Archive for February, 2011

A transcript of quotes following Georgia Tech’s 72-63 loss to Florida State on Thursday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, courtesy of Tech’s sports information department:

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt

Opening Statement

“As well as they defended us and as poorly as we shot in the first half, I thought that we had a legitimate shot in the second half. Even though we were down 12, we had a chance to get back into this and get back into the game. We started off with some pretty good momentum, but we committed some fouls there when we were making our run, holding fouls, bad fouls that we talked about, that got them to the foul line, get some points and keep their margin for the second half.”

On not getting over the hump

“Not being able to get that third basket when we were trying to come back was due to their ability, but it was also due to the fouling. I think that really eliminated any chance that we had to get over that hump.”

On the team’s shooting percentage

“It could be what …

Continue reading Quotes after Tech’s loss to FSU »

Buried under the missed jumpers in Georgia Tech’s 72-63 loss to Florida State on Thursday was that Iman Shumpert scored his 1,000th career point.

It came on a jumper with 18:33 left in the second half. He is the 41st player in school history to surpass the mark. He has scored 1,019 points at Tech.

“I guess it’s a good feeling. I wish I could enjoy it more,” he said. “We’ve got to move on to the next one.”

The loss was Tech’s (10-13, 3-7) fourth in a row and third at home. The Yellow Jackets will play at Virginia Tech on Sunday.

Tech hit 29.9 percent of its shots against the Seminoles. After a 2-for-10 start, Shumpert rallied to hit 9 of his 23 shots. He also had 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season and second in the past five games.

Afterward, coach Paul Hewitt had nothing but praise for his junior point guard.

“He’s having a terrific career statistically,” he said. “He’s giving us everything that he has. He’s another guy that has grown an awful lot as a …

Continue reading Shumpert surpasses 1,000 points »

Continue reading More of Georgia Tech’s 2011 schedule is announced »

Brian Oliver’s surgery went well today. Two pins were inserted into Oliver’s broken left thumb this morning. They will be in there for two weeks and then he will re-examined to see how it is healing.

Oliver, a combo guard/forward on Georgia Tech’s basketball team, suffered the break — a small fracture in the base of the thumb — when a Clemson player’s hand came down on it as the players were battling for a rebound during last weekend’s game. He said the hand had been hit similarly many times, but this was the first broken bone. He tried to practice Monday, but said he couldn’t perform. At least seven Tech players have missed practices or games because of injuries or illness this season.

Tech (10-12, 3-6 ACC) will host Florida State (16-7, 6-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Oliver said on Tuesday that he hopes to return earlier than the 2-3 week prognosis. Tech will play at N.C. State on Feb. 26, and the ACC tournament begins March 10.

Oliver …

Continue reading Oliver’s surgery goes well »

Though Jamal Golden is a legitimate professional baseball prospect, he’s focusing on college football. Specifically, Georgia Tech.

Golden was one of 22 players to sign with the Yellow Jackets last week.

One of the first questions asked at Tech’s Signing Day shindig was will Golden shun the Jackets and play professional baseball instead, just like Jake Skole did last year?

Golden said the money may be a deciding factor, but “I really have been focused on college, especially as I started getting all these awards. Not that I can’t go far in baseball, but it seems like football is my ticket.”

Golden was named Mr. Football in Alabama, as well as a Gatorade State Player of the Year and Old Spice State Player of the Year after producing 3,477 yards of offense and 37 touchdowns for Wetumpka.

He is projected to play defensive back for the Yellow Jackets, a decision that he’s fine with.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “Anywhere I can help the team out.”

As an outfielder, Golden hit …

Continue reading Catching up with Jamal Golden »

Georgia Tech’s Brian Oliver will miss as many as three weeks after suffering a broken left thumb in Saturday’s loss to Clemson. The Yellow Jackets (10-12, 3-6 in the ACC) will host Florida State on Thursday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Oliver, a sophomore, had a small fracture in the base of the thumb on his non-shooting hand. He is scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday.

