Bilas: Tech has ‘got to get better players’
Greetings,
Hope you’re well. The day that Iman Shumpert decided to head for the NBA, I left a message with ESPN analyst Jay Bilas to get his thoughts on what Georgia Tech had returning. He replied a day or two later, and then I spoke a little with him Monday.
He doesn’t hold out much hope for the coming season for Tech – not exactly a bold prediction, but certainly a logical one – but likes the hire of Brian Gregory.
Some Bilas thoughts:
“They’ve got some good players, but it’s somewhat of a rebuilding challenge. They’ve got to get better players. … He didn’t inherit a ready-made team.”
“I don’t really see them being one of the upper-division teams.”
“This is a good time to build in the ACC. The entire slate of coaches, 11 of the 12 coaches don’t have the years in the league that Coach K has in the league combined.”
“I’m not one of those that believes there are system players. You either can play or you can’t. Good players can play in any system.”
“His teams have always been very sound. They rebound very well because he emphasizes it and they look to run. He runs a similar break to what they run at Michigan State. He’s excellent at what I call special teams – out-of-bounds plays, great after a timeout. He’s really, really, really good.”
2. Shumpert, who signed with the IMG agency, has been working out at its training facility to prepare for the draft. Shumpert told Hoopsworld that he’s worthy of a first-round pick, thinks he can be a player like Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook and said he thinks the different roles he had to play at Tech will help him in the draft.
“Especially at Georgia Tech, we had a lot of one-and-done guys,” Shumpert said. “Every year, the team sort of changed and I had to play a lot of different roles. I think it helped me to adapt.”
(For what it’s worth, as I imagine you likely noted, Shumpert only played with one one-and-done – Derrick Favors.)
3. Andrew Jordan at Foxsports Carolinas gave his take on the ACC 2012 season. He pegged Tech as the 10th best (or third worst team) in the league. His analysis:
Even without Shumpert, Tech still has some talent and athletes, most of whom former coach Paul Hewitt had no idea how to best utilize. New coach Brian Gregory was a questionable hire to many, and without a true home court this season, Struggles are likely. Truth is the Tech players will work harder than they did for their previous coach.
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79 comments Add your comment
Wilson Dunkit
May 10th, 2011
6:09 pm
I’m disappointed in Iman Shumpert not only because he’s missed an opportunity to help out his alma mater but mostly because he’s letting himself down. He was on track for his degree and he is a classic example of an athlete who could truly develop and improve in his senior year. He would have likely been a sure-thing as a first rounder, would get to play more in his first NBA year, and would have the confidence and sheer pleasure of being a first team all-ACC and maybe even national player. I wish him the best, and appreciate what he has already done for Tech, but I think he made the wrong choice. I also think he is going to realize that very shortly.
Wilson Dunkit
May 10th, 2011
6:12 pm
Jay Bilas is spot on about Tech’s prospects and talent for next year, even if he is a Dookie.
Wilson Dunkit
May 10th, 2011
6:14 pm
“All” of the one-and-doners Iman played with? haha, like you said, Ken, Favors was about it. Iman is showing he’s still a kid, I’m afraid, and also showing why he ignored the advice of the NBA itself and went pro this year.
Wilson Dunkit
May 10th, 2011
6:15 pm
What do YOU think about Tech’s prospect for next year, Ken?
Wilson Dunkit
May 10th, 2011
6:20 pm
Despite what the Hewitt apologists say, Bilas is right about the major rebuilding the program needs. Fortunately, our AD had better sense than emphasize the degree of rebuilding and overhaul we needed the way Kay Yow did at State. Next year will be tough with no home court, a new coach, and no sure-fire leaders.
RamblinWreckFan
May 10th, 2011
6:22 pm
Iman actually compares very well with Russell Westbrook. If you look at their college stats, the two had very similar numbers and Westbrook played with a top 5 team both of his seasons at UCLA, while Shumpert played with only one very talented player in Derrick Favors last season. As far as skills, if Shumpert can improve his outside shooting, albeit a big IF, he projects very well on the next level. A 6′5″ guy who can defend very well, and handle the ball at time (I am confident his decision-making will improve with time) and get into the lane is always at a premium in the NBA and thats what Shumpert can do
Wilson Dunkit
May 10th, 2011
6:24 pm
New ACC coaching hires: Gregory, Gottfried, Larranaga, and Turgeon. Gregory and Turgeon are the best of the lot.
FullMetalJacket
May 10th, 2011
6:27 pm
Iman will succeed in the NBA, but he would have been better served to go pro after another year of college ball. Of course it would have helped Tech, too, in some ways for him to return, but I am speaking objectively. I respect all the kids’ choices to go pro, I just think he would have a chance to improve more playing a full season of ACC ball than possibly spotty playing time in the NBA.
geeks 4ever
May 10th, 2011
7:17 pm
hooray
SuperB
May 10th, 2011
7:40 pm
Is this the same Jay Bilas who said VCU had no business in the NCAA tournament?
Papa John
May 10th, 2011
7:50 pm
Better ingredients-better pizza. That applies to almost everything…except dog ball.
gt4ever
May 10th, 2011
8:18 pm
What in the world…. These kids are very good basketball players.. Hewitt was always tops in recruiting…. How much money does Bilas make for that kind of analysis……?
gt4ever
May 10th, 2011
8:19 pm
Jay Bilas, wow what a laugh….
