Georgia Tech needs a Keener mind on the bench
Since playing for the 2004 national championship, Georgia Tech is 77-75. This will be the Jackets’ third losing season in their past four. They’ve made a postseason tournament – and here we include the low-rent NIT – once since 2005. There’s more wrong than just bad luck. There’s mismanagement afoot.
Tech beat Miami on Wednesday. It was the Jackets’ first victory since Jan. 31, their third of calendar 2009. Nobody expected this to be a Top 25 team, but it shouldn’t have been this feeble. Tech starts two McDonald’s All-Americans but clinched last place in the ACC before February was done.
Miami, by way of contrast, has no McDonald’s All-Americans but is 17-11 and still retains an outside chance of making the Big Dance. Tech, which is 11-17, should have been no worse than that.
After Wednesday’s game, Paul Hewitt said: “This team has been unfortunate more than anything else. It hasn’t been a bad team.” It is, sad to say, such denial that holds Tech back. You don’t go from No. 2 in the country to last in a 12-team league without systemic malfunction.
Tech is undercoached. It doesn’t have North Carolina’s depth of talent, but it has enough to have been competitive. But, since taking an unassuming group to the Final Four, Hewitt has consistently gotten less from more. His 2006-07 team, which lost its first games in the ACC and NCAA tournaments, included four players now working in the NBA.
Hewitt admitted Wednesday he has made mistakes, but only in recruiting. “It’s always recruiting,” he said, and he mentioned Mohammed Faye, who transferred to SMU. Only it isn’t always recruiting. Tech keeps losing because it hasn’t developed players the way a big-time program must.
Being Hewitt, he hopped on his hobbyhorse. “We’ve had to adjust to tougher academic standards,” he said. “I tried to fight the APR [the NCAA’s academic progress report] hard because I felt it could have an effect on our program. But our academics are now in the best shape since I’ve been here. We had six guys on the dean’s list last semester.”
Other ACC schools, however, face similar scholastic rigors. For a coach in his ninth season at the Institute to use academics as an excuse – especially when the same coach took Tech to the NCAA title and was essentially handed a lifetime contract thereafter – is disingenuous. Hewitt knows what it takes to win at this school. He just hasn’t done it lately.
Owing to his recruiting class and his $7 million buyout, Hewitt is going nowhere, but potential help was close at hand Wednesday, sitting in the press section. Dean Keener was Hewitt’s chief assistant his first four seasons here, and he left after the Final Four to coach James Madison. Keener resigned last year and has moved back to Atlanta, where he’s working in the private sector.
Would Keener rejoin Hewitt’s staff if asked? “I wouldn’t even want to begin a dialogue [with a reporter] on that,” he said, and then he professed his relish for his new job, which affords the chance to be around his young children. Still, Keener coached for 20 years, and the itch never fully leaves, does it?
Asked about possible changes, Hewitt said he likes the composition of his staff very much, and certainly Tech’s heralded recruits are a testimony to assistants John O’Connor and Charlton Young and Peter Zaharias. But the best staffs forge a balance between coaching and recruiting, and the Jackets have veered out of plumb.
Put simply, Tech needs Dean Keener as much as it needed Derrick Favors. Maybe even more.
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155 comments Add your comment
chad
March 5th, 2009
8:23 pm
Where is the punch line in that joke? It is a great olay defense.
chad
March 5th, 2009
8:33 pm
Believing something to be true is not always a given that it is. If my arse was on the line like his is I would say the same thing to I guess. He has to know that his efforst are not getting the job done. I wish him well, but if the god father can be let go (Cremins) then he should be a little worried right now. Drad has a new boss and I’m sure he will be forced to make changes whether he wants to or not. I just don’t see how the current situation can be comforting. Two yrs ago he brought in the great class and we all saw how well that turned out.
Very disapointing. Hell they fired gailey and he had a winning record, he was accused of not taking the program to the next level. Where is Hewitt taking the program? Definately not in the right direction.
marseilles mutt
March 5th, 2009
8:39 pm
I have always been amazed at how quality academic schools like UNC, Duke, Wake et al, can constantly recruit the high caliber ‘team type ‘ players that will stay in their respective schools for a minimum of 3 and usually 4, or even 5 years in the case of a redshirt. By ‘team type’, I refer to a high caliber athlete that can accept whatever role is assigned to him by the coaching staff. Is ‘Supporting Cast’ the term I am looking for?
Tech seems bereft of this type of player. What seems to be the problem?
Is the lack of this ‘quality’ a reflection of coaching philosophy/system, offense vs defense, what? Exactly how do coaches recruit or perhaps coach this attitude? I have been a fan of CPH since he arrived at The Flats, and thought that these were the qualities to which he would expect as a given in his recruits, yet this has not been the case. How come?
He, and even CBC before him, constantly appear to seek out the ’super stars’ and be exceptionally successful in landing them. Yet they never seem to surround them with players who will make them even better, and vice versa. I wonder why?
Would rethinking personnel priorities costitute a change? Just wondering.
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
8:48 pm
Carolina lost Marvin Williams after one year. (Who drafted him, anyway?) Duke lost Luol Deng and Corey Maggette after one year, and Shaun Livingston didn’t even enroll. It’s not like the big programs never lose anybody; they simply find replacements. Tech still hasn’t adequately replaced Jarrett Jack, who played his final amateur game in 2005.
