In his first three seasons at Georgia Tech, coach Brian Gregory has relied on veteran point guards to run his team. Mfon Udofia led the Yellow Jackets in his first two seasons and transfer Trae Golden ran the point last season.
Going into this season, Tech’s most experienced point guard, sophomore Corey Heyward, has 15 starts to his credit. Gregory will try to solve the experience shortage with numbers. Tech, which opens the season Nov. 14 against rival Georgia, has three lead guard candidates with a total of 19 career starts – Heyward, Josh Heath and Travis Jorgenson.
“We need that spot to be in control of what we’re doing,” Gregory said. “And because of the situation, there may be some growing pains in that area, but that’s where some of our veterans’ experience at some of those other positions are going to have to come into play.”
It is an interesting mix that Gregory will manage. Heyward appears to be fully recovered from his two torn ACL’s in 2012. Jorgenson is returning from an ACL tear of his own, suffered four games into his freshman season a year ago. Heath transferred to Tech last May from South Florida, where he played 17 games and started four as a freshman before his father Stan was fired at the end of the season. He received a waiver to play immediately as a hardship case.
In preseason practices, Gregory has sometimes played two of the point guards at a time, giving the offense more playmakers and ability to create open shots for teammates. Gregory has been hammering home a point with the three that he wants them to push the ball up the court, after both misses and makes.
“There’s times where (the instruction is), ‘Don’t wait on the screen, just go,’” Heyward said. “’If the big’s not up there, go. Take it, go. Create the play.’”
The goal is to initiate the offense more quickly and put more pressure on the defense. Gregory believes players like forwards Marcus Georges-Hunt and Quinton Stephens and guards Chris Bolden and Tadric Jackson are better in the open court.
“If it’s a hunker-down, possession-by-possession (game), there are going to be times where we’re not going to be as good, so we can’t do that,” Gregory said.
The onus falls on his point guard trio to have the discipline to consistently push the pace.
“I’ve got no problem with it,” Jorgenson said. “The tough thing is just doing it every time, make or miss.”
Thanks to better diet and more cardiovascular work, Heyward has trimmed to 208 pounds from 227 last season. He is quicker and more explosive and is putting less stress on his surgically repaired left knee. He also feels more confident in it. All of last season, Heyward said, he didn’t take a single pull-up jumper, a shot requiring a sudden stop and explosion. After taking 35 shots in 32 games, he is committing himself to becoming more of a threat, having spent the offseason working on his ball-handling, 3-point shooting and shots off the dribble.
He is the best on-ball defender of the three and has the strength to defend point guards, shooting guards and small forwards.
“I think Corey’s looking really good,” Jorgenson said. “He lost weight, he’s jumping, he’s knocking down shots in practice, too, from 3-point range.”
Heyward changed his jersey number from 30 to 5. He said he thought he looked like “a bowling ball” wearing No. 30.
“I had to clean it up,” he said. “I saw myself on film, like, what is that?”
Coaches are being cautious with Jorgenson, who tore his ACL last November, rationing his practice time, “but his explosiveness has been good,” Gregory said. “He’s got a unique ability to get guys shots and make good decisions with the basketball. His IQ hasn’t decreased at all and, actually, probably increased some just watching and understanding things.”
Heath has the same pass-first mentality that Heyward and Jorgenson do, and had a 62-27 assist/turnover ratio at South Florida. He sees similarities between Gregory and his father, who were assistants for Michigan State’s national championship team in 2000.
“Defense first, for sure, how important that is and being physical and just going hard,” he said.
Particularly as Jorgenson recovers, Heath will be counted on for minutes. Gregory said that the depth is such that he wants the three to be ready for the possibility that any of them could play 30 minutes in a game, depending on circumstances. He didn’t plan on setting any sort of order among the three until the team’s exhibition game Friday against Clayton State at McCamish Pavilion.
“We all have to be on our P’s and Q’s, and it makes us better,” Heath said of the competition. “And when it makes us better, it makes our whole team better.”
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