UPDATE: Tech drops ACC opener to Miami
UPDATED, 7:30 p.m. Georgia Tech sought confirmation of its strong nonconference start. It received, instead, a kick in the pants.
In their ACC opener, the Yellow Jackets were outclassed by Miami, absorbing a 62-49 defeat Saturday at McCamish Pavilion. Tech lost patience on offense, was broken down on defense and had no answer for the hot shooting of guard Rion Brown.
“I think you’ve just got to look in the mirror and say, ‘At this particular point, on Jan. 5, they’re a better team than we are,” Tech coach Brian Gregory said.
Tech (10-3 overall, 0-1 ACC) was unable to build on the promise it showed in the first 12 games, mostly against a weak schedule, and saw its six-game winning streak come to a finish. Miami, a rugged bunch heavy with seniors, led for the final 25 minutes of the game, at one point breaking away for a 23-point edge.
Before a crowd of 7,614, Tech held Miami (10-3, 1-0) to a reasonable 41.5 shooting percentage, but had trouble producing at the other end. The Jackets shot 32.7 percent, their season low, and were outrebounded 40-29.
“We just haven’t played bigs like this all season,” said center Daniel Miller, who had a strong defensive performance but shot 2-for-7 for six points. “We prepared and all that good stuff, but we’ve got to get used to playing in the ACC.”
Said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, “I thought we came up here and played very, very good defense for 40 minutes.”
For Tech, the challenge only intensifies. The Jackets’ next game is Wednesday at N.C. State, the preseason favorite to win the ACC.
Said guard Mfon Udofia, “If you don’t bring it, this is what’ll happen to you.”
The game was tied at 17 when forward Robert Carter took his second foul with 6:36 remaining in the first half and headed for the bench. He joined Miller, also with two fouls, leaving the Jackets without two of their most effective players for the rest of the half. Miami closed on a 16-6 run as the Jackets turned the ball over four times, rushed shots and failed to box out.
“We gave up two offensive rebounds in the last three minutes (of the first half) for layups,” Gregory said. “So if you just take care of the board work, it’s a two-possession game.”
Down 10 at the half, Tech failed to make any headway. In a typical stretch, forward Kammeon Holsey scored against a double team to cut the lead to eight with 14:43 to go, but then Tech left Miami guard Durand Scott alone under the basket to return the lead to 10. Carter scored on a goaltend to trim the lead to eight again. Gregory clapped emphatically from the bench, exhorting the Jackets to buckle down defensively. Brown, from Hinesville, Ga., freed himself up for a 3-pointer. On Tech’s next possession, a steal by Miami guard Shane Larkin turned into a layup for a 13-point lead.
“We were never able to get those two or three stops and then two or three good offensive possession, as well,” Gregory said.
Down 23, Tech scored the final 10 points of the game, sparked by guard Solomon Poole.
Brown, the son of former Tech star Tico Brown, scored a career-high 22 points on 9-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Brown had come into the game having missed his past 15 3-pointers, but found his form in an 8 a.m. pregame shootaround. With about 40 family and friends in attendance, Brown came off the bench and made his first seven shots, including three 3-pointers.
“It’s always great to see your son do something really well,” said Tico Brown, now an insurance agent in Hinesville. “He played really well (Saturday). Of course, it’s always bittersweet when you’re going against Georgia Tech, but fortunately, this only happens a couple times.”
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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76 comments Add your comment
Paul in NH
January 5th, 2013
11:36 pm
@Supersize
O’Leary for AD? I guess getting UCF on probation, having a player die after a workout and losing a wrongful death lawsuit to the tune of $5MM is no impediment – but heck, I hear he has one heck of a resume.
Biff Pocoroba
January 5th, 2013
11:36 pm
Yes, we need a former player on the bench. That worked well for Hewitt with Willie Reece. Maybe we can get Price, Neal, Barry, or Harpring to leave their jobs with the NBA and take a pay cut to come coach.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 5th, 2013
11:43 pm
@ Paul……don’t forget him throwing Joe Burns under the bus while at Tech, not giving a damn about class attendance or grades, and of course the false resume that got him booted out at Notre Dame.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 5th, 2013
11:44 pm
@ Biff……do I detect a note of scarcasm there? LOL
Paul in NH
January 5th, 2013
11:46 pm
Biff
Don’t forget Dennis Scott and John Salley. They are probably tired of being on TV.
Biff Pocoroba
January 6th, 2013
12:04 am
Is Postorino back on the bench coaching now?
fuzzybee78
January 6th, 2013
12:47 am
Welcome back Tico Brown! Why couldnt we get your son to Tech??? Would have loved to see Sammy Drummer and Jim Wood as well. The ‘77 and ‘78 teams were pretty good BC “before Cremins” and upset some good teams in the Metro Conference. Thanks for the memories and the hard work!
