Daniel Miller had a stretch of games where coach Paul Hewitt thought his freshman center had run out of steam.
A starter in every game this season, he wasn't moving well on defense, and he wasn't looking for his shot.
Miller seems to have found a second wind. He scored seven points with five rebounds in Georgia Tech's loss to Virginia on Wednesday. He had scored seven in the previous two games combined.
But a truer sign that he's ready for the remaining games were the four blocks he had against the Cavaliers, including one where Virginia center Assane Sene tried to spin off him in the post and shoot a turnaround jumper, only for Miller to slide to this left and send the ball right back at him.
"I think he has his legs back," Hewitt said. "Early in the year, he did a great job defending the rim and blocking shots. He went into a lull there for a little while, but I think he has got his legs back. He is contesting shots well again."
Tech tried to go to him early against Virginia, and Miller showed good moves in the post. They will likely try the same tactic in Saturday's game at N.C. State.
"That's the way to go when you are struggling offensively," said Hewitt, who noted that the team can also post up its guards.
Miller, a native of Loganville, averages 4.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He leads Tech and is fifth in the ACC in blocked shots (2.1 per game).
"Sometimes it is tiring, but it is exciting," he said. "But I am enjoying playing a lot and getting this experience. It's tough sometimes, but at the same time I love it."
Starting lineup
Hewitt said the team will go with the same starting lineup Saturday that it used against Virginia: Miller, Iman Shumpert, Maurice Miller, Lance Storrs and freshman Jason Morris.
"He [Morris] has the ability and athleticism to take you off the dribble, and he's a better 3-point shooter," Hewitt said. "That's been a pleasant surprise."
Morris is the team's best 3-point shooter, making 15 of his 40 attempts (37.5 percent). He started against Virginia in place of Glen Rice Jr., who was being disciplined for something Hewitt declined to discuss.
Morris, who also is a good finisher at the basket, averages 5.5 points per game in 17.1 minutes. He had 10 points and five rebounds against the Cavaliers in his first start this season.
Road woes
Tech has two decent opportunities to break its losing streak on opponent's courts, which has reached 15 games.
N.C. State, Saturday's opponent, is 10-4 at home and has lost two of its past three at RBC Center. At 14-13, 4-9 in the ACC, the Wolfpack are in 10th place in the ACC, one spot ahead of Tech (11-16, 3-10 ACC).
Of course Tech has its own history in Raleigh. The Wolfpack are 8-1 against the Jackets at RBC and have won 11 of the past 12 meetings in Raleigh.
"Those games don't have much to do with these games," Hewitt said.
If the Yellow Jackets can't get the job done against the Wolfpack, they have one more road game, at Wake Forest on March 3, remaining in the regular season.
The Demon Deacons, arguably one of the worst teams in ACC history, are 7-11 at home this season.
Attendance woes
Tech has averaged 5,967 in paid attendance at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, with one home game remaining. That's the third-fewest fans in the ACC this season.
The game against Miami on March 6 will be the last basketball game played at the arena. It will be torn down and replaced with the $45 million Henry F. McCamish Pavilion for the 2012 season.
The Jackets haven't averaged fewer than 6,000 fans since 1985 (5,801).
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