Georgia Tech: post mortem

I was in Jacksonville for the Georgia - Florida football game this year, and I didn't have anything red to wear, so I bought a t-shirt.  I wore the shirt for that game (yuck) and the Chattanooga basketball game (ugh).  I decided to give it one more chance today, and it got it done.  This was a big win for my t-shirt:

• I didn't get a chance to put up a "gut feeling" post, but everything I was going to say would turn out to be wrong.
• I thought Charles Mitchell was going to have a big day: wrong.  I thought James White was going to have a big day: wrong.  I thought Georgia Tech was going to win the game: wrong.
• Admit it, though...when Quinton Stephens banked in that 3-pointer in the first half, you flashed back to last year and thought, "Oh no, not again."
• Going into the locker room down only 1 after getting nothing from Gaines in the first half actually felt pretty good.
• Starting the second half on a 9-0 run felt really good.  That's two games in a row where Georgia has come out smoking in the second half.  I'd love it if that became a habit.
• Georgia only shot 14 3-pointers, and I think that's a recipe for success - especially when J.J. Frazier hits 6 of them.
• Houston Kessler had good and (very) bad moments, but 5 offensive rebounds will always get you praise around these parts.
• Derek Ogbeide struggled like you'd expect a freshman playing his first real minutes to struggle, but the talent is evident.  He and Maten are going to be a scary pair in the post for the next two years.
• Less turnovers, more assists, and even on the boards.  I'll take that every single night.
• When Adam Smith hit those three bombs in quick succession and Georgia came out of it unscathed, that's when it felt like it might just be the Dawgs' day.
• Nick Jacobs is a large man.  Yante Maten did a fantastic job of denying him the ball, and I loved the quick double every time Jacobs got his hands on it.  It was obvious Fox didn't believe the Jackets could win the game from the 3-point line.
• And seriously, Yante Maten is a grown man.  He had an off night at the line, but it's easily forgiven considering everything else he's doing for this team.  And I love the fact that he threw that shot into the stands with .4 seconds left on the game clock instead of giving up the layup.  Play to the whistle.
• I also love the press Georgia showed in the last 4 minutes.  It caught Tech by surprise, ate some clock, and generated at least one turnover.  Excellent coaching.
• In fact, for a team that has struggled to close out games for years, Georgia did a fantastic job today.  There was very little drama.  They didn't turn the ball over, they (Frazier) hit their free throws, and they forced long possessions.  It was great to see.
• Brandon Young: on the board.

This was a good game, and Georgia can be so much better.  Will we see the typical after-finals surge out of the Bulldogs?  Let's hope so.  For now, it's just nice to be back on top of the nerds.

Tech series moved again

Last year, Georgia and Georgia Tech opened their respective seasons by playing one another.  It was the earliest the game had been played in a long time.

Next year, expect the opposite.  Tech won't show up in Athens until conference play is well underway (assuming they sign the contract).

Apart from the result, I kind of liked opening the season against them.  Really, though, I suspect most Georgia fans don't care as long as we start beating them.

[Online Athens]

In non-tournament news...

Mark Fox will get at least one more crack at Brian Gregory.  Georgia Tech will bring him back as head coach in 2015-16.

They insist it's not about finances, but none of their sports teams draw well, and they're still paying Paul Hewitt $900,000/year through 2019, so forgive me if I don't buy it.

It's been a while since Georgia thumped Georgia Tech on the recruiting trail, but consider this comment from Tech's AD:

"I jumped both sides of the fence on this," Bobinski said in a meeting with a small group of reporters in his campus office. "I'd be lying if I said otherwise. It was not an easy decision."

If that doesn't get mentioned in some living rooms, then folks aren't doing their jobs.

[ESPN]

A little late

Good to know Tech is going to come around on transfer policies, at least as long as it suits them.

Listen, there's absolutely no guarantee Robert Carter, Jr. would have ended up at UGA, but it's pretty sad that Tech didn't even give him a chance.  I'm genuinely curious what will happen if and when Bobinski has to put his money where his mouth is.

h/t AJC

Fox gets it

Say what you want about Mark Fox, but he seems to get it this year:

“We should feel good about it. I don’t feel great, because I feel like last week I let everyone down,” Fox said. “Last week’s loss felt like 20 losses. So now it feels like 19.”

He's talking, of course, about the win over Stony Brook as compared to the loss against Georgia Tech, a game most of us feel like Georgia could have and should have won.  Fox thinks so too:

“We played with composure and poise, offensively. If we had played that way last week, we’d have won by 12,” Fox said. “But we didn’t. It took a loss to get us to understand we have to play that way.