This is potentially a season-sinking blow to a team that has hit a rough patch in losing their past three games. Oliver, who has started 12 games, is averaging 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds this season. He was expected to provide a third scoring option for this season’s guard-focused team. After hitting 38 percent of his 3-pointers last season Oliver has struggled this year, hitting 29.5 percent of his 3-pointers and 36.8 percent of his shots overall. Partially as a result, Tech is hitting just 28.9 percent of its 3-pointers as a team.

His absence will likely mean more minutes for Jason Morris, Nick …

Continue reading Tech’s Oliver out with broken thumb »

Here’s a copy of Paul Hewitt’s transcript from Monday’s ACC teleconference:

Opening Statement:
“Iman Shumpert continues to have an outstanding year. He’s actually six points away from 1,000. He’ll actually be the 41st player in Georgia Tech basketball history to score 1,000 points. We also expect Nate Hicks to practice this week–today, tomorrow and Wednesday–and should be available for the game against Florida State.”

On finding a third scoring option behind Shumpert and Rice:
“Glen [Rice, Jr.] is having a terrific year. He’s really matured as a player, and his consistency is much greater than it was last year. It has been somewhat of a chore to find that third guy. The obvious option is Brian Oliver. When he has shot the ball well and played well we’ve been a very good team. But he’s been up and down this year in shooting the basketball. But he continues to come in and work and continues to try to take good shots to try to score points. That’s been part of …

Continue reading What Hewitt had to say »

Shaquille Mason learned, perhaps too young, that days shouldn’t be wasted.

Mason, who goes by Shaq and is a member of Georgia Tech’s 2011 recruiting class, recently spoke about a former high school teammate, Dylan Rebeor.

Rebeor was diagnosed with colon cancer last spring. He was strong enough to flip the coin in the semifinal game

He died a week later, the morning that Mason and Columbia Central made it to Tennessee’s 5A state championship game.

“Your day can be any day,” Mason said. “He fought the hardest of anybody I know. He was a strong kid.”

Led by Mason, Columbia Central went out and won the game for Dylan.

“That whole day, we just felt like we had to win it for him,” he said.

From the Herald-Citizen:

Dylan’s fight to stay alive served as inspiration for his team throughout the 2010 season. Columbia Central posted an 8-2 regular season record and then rolled through the postseason with victories over Lenoir City, Knoxville Catholic, Tullahoma and Knoxville West. …

Continue reading Catching up with Shaq Mason »

Georgia Tech center Nate Hicks should be able to play against Florida State on Thursday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, coach Paul Hewitt said on Monday. The game is at 7 p.m.

Hicks, a 6-foot-10 freshman, has missed the past three games after having his appendix removed. He is averaging 1.6 points and 2.4 rebounds this season and has provided a steady defensive presence for the Jackets inside the free-throw lane.

The Yellow Jackets (10-12, 3-6 ACC) are coming off a 65-56 loss to Clemson on Saturday. They have lost three consecutive games.

The Seminoles (16-7, 6-3 ACC) were beaten by North Carolina 89-69 on Sunday. They are led by Chris Singleton (13.9 points per game), the only Seminole ranked in the ACC’s top-20 scorers. He also averages 7.3 rebounds per game.

– Doug Roberson, AJC

Continue reading Hicks should return for FSU game »

Georgia Tech will open its 2011 football schedule with a Thursday night game against Western Carolina on Sept. 1, according to WCU. The rest of the ACC’s football schedule may be coming out this week. Georgia Tech’s opponents are already known:

2011

• ACC Home: Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
• ACC Away: NC State, Virginia, Miami, Duke
• Nonconference Home: Kansas, Western Carolina, Georgia
• Nonconference Away: Middle Tennessee State

The Catamounts went 2-9 overall, 1-7 in the tough Southern Conference last season. They averaged 16.5 points and allowed a whopping 34.5. The rushing attack was led by Decatur native Michael Johnson (611 yards), who will be a junior.  The team was quarterbacked by Zac Brindise, a transfer from South Carolina. He passed for 1,405 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior. After the season, coach Dennis Wagner fired offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf and tabbed himself as the play-caller.

Tech coach Paul Johnson is a WCU alum (class …

Continue reading Georgia Tech will open with a Thursday-nighter »