As Georgia Tech’s team charter flight returned to Atlanta early Thursday, guard Mfon Udofia entered into his road-game routine. He listened to music on his iPod and re-played the night’s game in his mind.
Udofia had a selection of plays to reflect upon. He scored 17 points and spread out three assists against one turnover in the Yellow Jackets’ 82-71 win over N.C. State for their first ACC win. With just under three minutes left, the last of his three 3-pointers drained the life from the Wolfpack’s final rally in Tech’s best game of the season. His postgame ritual left him excited, not surprisingly.
“We played hard the whole game,” Udofia said.
Udofia has pulled his share of the load. The Jackets have received improved play from their point guard, the past two games in particular. They’ll play at Maryland at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“I think it’s noticeable to everyone that it seems he’s starting to relax a little more in all aspects of his game,” guard Jason Morris said.
Molding his game to fit coach Brian Gregory’s scheme has required Udofia to learn new habits and to see the game as his coach does. However, Udofia feels increasingly comfortable directing and talking on defense and operating the offense.
“Just knowing what’s a good pass, what’s a mismatch, things like that,” said Udofia, from Miller Grove High.
Udofia’s continued development will be crucial for Tech as it continues ACC play. Beyond guard Glen Rice Jr., the Jackets lack consistent scorers and need Udofia both to become one and to set up teammates for easy baskets, not to mention trigger their defensive pressure.
“He’s a smart kid. He wants to do really well, and [basketball] is important to him,” Gregory said. “When you have those ingredients, then you can build from that.”
A former point guard himself, Gregory has noted that Udofia’s understanding of the position, in particular his decision making, has sharpened. In Tech’s near upset of Duke last Saturday, “he made a couple reads off of ball screens — when to hit the roll man, when to hit the throw-back man, when to turn the corner and drive it, just different things like that,” Gregory said. “Really good steps that he’s making.”
In Tech’s first two ACC games, Udofia has scored 36 points, including 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, with seven assists against four turnovers.
He has responded well to Gregory and assistant Chad Dollar, who works with the point guards. Last season, after starting 25 games as a freshman, Udofia played so ineffectively for then-coach Paul Hewitt that he was relegated to the bench.
“He has really grown this year, there’s no question about it,” Gregory said.
That growth included a postgame challenge to his team following its lackluster 73-48 loss to Alabama on Jan. 3. After coaches left the locker room, Udofia spoke with passion and an edge about the team’s attitude, calling on teammates to put in extra time apart from practice and to pick up their intensity in games.
“I just felt like, our coaches, they watch film, they do all this stuff to prepare for the games,” he said. “The only thing we’ve got to do is go out there and play the game. I felt like we had to give that same type of effort.”
Tech’s effort and focus may have been at their best this season against Duke and N.C. State. Morris said the team needed to hear Udofia’s message and has heeded it.
“You know those things, but it’s always good to have somebody reinforce it who isn’t a coach,” he said. “We all know each other’s cars and a couple times, you’ve driven by [the Zelnak Basketball Center] and you see that car in the parking lot and you’re like, OK, that guy’s in there getting shots up.”
Continuing this good feeling won’t be easy. Maryland has won eight of its past nine, its one loss to the same Wolfpack team that the Jackets beat Wednesday. On Sunday, Udofia will have to help defending Terrapins guard Terrell Stoglin, the ACC’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game. A home matchup with No. 16 Virginia follows Thursday.
Udofia’s role will stay the same — “just be the coach on the floor, pretty much,” he said.
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