I like a few things about Fox's comments.  First and foremost, there's an acknowledgment that these early season games mean something.  Second, there's an understanding that Georgia fans really, really want to start beating Georgia Tech in basketball.  Third, there's a great deal of confidence in coming out and saying you should have won a game at Tech by 12.

The Tech game is water under the bridge at this point.  It's time to move on.  But if Fox wants to offset the other 19 losses he refers to, I'm fine with that...

h/t Seth Emerson

Georgia Tech: post mortem

I am tired of being the basketball step-child of Georgia, as I'm sure many of you are.  Mark Fox has to get that fixed.

With that said, I promised not to despair if Georgia lost this game, and despite some very negative emotions while down 15 in the first half, all is not lost.

The Dawgs need to find a way to win 8 non-conference games.  I was hoping this would be one of them.  Time to move on, but first, some thoughts and impressions:

• You can see why Georgia wanted Charles Mitchell so badly.  His on-court antics rubbed me the wrong way at times, but the talent is obvious.  The result almost certainly would have been different had he been in red.
• Cox was good too.  Those two in the post are going to win some games for Tech.
• With that said, it was Quinton Stephens that made the difference tonight.  We'll see if he stays hot, or if Georgia was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• Continuing to give Stephens open looks after his third or fourth made three was disappointing.  He wasn't about to create his own shot.
• Kenny Gaines looked good at times tonight.  If he really isn't at full strength yet, I think we can expect good things from him this year.
• Marcus Thornton was more good than bad, though he still throws up a head-scratcher now and then.  He is clearly most comfortable when he catches the ball in the post.  More of that, and less runners and threes would bode well for his season.
• I like the three guard lineup Fox chose to start the game, and J.J. Frazier continues to impress.  There are, of course, a lot of good things about Charles Mann's game, but he's yet to show anything to suggest he's taken a big step forward.
• I still believe Yante Maten will be great, but some foul trouble kept him from getting in any sort of rhythm.  On that note...
• The refs over-officiated a bit, in my opinion.  I didn't think one team benefited more than the other.  I thought the two worst calls of the night were on the charge by Juwan Parker, and then on the foul Parker drew by running into (I think) Cox.
• Nemi had a nice offensive game.  No bad ball-handling turnovers, and some nice moves around the basket.  His defense, though, was not stellar.
• Neither Kenny Paul Geno nor Cameron Forte did anything to make me miss Brandon Morris less, though Forte had a couple nice moments.
• Good job of limiting the damage of Georges-Hunt.   That was absolutely the right thing to do, and had you told me he'd finish with 11, I would have liked our chances.
• The camera crew found three pretty girls and went back to the well all night long. Guess they couldn't find any more. I don't think that will be a problem in Athens.

In the end, the game was lost in the first ten minutes.  For anyone hoping the scoring droughts were a thing of the past with this team, the start of the game was a rude awakening.  After an early 5-4 lead, Georgia played from behind the rest of the night.

As usual, though, Fox's kids didn't quit.  In fact, you get the feeling that if this game were played ten times, Georgia would win 6 or 7.  But it didn't work out tonight, so it's on to Stony Brook.

Have a good weekend, and I'll see you Tuesday night at Stegeman.

Game card: Georgia Tech

Opponent:  Georgia Tech
Mascot:  Yellow Jacket
Primary color(s):  Pee
Record:  0-0
Best player:  Marcus Georges-Hunt
Line:  Georgia Tech -3

Why Georgia will win:  Georgia Tech lost 45 ppg this offseason.  Meanwhile, Georgia returns almost everyone of consequence to a team that flourished on the road last season.  Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines form one of the best guard duos in the south, and Yante Maten looks like the real deal backing up Marcus Thornton who is the real deal in the post.

Why Georgia will lose:  The game is in Atlanta, and Kenny Gaines is ill.  Mark Fox has struggled to beat Georgia Tech, and there's no reason to think that will change tonight.  Tech has added a few nice pieces, including Georgia target Charles Mitchell, who will bully the Dawgs in the post.  Georgia's slow starts will continue to haunt them.

What I think will happen:  Georgia Tech will use one or two nice runs to grab a comfortable lead.  Georgia will be haunted by an unhealthy Gaines and will struggle to score.  76-64 Georgia Tech wins.

What I hope will happen:

The Tech game cometh

Make no mistake, Georgia Tech is a big game:

It’s only the first game. It’s not the most important game of the season. It just seems that way, given events of recent years.

