Notre Dame had just been upset by Georgia Tech in gut-punch fashion, a buzzer-beater by Yellow Jackets guard Marcus Georges-Hunt. As he walked off the McCamish Pavilion floor Feb. 20, however, Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey experienced a rather unlikely sensation — conflicting emotions.
“I was disappointed we lost, but he is such a class act and he has been such a great ambassador for Georgia Tech and ACC basketball, I was kind of happy for him,” Brey said.
The Tech player who carved space in Brey’s heart was Georges-Hunt, whom Brey has competed against six times in the past three seasons. Brey knows well the Tech narrative of repeated narrow defeats, having frequently contributed to it. The Irish won the middle four of those six games by a combined 21 points. In defeat, Georges-Hunt often played the role of valiant adversary.
“He’s led, he’s helped (Tech coach Brian Gregory) lead guys through some tough times,” Brey said. “Love to see the recognition, everything he’s getting right now. Well deserved.”
As Georges-Hunt’s Tech career concludes, appreciation stretches wide and runs deep. In his four seasons, the Jackets have claimed glory in infrequent doses; the Jackets are 61-64 in his four seasons. But he has offered consistency of effort (he has started 123 of those 125 games), steady improvement and a demonstration of character that have won him scores of admirers. The Jackets will allot time Saturday to express their affections, when Georges-Hunt and his four classmates (Nick Jacobs, Charles Mitchell, Adam Smith and James White) will be honored before the regular-season finale against Pittsburgh at McCamish Pavilion.
Among those offering praise:
- Whitney Burton, the team's academic advisor: "I couldn't ask for a better student-athlete to work with."
- Shawn Fowler, a Tech grad and longtime fan who endowed the scholarship that Georges-Hunt has received the past four years: "I would say he's probably my favorite Tech player, not just on the court, but for the way he acts off the court."
- Tech guard Corey Heyward, Georges-Hunt's teammate for the past four seasons: "He definitely represents the kind of guy that coach Gregory wants in his program, that anybody would want in his program."
- Gregory: "He's so steady. Even if things aren't going well for himself, the one thing he always has done is put the team and his teammates first."
When he arrived at Tech as a freshman in 2012, Georges-Hunt couldn’t have foreseen what was to come. Three members of Gregory’s heralded first signing class would not finish with him. Point guard Solomon Poole was dismissed midway through his sophomore season. Forward Robert Carter transferred to Maryland after two seasons. Guard Chris Bolden did not return after finishing his junior season under suspension. Only Heyward remains.
With girlfriend Cydni Bivins, he would become a father in August 2013 to Marcus Jr.
As a junior, he would endure one of the more star-crossed seasons in ACC history, as the Jackets were 0-12 in ACC games decided by seven points or fewer, three in overtime. Georges-Hunt himself would break his foot while running down the court in the final game of the regular season.
As a senior, Tech’s near-miss pattern would continue until the second half of the ACC season, when the Jackets won four regular-season conference games in a row for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Tech would be lifted — at times carried — by Georges-Hunt himself, contributing the best individual season at Tech since Iman Shumpert in 2010-11 or possibly Jarrett Jack in 2004-05.
“Yeah, it’s been a lot of down moments, some people would say,” Georges-Hunt said. “But I just kept working, kept fighting. I gave it everything I had, especially my time here. I don’t have any regrets to what I’ve done here.”
He has managed the disappointment with placidity, prayer, optimism and loyalty. The temptation to transfer to greener pastures was impossible to avoid. Georges-Hunt has had more scholarship teammates who transferred in or out of Tech (15) than who came to Tech as freshmen and either graduated or are still with the team (11). He said he never entertained the option.
“Once I’m locked in, wherever I choose, I feel like, you’re giving me 100 percent for me, I’m going to give 100 percent for you,” Georges-Hunt said. “I feel like this was the place to be.”
The final season, in the latter part of which Gregory has shifted him to point guard to run the offense and given him the task with defending opponents ranging from point guards to power forwards, has been revelatory. He has been an efficient scorer, a playmaker and a physical defender. In ACC games, he has averaged 18.6 points (fifth in the ACC), 3.6 assists and 3.3 rebounds. His 49.5 percent field-goal shooting rate is 49.5 percent, seventh in the league. Further, against his nature, he has developed into a communicative leader.
While preferring to let his play speak for him, Georges-Hunt developed into a teammate who pulls others together in huddles, holds them accountable during practice and inspires belief with his words.
“I was always the one to go about playing and leading like that, and see if everybody catches on with that, me just playing hard and going all out,” he said. However, “coach BG always tells us, you have to be comfortable with becoming uncomfortable, getting out of your comfort zone.”
Georges-Hunt enters the Pitt game sixth in team history in games started, 12th in career points, 15th in 3-point field goals and 20th in assists. He will leave having provided memories of game-winning baskets and fearless attacks to the rim. Those around him will likewise recall a committed student, a doting dad and a teammate who coupled a laidback demeanor with a commitment to improving his game.
When his Tech career ends, he’ll likely have a chance at the NBA. He’ll earn his degree in science, technology and culture in May. The experiences and memories he’ll carry forward will be short on confetti, long on adversity and enveloped in unruffled perseverance.
“It made me a stronger person, individual — on the court, off the court,” he said. “Nothing was easy. In life, nothing’s going to be given to you. You have to go out there and get it.”