Hope your son has a great career except against the Jackets!
Inside scoop
January 6th, 2013
2:52 am
You are all very wrong…the problem here is BG’s sorry offensive scheme…anyone could play either guard position b/c his system is made to play merry go round around the perimeter…he doesn’t allow guards to create or get loose..he treats them as robots which is why we can’t score over 30 points a game..there is no dribble drive just ball reversal after ball reversal…the Solomon starting mess is bs in BG system he would not be able to penetrate etc just as the other guards now if you really know the game you can see that the offense is set for failure BG is too blame not the guards..you fans will soon see the truth
Grow Up
January 6th, 2013
6:46 am
Wow – Instead of the griping and personal attacks on this board, some constructive discussion would be helpful. As one who has been around the game for 25 years as a player, coach and official, lets break this down. . .(1) Tech came out incredibly flat and never had the energy needed to compete in the first ACC game for many of these kids. That’s a combination of the holiday blahs (happens to even the very best college teams), a lack of belief in the intensity of ACC competition (that was solved yesterday would be my guess), some nerves (remember the number of younger players) and coaching (Gregory admitted as much); (2) Miami isn’t a bad team. While that was a game Tech needed, if they learn from it, they will be OK. This is not an incredibly talented team; it is an average team with some good young talent. They were beaten by a better team; (3) The defensive scheme didn’t work and Gregory didn’t adapt soon enough. Witness the last 5 minutes of the game when they extended the defense, began to trap and played more aggressive. They probably still would have lost BUT it would have been more exciting if they really got after it at three-quarters court the entire game. Fear is we aren’t conditioned and deep enough to do that. . .probably would have been worth the risk here as Miami didn’t handle it as well when we really brought it; (4) The offense looked anemic. We have no real motion that produces points. We shoot far too many bad threes and Miller has to muscle up and go hard to the basket. He has the ability to knock some people away as he surges to the hoop but instead looks for the pass before the shot. I don’t really care if he takes the offensive foul as he steamrolls the guy on his back. Establish your dominance early and the paint can be his.
The one ill-advised and, candidly, nonsensical thread of comments here is that Gregory is not the right coach or a talented coach. That’s a bunch of belly-aching that has no foundation. This team under CPH would have been lucky to win 3 games. Moreover, the discipline and intensity that Gregory brings to this program is remarkable. . .Sure, he still has to prove himself as a winner at the big-time college level but give him time to establish his base, work with his kids and bring his type of basketball to Tech. It will happen.
It could get worse before it gets better. The next four game stretch – NC State, Va Tech, Duke and UNC isn’t exactly a cakewalk. . .but it will be a great experience for these kids. Gregory’s biggest challenge here will be keeping the team’s belief in themselves up. I know he preaches every day – play hard and good things will happen. That needs to be the message.
Finally, I don’t care if you are a Georgia fan, a Tech hater or just a moron – if you don’t have anything constructive to say (and criticism can be constructive), go say it somewhere else. Thanks!
GT Positive
January 6th, 2013
7:31 am
Come on GT fans; show some support at the game. I felt we let down our team yesterday by not creating an energized environment for them to build upon. It’s our job to give our team a home court advantage. We’ve got this incredible new facility but it’s not going to matter if the 6th man doesn’t show up and do his job at the game. The crowd was there in numbers but was mostly quiet. The pep band does a decent job but we need to join the fight with positive cheers for our team. It’s embarrassing when the Miami fan chants can be clearly heard during the game.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 6th, 2013
7:38 am
@ Grow Up…….THANK YOU !!!!
And you too, GT Positive
This is not a good basketball team right now...
January 6th, 2013
7:51 am
Grow up, did you really just say this team would be lucky to win 3 games under CPH? lol.
Our schedule has been so damn easy even hewitt would have us sitting at 10-2. That’s the point. It’s absolutely 0 accomplishment. My mother could coach this team to at least 9 wins against the pathetic OOC we faced,
Guess what, last year GT lost 20 games. That’s the first time that has happened since Dwayne Morrison was our coach. We’re seeing his style of play. Boring, slow, offense and passive defense. He’s like Izzo, just without the coaching ability. A season and a half in an this is the type of performance we get. It’s pathetic.
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
January 6th, 2013
8:14 am
I suspect both the coaching staff and the players learned a lot from the Miami game. First, our big guys either need to stay out of foul trouble, or we’d better come up with an offense that can survive without them. It was a tie game until Carter and Miller were both benched with two fouls. That led to the 16-6 run which put the U up by ten at the half. Since the final margin of victory was 13, the vast majority of the deficit can be attributed to that 1st-half run by the ‘Canes.