Or maybe not:

 “The good news is it’s not life-or-death situation,” junior point guard Charles Mann said. “We need a win, and we want to do whatever we need to do to win. ... (But) we could live with the results if we play hard and play well.”

Either way, Nemi thinks they're ready:

“Now we’re settled, and we have experienced guys who know what it takes to win,” Djurisic said. “As soon as we get thrown in the fire against Tech, or any other opponent in the preseason, I think we’ll be able to do the things that we need to do in order to win.”

Me?  Put me in the camp that says a loss isn't the end of the world, but a win sure would be nice.  Sounds like Kenny Gaines will go, although I wouldn't expect to see the same guy we saw last February.  I'd settle for a nice 10-12 minute spark from him tonight.

Georgia can absolutely win this game.  We'll find out soon if the team is ready to shake off the early season yips that have plagued them the last couple of years.

h/t Seth Emerson

Tech gets good news

Charles Mitchell can play immediately.  That's good news for Georgia Tech, against whom Georgia will open their season.

Mitchell is transferring, at least in part, to be closer to an ailing grandmother.  Selfishly, I wish he was going to suit up on the other side on November 14, but good for him.  Here's wishing an effective season on him, minus one game of course.

h/t ESPN

Bees behaving badly

Georgia Tech gets the dreaded failure to monitor and has its probation extended another two years:

The NCAA said coaches made at least 478 impermissible calls and sent at least 299 impermissible text messages to a total of 140 prospects.

Nothing too scandalous there, but it's always fun when the moral high-grounders downtown get their wrists slapped, isn't it?

h/t ESPN

Out of the gate

The season will begin on November 14 at Georgia Tech.

As Georgia has more continuity from last year's key contributors than Tech, I hope that favors the Dawgs.  Tech will be playing with no Robert Carter or Daniel Miller for the first time in a couple years.

I suspect Georgia will be favored by a point or two.  Either way, there will be no warm-up.

h/t www.sicemdawgs.com

We know where Carter won't be playing

Robert Carter is transferring, but it won't be to Georgia:

Greg McGarity, UGA’s athletic director, confirmed Wednesday that he personally asked Georgia Tech for permission to speak to the 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward about a possible transfer. But that request was denied by the Yellow Jackets’ athletic director Mike Bobinsky.

“Well, as per NCAA rules, we asked for permission to visit with (Carter), but unfortunately that permission was denied by Georgia Tech,” McGarity said Wednesday. “And that was very disappointing in light of the situation we had with Daniel Miller.”

Is this surprising?  Not at all.  This is a long-standing policy of Georgia Tech, and it's fairly common nationally.  That doesn't mean it is any less disappointing (and I don't mean for the fans).

I feel lucky to associate with a program that has a very liberal transfer policy, even though it bites us competitively every now and then.

The Daniel Miller example is perfect.  If you recall, he was a Felton commit who decided to leave when Fox was hired.  It's a little different, because he hadn't even played a game yet, but Georgia could have prevented him from landing at Georgia Tech if they wanted to.  Instead, they chose to let him go wherever he wanted because, well, I'll let Greg McGarity tell you:

“The University of Georgia doesn’t restrict a student-athlete from any school that is seeking a transfer,” McGarity said. “The student-athlete’s best interest is at the forefront of our program. If they’re not happy here we’re not going to dictate where they can and can’t go.”

Kudos to Georgia, and shame on every school that does otherwise.  I have no idea if Robert Carter would be interested in coming to Georgia, but if he was, and it resulted in Georgia Tech losing another basketball game, is that truly worth dictating the young man's future?

I'll get off the soapbox for now, and of course, good luck to Robert wherever he plays out his college career.

h/t AJC

Bad news for Tech

Our rivals continue to have 99 problems this offseason:

Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory has announced that forward Robert Carter Jr.will not return for his junior season and plans to transfer.

Carter, a starter since his freshman year, was Gregory's top signee in 2012. He averaged 10.5 points and 7.4 rebounds in 54 games with the Yellow Jackets.

He averaged 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds last season.  Stating the obvious:  11.4/8.4 is a lot to lose.  I have no idea what is going on here, but it's a strange decision when taken at face value.  Carter almost certainly would have been a focal point for Tech this season, so it can't be a playing time issue.

Add this to the loss of Solomon Poole to transfer and big men Daniel Miller and Kammeon Holsey to graduation, and Coach Gregory has his work cut out for him in Atlanta.

All in all, it's setting up as a good season for Mark Fox to get that Tech monkey off his back...

h/t ESPN