Georgia Tech crossed one thing off its list Saturday at Madison Square Garden: winning a game outside of McCamish Pavilion.
The Yellow Jackets (6-3) had been 0-for-2 in previous attempts at victory away from home. And while Saturday’s overtime triumph over Penn State was on a neutral court, most of those in attendance at one of the country’s most famous venues certainly were leaning toward Penn State’s side.
“I feel like it gives us a lot of momentum, being that this is our first kind of road victory,” Tech guard Kowacie Reeves said. “This gives us confidence in knowing that we can pull through and stay connected on the road.”
Connectivity was a big theme for the Jackets in the immediate moments after the win, one that saw Tech trail three different times over the final 2:20 of overtime before a pair of Miles Kelly free throws with two seconds remaining lifted the Jackets to victory. First-year Tech coach Damon Stoudamire harped on his team’s togetherness throughout Saturday’s win as well as its growing togetherness since the start of the season in November.
The Jackets now have quality wins over Duke, Mississippi State and Penn State under their belt as they head into a holiday tournament in Hawaii.
“I love our team. I love the youthfulness of our team,” Stoudamire said. “The biggest thing for us, in terms of the connectivity now, and I told them this before the game started, whether we were up 10, down 10, the adversity we were gonna come through, we had to show ourselves, more than anything, that we’re capable of winning games like this. And we’re learning how to win together. That’s the biggest thing. You learn how to win together. This was a great step in the connectivity that we have, you see that each and every day in practice.
“Coming back to college, it’s not easy to put together a team full of, basically, transfers. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of them for the buy-in that they’ve had.”
Tech, which has an NCAA NET ranking of 156 going into the start of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, has shown a recipe for winning that isn’t difficult to decipher. When the Jackets rebound well (they out-rebounded Penn State 54-32), share the ball (they had 25 assists on 32 made field goals) and play solid defense (the Nittany Lions shot 39.2% from the floor and 36.4% from 3-point range) they stand a good chance of coming out on top.
Stoudamire’s squad also has shown it doesn’t have to rely on one individual to be successful. Whether it’s veteran guards Kelly, Reeves or Kyle Sturdivant or freshmen Baye Ndongo or Nait George, Tech has developed an array of playmakers who can produce.
Stoudamire explained the biggest reason for that is because of his team’s buy-in to what he has been demanding.
“I appreciate these guys because I know it’s not easy coming in each and every day,” he said. “To win games is hard. To win games with new players and to have buy-in and to try to get them to understand the things that you want them to do, or things that you see that can help them be successful, they don’t see it the same way. There’s always a little bit of resistance. I appreciate them for allowing me to do that.
“But the biggest thing to that, though, I will say this, nobody’s gonna let you coach ‘em, nobody’s gonna let you preach to ‘em until you show ‘em that you care. That to me is even bigger. We talk just as much about life as we do about basketball.”
Tech next faces Massachusetts (6-2) at 9 p.m. Thursday as part of the three-game, four-day Diamond Head Classic. The Minutemen beat West Virginia in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday and are led by forward Josh Cohen, who scores 18.1 points per game and averages 7.9 rebounds per contest. Forward Matt Cross is scoring 15.8 points per outing to go with 8.3 rebounds per game.
Tech forward Tafara Gapare played 30 games for UMass during the 2022-23 season.
Win or lose Thursday, the Jackets will face either Portland (6-6) or Hawaii (7-2) on Friday. Nevada (9-1), Temple (6-4), TCU (8-1) and Old Dominion (3-6) comprise the other half of the bracket. The tournament’s championship game is scheduled for 9 p.m. Sunday.
The Jackets have been on the island of Oahu since Monday taking in the Hawaiian sights and the culture while also preparing for their next stretch of games and continuing to grow before ACC play resumes next month.
“I talk to these guys a lot about not overreacting to whether it’s good or bad, stick to the script, play within yourself, know your strengths and know your weaknesses,” Stoudamire said. “But the biggest thing is have connectivity each and every day. Pull for your teammate, do the right thing and don’t worry about somebody else doing they job. You do your job. That’s what I’m talking about.
“It’s been like that. You can see it coming each and every day. These dudes will tell you, I lean on them every day. I coach in games totally different than I coach in practice. In practice I overreact to everything. I don’t really care because I need to know that they’re getting what I’m preaching. I’m starting to see the results.”
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