scoring teams in the ACC last season, which has been a constant in Gregory’s tenure. The Jackets have finished no better than 184th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency in Gregory’s four seasons, results at least in part because of a lack of skilled offensive players. Last year, they set a school record for lowest 3-point percentage (26.7 percent).
The Jackets will have two of the better scorers that Gregory has had in guard Adam Smith and forward Nick Jacobs, both transfers. Smith, a 6-foot-1 guard, led the ACC in 3-point shooting for Virginia Tech last season at 43.8 percent before coming to Tech as a graduate transfer. Jacobs, who sat out last season after transferring from Alabama, is a 6-8 senior forward who can score in the post, off offensive rebounds and on jump shots.
Gregory called a consistent outside scoring that “a luxury that we have not had.”
Having more effective scorers both inside and outside should serve to make both elements of Tech’s offense more effective and open up opportunities for other players on the floor.
Improved running game
Gregory has not been averse to a faster tempo, ever desirous of easy baskets. He has stressed it to a greater degree in offseason and preseason work, as Tech has more players capable of running the break and finishing. Forward Charles Mitchell’s newly svelte figure — he dropped 20.3 pounds of fat mass, according to strength-and-conditioning coach Mike Bewley — should give him a larger role in the Jackets’ transition game.
“It’s good for our bigs because you get an early post, that’s an easy post before the offense even starts,” Mitchell said.
Again, for a team that has struggled to find points, the Jackets will do well to accumulate as many points as they can without having to run their half-court offense.
“That’s the first objective, to get out and run, but it’s all going to start on the defensive side of the ball,” forward Marcus Georges-Hunt said.
Better in the final two minutes
When guard Corey Heyward’s layup attempt failed to drop at the end of the Jackets’ opening-round game of the ACC tournament against Boston College, Tech lost 66-65 to the Eagles. The defeat dropped the Jackets to an almost inconceivable 0-13 in ACC games decided by seven points or fewer or in overtime. Had Tech been able to win six of them, the Jackets would have finished 18-13 and been an NIT candidate. Instead, Tech stumbled home 12-19.
The Jackets have tried to address this flaw in a variety of ways. One is the recognition that Tech can avoid going down to the wire by taking better care of possessions before the final minutes. Another is continued emphasis on rehearsing different last-minute scenarios in practice. Georges-Hunt said he thought Gregory was running through those drills more frequently than in the past.
“Some days, it was up and down,” Georges-Hunt said, “but some days, we got it and we understood what we had to do at that point in time.”