BYRDDAWG
May 10th, 2011
9:43 pm
stuper B, Ga st was ranked 241 & they beat VCU!!! Their resume was no where near Va Tech’s!!!! Bilas gets paid because he KNOWS B-BALL!!! Coach Gregory will have a tough time next yr but they will play as a team…..
yellow britches
May 10th, 2011
9:58 pm
Do we still owe Paul Hewitt 7.2 million? I mean, is this guy legally and/or contractually able to double dip for the next five years? Help me understand this.
yellow britches
May 10th, 2011
10:00 pm
Oh, and did GT ever collect the one million buyout from Notre Dame when George O’Leary left? Just wondering.
Butts Wagner
May 11th, 2011
12:11 am
Talent wise, GT is at probably its lowest point since Hewitt’s first year, and I would say the talent level is better now than it was then. The rotation is pretty well set with Oliver, Holsey, Rice, Miller, Morris, and Udofia as the returning players who will be major contributors. Foreman and Hicks saw the court last year and will probably get some playing time in situations where other guys have a lot of fouls. With Royal coming in, that puts the number of guys who will see playing time at 9. That’s about the max number of players you want playing in a regular rotation in college anyways. Where GT will have problems is at PG with Udofia being the only option right now. And without a PG coming in this year, it’s going to be a problem that will linger at least through next year, and probably into the next year after that. Through the Hewitt years, we saw that point guard play tended to drive success of the team regardless of who the other players were. Depending on what sort of offensive discipline and system that Gregory runs, the PG problem might be mitigated to a degree. The core for the next 2 years is Udofia at PG; Oliver, Rice, and Morris as swingmen; and Holsey, Royal, and Miller(and Hicks for 3-8 min/gm) as PF/C. In 3 yrs, there’s still Morris, Holsey, Royal and Miller. Having a solid frontline while the backcourt goes through a transition isn’t the worst thing in the world. Ok, I’ve talked myself into hope for the future. Maybe not next season, but the 2 years after that.
Tech Forever
May 11th, 2011
12:38 am
Mark my words, 5 years from right now Gregory will have at most one win vs Turgeon. And DRad never even called A&M.
Mary Ann
May 11th, 2011
6:42 am
Hope he can change some of the unsuccessful coaching strategies he used at Dayton and get the Izzo style strategies to work for GT. Change is difficult…
P
May 11th, 2011
8:07 am
I’m looking for Mfon to return to form. Going back 1.5 seasons, he was playing well with Iman sidelined with injury his freshman year. Once Iman returned however, Mfon’s play began to tank as we was moved to the #2 spot. I think his confidence was severely negatively affected by CPH and Shumpert, and to a lesser degree Moe Miller. Now that they’re gone, we’ll get another look to see if Mfon deserved his #5 rivals PG ranking of 2009. One thing in his favor is that he can hustle, and he’s going to have to next year as there aren’t many other options at PG for tech.
Wishfull Thinking
May 11th, 2011
8:28 am
Gregory worked for Izzo. He knows Izzo. He’s tried to Coach like Izzo BUT he’s no Tom Izzo.
Joe
May 11th, 2011
10:32 am
Reporting is now transcribing a message someone left on your voicemail. Pretty sad.
Rodney Dangerfield
May 11th, 2011
12:17 pm
Iman: If the NBA draft committee says that I will go in the first round I will enter the NBA draft…
errr…..If the NBA draft committee says that I will go in the upper 2nd round I will enter the NBA draft…
NBA draft committee: Iman, you will be lucky to be drafted mid to late 2nd round if at all.
Iman: ERRR… If there is a chance in hades that I will be drafted at all I will enter the NBA draft.
Seems to me like Iman wanted to get out of Tech no matter what.
JSS
May 11th, 2011
7:09 pm
Westbrook played on teams with absolutely no offense talent… Those UCLA teams won with defense… The games are available online, try watching them for a change and stop looking at the stat box. They led the country in almost all defensive categories during Westbrook’s one season of being effective… Collison and Love were the only players with a offensive clue on that team. Shumpert has never shut down anyone like Westbrook did, and it has nothing to do with Hewitt…
Dirty Jacket
May 12th, 2011
1:05 am
Diehard Tech fan, love Iman, thought he could be playing for a National POTY honors next year if he stayed. I see people saying he will be lucky to get drafted in the 2nd round….honestly, he will be lucky if he gets drafted, period.
gt
May 12th, 2011
7:22 am
Bilas is a Dookie. Who is an expert on college basketball? There is so much parity. I tell you what Bilas won’t like, North Carolina may be the best in the country next year. With parity a huge amount of this is coaching, no mature superstars in college basketball. Duke does so well because they have a bunch of normal teenagers playing in a grammar school league for learning challenged children. I predict now that Tech beat Duke next year when they play in Atlanta, like he did a couple of years ago. We can’t bring a worse team on the court than that and we won.
ormewood
May 12th, 2011
7:39 am
‘Tech needs better players.’ In other news, water is wet.
GTfan
May 12th, 2011
10:29 am
Time for new blog Ken…………
Stinger 2
May 13th, 2011
3:15 am
Not much of an jaw droping statement by Bilas.