Archive for April, 2010

Georgia Tech's players congratulate Tony Plagman on another home run last night. / Johnny Crawford

A few stats from Georgia Tech’s 25-6 win over Georgia on Wednesday in baseball:

47 home runs in Tony Plagman’s career, just 10 off the school mark set by Jason Varitek. He hit one to reach 47 last night.

28 wins on the season for Georgia Tech.

25 runs scored by Georgia Tech, the most by either team in 112-year-old rivalry.

19-run difference is Tech’s largest margin of victory since 1998, when the Jackets won 21-4.

14 different Tech players had a hit.

12 hits for extra bases.

10 pitchers used by Georgia.

8 hits combined by Tony Plagman and Jeff Rowland.

5 RBI for Matt Skole, a career-high mark. Mark Pope got the win to improve to 5-0 this season.

3 triples, tying the school record.

Continue reading A few numbers from last night’s baseball win »

The rings commemorating Georgia Tech's championship season

He wasn’t supposed to hit Roddy Jones, but Isaiah Johnson couldn’t help himself.

During a cut-block drill last week, Jones was the trailing A-back as another A-back tried to take down Johnson. Instead of being blocked, Johnson gave Jones a hard forearm to the chest. Down he went.

“Afterward, coach was like ‘don’t do that,’ ” Johnson said. “We’re not supposed to hit them. That was really a message sent out to my other teammates that I’m nobody to take lightly.”

And that’s coming from an early enrollee, no less.

The rings were designed by the players. On one side features the player's last name, and the other features the score of the ACC championship game, 39-34.

Johnson, a 6-2, 191-pound safety and graduate of Sandy Creek, has been steadily working his way up the depth chart and is now seeing consistent time with the second unit.

“He’s done some positive things,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “He’s a good athlete and …

Continue reading Isaiah Johnson impressing; the bling-bling is here »

Projected as one of the top five picks in the NBA draft, Georgia Tech’s 6-10 freshman Derrick Favors made it official Friday. He announced he will enter the NBA Draft, fulfilling the one-and-done prophecy many predicted.

“I just felt like it was the right decision for me to make,” Favors said Friday. “They said I was top 5, so I made that decision. I said ‘Why not?’”

Favors is one of the most highly-touted prospects Georgia Tech has ever had, coming in from South Atlanta as a Parade Magazine and USA Today high school player of the year.

He’ll leave after winning ACC rookie of the year and helping get the Yellow Jackets back to the NCAA tournament after a two-year drought.

He becomes the fifth Tech player to leave after just one season, along with Stephon Marbury, Chris Bosh, Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton.

Favors is projected to go as high as third in the draft by NBAdraft.net behind Kentucky’s John Wall and Ohio State’s Evan Turner and fourth by …

Continue reading Tech’s Derrick Favors to enter NBA draft – updated »

It’s been a week since Gani Lawal declared early for the NBA draft and fellow Georgia Tech forward Derrick Favors could follow suit soon himself. An announcement on the standout 6-10 freshman could come as early as today. Check back to ajc.com for details.

Favors, who averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds for Tech, is projected to go third overall in the draft by NBAdraft.net and fourth by draftexpress.com.

Continue reading Derrick Favors decision could come soon »

The good news from Saturday’s scrimmage is that Georgia Tech’s run game looked solid and the under-construction defense limited big plays. The bad news, according to coach Paul Johnson, is that if this were a game and he had to call a pass he wouldn’t have.

Though using only one coverage scheme because new coordinator Al Groh said he prefers repetition as a teaching tool as they install the 3-4 defense, the Yellow Jackets picked off three passes.

Safety Jemea Thomas read David Sims as he was rolling out and stepped in front of a pass along the right sideline. Safety Mario Edwards did the same to Tevin Washington on a similar play in a similar spot. Linebacker B.J. Machen intercepted Sims again, though he was hit as he threw, which caused the ball to float.

“We really struggled with it,” Johnson said.

But Tech did use the running game to score four touchdowns with Washington leading three drives andJordan Luallen the other.

The running game was sparked by B-back Lucas Cox up …

Continue reading Saturday practice review: Washington, Wright and Peters looked good »

Brad Jefferson now has a partner in the jungle: Steven Sylvester.

Sylvester has been moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker in Georgia Tech’s new 3-4 defense.

Instead of patrolling the edge of the line with room to space, he’s smack in the middle of the field, the area that fellow middle linebacker Jefferson calls “the jungle.”

“I like it a lot more,” Sylvester said. “It’s a lot more hands on than it was outside. I’m taking on blocks more directly than filling in and seeing what’s going on.”

Jefferson is used to patrolling the middle after playing in what’s termed the “Mike” the past two seasons. He said it’s nice to have someone beside him.

“I told him he’s got to be a like a lion or tiger in the jungle and be the king,” Jefferson said.

Sylvester and Jefferson said the biggest difference between playing the 4-3 last year and this year’s scheme is that guards get a free shot at them now. They’ve watched a lot of film and worked on improving their technique with …

Continue reading Tech Friday practice review »

Gani Lawal bypassed entering the NBA draft as a sophomore. (Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com)

Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal has decided to leave school and enter June’s NBA Draft.

Lawal, a 6-9 junior from Norcross, averaged 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds a game last season.

“I just feel like I’m ready to move on,” Lawal said. “I think I got the team to the next level.”

Lawal led the Yellow Jackets (23-13) to the championship game of the ACC tournament and second round of the NCAA tournament last season.

He said he’s going to finish this semester and then begin working out to prepare for the NBA draft on June 24 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Lawal ranked third in the ACC in rebounding and 14th in scoring to earn third-team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season.

“His effort and productivity this year was probably the main reason we were able to get to the NCAA tournament,” Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. “He’s a guy that gives great effort. He’s got a great motor. That’s one …

Continue reading Tech’s Lawal declares for NBA Draft »