Second, we need to be more aggressive defensively, especially when the shots aren’t falling on the offensive end. The pressure we employed at the end of the game allowed us to cut a 23-point deficit to 13. If such pressure had been applied earlier in the game, then the result might have been much different.
Third … and I hope the entire team already knows this … no one associated with the Tech basketball team needs to read the blogs in the AJC! There they will find comments from some of the most critical and least supportive “fans” in the country. If the team has just suffered a tough loss, all they need to do is read these blogs to discover that they are a bunch of untalented, poorly-coached, losers … just the kind of motivation to help them prepare for their next conference opponent.
Seriously, if some of you guys can’t think of anything constructive to say, it would be better if you’d keep your opinions to yourselves.
Iluvnutella
January 6th, 2013
8:33 am
What short memories people…..a GOOD portion of Dayton fans came on our blgs and THANkED us for taking Gregory off their hands (see Al Groh). This falls squarely on the shoulders of now deprated AD. He was one helluva fund-raiser, but couldnt hire a winner to save his soul. See our other new hires in other sports as confirmation. Gregory will be gone 1 year after new AD gets here.
dry dirt road
January 6th, 2013
8:58 am
I think Tech might have won if I had watched the game on tv. I got an “A” in basketball in Winter quarter of ‘71 at Tech. I thought game was on Monday. I saw no mention of when game to be played here on ajc. I’ll try to keep up with schedules better. I would like to have watched it. I think I could have helped. The games I’ve watched this year Tech won. I do not remember Tico Brown playing for Tech. What year was he playing? Did he play during the real gymnastics shorts years that Price, Salley and Yunkus played in, or did he play in the exhibitionist long boxer shorts years where players believe they can dribble between their legs better than through gymnastics shorts unis?
dry dirt road
January 6th, 2013
9:14 am
Tech got a good coach in Gregory. I like his clean cut haircut. No dermatology issues on his face such as mole bumps that protrude that would make him look like a warlock, or like a tree with bumps in it’s trunk(which I have heard are cancers)…he’s not a scarecrow made of straw trying to scare the other teams into losses. I think Price could have been another good coach, but he probably wanted more money than Gregory, and also Radikovich was the AD who did the hiring, and I’m doubtful he always had Tech’s Best interests in mind.
Taco
January 6th, 2013
9:23 am
Put the Poole Brothers in the game and be done with it. Carter. Georges Hunt and Holsey. Run and Shoot.
Taco
January 6th, 2013
9:24 am
I personally know Mark Price and I acn assure you money was no issue versus BG.
Brian
January 6th, 2013
9:35 am
Takes time to rebuild after the mess Hewitt left us in, hopefully we’ll win a couple more than we did last year. As long as we can show some improvement, Gregory will be able to keep recruiting and building the team back up. You can’t reload a program in just one year.
wreckmaniac
January 6th, 2013
11:58 am
Its time to hold this coach responsible. To lose a conference game by double digits at home against someone other than Duke or Carolina shows me we have problems. We would have given Paul Hewitt a big thumbs down for this. This coach needs to get going.
DOC 51
January 6th, 2013
1:49 pm
GT is not mentally tough enough for big games.The BIGS are too soft.CBG should have started full court pressure early second half.Don’t tell me that they can’t sustain it,because he can play a 10-12 player rotation.Solomon Poole is your PG for next year,so go ahead and let him start w/Udofia in the backcourt.I was at the game yesterday ,and the arena looks great.
DOC 51
January 6th, 2013
1:49 pm
GT is not mentally tough enough for big games.The BIGS are too soft.CBG should have started full court pressure early second half.Don’t tell me that they can’t sustain it,because he can play a 10-12 player rotation.Solomon Poole is your PG for next year,so go ahead and let him start w/Udofia in the backcourt.I was at the game yesterday ,and the arena looks great.
Silly Mutts
January 6th, 2013
3:49 pm
I agree with the positive constructive comments. I agree with the press but I think we should press in the 1st half as well (we have plenty of depth). Need to disrupt and trap players on defense. Non existent offensive and defensive rebounding positioning. Miami was really prepared. Very Very poor home crowd (somebody there needs to get the crowd into it!. I think everybody on the team can contribute and play better. Pierre Jordan looked like he belonged for once. Julian Royal needs more time to develop. The overall attitude and demeanor of GT is much better. Go Jackets!!!!
BT
January 6th, 2013
10:21 pm
@Supersize … aware of the Christmas break .. 20,000 enrollment .. not everyone goes home .. full attendance (seen via TV) at Duke games during break .. FYI .. am season ticket holder .. when students don’t fill their sections on game day, GT should sell the remaining seats/space to the public at a discount ..
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NGA Jacket
January 7th, 2013
11:21 am
I am satisfied with beating Georgia.