As he recovered over the summer from a broken foot, Georgia Tech forward Marcus Georges-Hunt had an up-close vantage point for what he hopes was the foundation of a transformational season for his basketball team.
Georges-Hunt saw the long-distance marksmanship of graduate transfer Adam Smith, the leading 3-point shooter in the ACC last season at Virginia Tech. He witnessed forward Charles Mitchell and guard Tadric Jackson re-shaping their bodies, center Ben Lammers developing his confidence and guard Travis Jorgenson regaining the quickness and explosion that were lost after his ACL tear.
“I’m excited,” Georges-Hunt said. “We do have a lot of pieces, a lot of pieces we probably never had in the past.”
The Yellow Jackets will begin preseason practice Friday, hoping to distance themselves from last season’s calamity, when they finished 12-19 overall and 3-15 in the ACC. The team’s distinguishing feature was its 0-11 record in ACC games decided by five points or fewer or in overtime.
The Jackets will pursue their first postseason berth since 2010 with arguably the deepest and most talented roster that coach Brian Gregory has had in his five seasons. The Jackets have five seniors, four of whom have arrived as transfers — forwards Nick Jacobs (Alabama), James White (Arkansas-Little Rock) and Mitchell (Maryland) and Smith (Virginia Tech). It will be the first and only season for Jacobs, White and Smith.
With such reserve, Gregory wants to push the pace with a mind to collecting more easy baskets. Tech was one of the more effective defensive teams in the country last season, a Gregory hallmark, ranking 29th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.com. But they also ranked 210th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
“Coach BG says get the ball off the glass and run,” said Georges-Hunt, who is fully recovered from the fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. “He doesn’t have a preference of who has the ball with the guards. He just wants the ball to be pushed.”
The Jackets ranked 220th in possessions per game last season.
“I think if you look at the games we played best, we played at a significantly faster pace,” Gregory said.
Gregory has not been averse to a faster pace, but has not necessarily had the depth, ballhandlers or finishers to succeed in transition. He feels more comfort with more players on this team leading the break.
At least two players appear significantly more prepared to handle a higher pace than last season. The 6-foot-2 Jackson weighed as much as 222 pounds last season, but as of Monday was down to 205 with an eye to getting to 200. Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 low-post banger, is down to 255 from 279.
“I can see the more explosive me, running the floor more, I’m not getting out of breath, I’m playing defense a lot more,” Mitchell said.
Jackson, perhaps the best finisher on the team, is in full support of a faster pace. The team tested it in a trip to the Bahamas, where the Jackets played three exhibition games.
“Really, a lot of shots, more scoring, fast tempo,” Jackson said. “The fans might love it now.”
If it leads to more wins, they most certainly will.
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