Gerry
March 5th, 2009
8:54 pm
Enter your comments hereB.J Elder took that team to the final 4.It amazes me how everybody forgets about him.
BravesFan79
March 5th, 2009
8:54 pm
Actually our defense rated as the top defense in the ACC (opp field goal %) for most of the season! This IS a good defensive team. (mostly due to Aminu and Lawal blocking shots) The problem is not getting out on the 3pt shooters….and could Hewitt please teach our guys to GUARD the white guy on the court….theres a reason there there…. they can SHOOT LIGHTS OUT!!!!
I cant remember how many times ive yelled at the tv…. “DONT LET THE WHITE DUDE SHOOT!”
which is usually followed by “stupid stupid stupid…”
The main problem has been our terrible offensive sets and guard play, lets hope Udofia is ready to step in and be a ACC caliber pt guard.
Good news? Were going to have one of the BEST frontcourts in the NATION next year!!
If we can just hit some 3’s along with that well be fine.
chad
March 5th, 2009
8:57 pm
Didn’t Mempis lose a great point guard from last season’s team? Where are they now? Having foresight is a good thing. I really think the trouble started when Austin Jackson spurned the jackets for the pro baseball route. Hey how about Zam Fredrick, I thought he wasn’t an NCAA caliber player? He seems to be doing well SOCAL East. How bout the great Rasean Dickey. Who do we blame for that? At leat the majority of CBC losses were due to the NBA. Not getting pissed and just leaving. Hewitt has set the program back years.
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
8:58 pm
B.J. Elder was indeed a good college player. But he had little part in the Jackets’ two regional victories or in the Final Four defeat of Oklahoma State that season. He sprained his ankle early in the Sweet 16 game against Nevada, which was coached by Trent Johnson, who’s now doing nicely at LSU.
Elder was also hurt in the New Year’s Day loss at Kansas the next season and was never quite the same thereafter.
chad
March 5th, 2009
8:59 pm
Free throws please
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:02 pm
Memphis indeed lost Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts early to the NBA. But the Tigers signed Tyreke Evans to replace Rose, and away they went again.
BravesFan79
March 5th, 2009
9:03 pm
Without a good quality assistant at least on the level of Keener, we will be .500 in the ACC next year, and be a 7-8 seed in the tourney. (And underachieve just like we did with Crittenton and Young)
But WITH a good experienced assistant to help Hewitt…this team next year can be a top 4 team in the ACC, and a 3-4 seed in the tourney.
Assistant Coaching can make a big difference……. why do u think Lane Kiffen talked his dad into coming to Tennessee instead of hiring some bum off the street?
marseilles mutt
March 5th, 2009
9:03 pm
MB, I would put the Williams and Dengs of the world into the ’star’ quality,wouldn’t you? When they are replaced the surrounding/supporting cast is already there and they keep right on trucking, or am I wrong?
chad
March 5th, 2009
9:04 pm
That is what I’m talkig about! Foresight is a wonderful asset to have.
BravesFan79
March 5th, 2009
9:11 pm
chad: No way you can compare the coaching ability of John Calipari to Hewitt!
Also no way you can compare conference USA to the ACC. Put this Memphis team in the ACC and there no better than 3rd or 4th in the conference.
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:12 pm
I’d put M. Williams and Deng and Maggette in the category of complementary players as collegians. Maggette played with Brand and Langdon and Battier. Deng played with Redick and the Landlord. (Who drafted that guy, anyway?) Marvin played with Felton and McCants and Sean May.
But the greater point is, I would submit, that if you’re going to get a one-and-done guy, you’d better have somebody coming right behind him. And that’s always tricky because a recruit is going to ask: “What if the one-and-done decides to stay a second year?”
Gerry
March 5th, 2009
9:22 pm
Damn Mark bring me down a notch.I all of a sudden feel small.I still can’t figure out why an NBA team didn’t draft Elder. I felt he was just as good as Reddick,Mccants and a few others that came out of the acc that year.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
March 5th, 2009
9:24 pm
A: Underachieve & Be Poor Shooters & Play Poor Fundamental Basketball
Q: What will our team continue to do under Paul Hewitt?
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:26 pm
It’s the old story: Elder was a tweener — not big enough to play small forward, not quick enough to play big guard, not a good enough ballhandler to play the point. McCants was a natural scorer but something of a pain. Redick is a great shooter who still is trying to find himself in the NBA.
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:27 pm
But Hewitt loved Elder, you should know, and once called him one of the best players in the country.
chad
March 5th, 2009
9:27 pm
What are you smoking? They were a number one seed last year. They were three minutes away from winning the national championship last year. They lost a grrrrrreat pg last year. They are in good shape to do some serious damage again this year. This isn’t football, Memphis is legit. I don’t like admitting that, but it is true. Memphis would roll tech by twenty or more this year. That is reality, Tech couldn’t even beat that school from Chicago, can’t remeber there name right now. So how can say Memphis is not legit. Not comparing conferences, comparing teams here. That is the truth no matter how bad it hurts.
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:29 pm
Up nine with two minutes left: I’ll never forget it. I had to do one of the fastest rewrites of my life that night. (Almost as fast as the one after Francisco Cabrera singled off Stan Belinda.)
chad
March 5th, 2009
9:32 pm
That was a great night!!!
Jackets Rule
March 5th, 2009
9:33 pm
It’s time to get old school, parochial school and Bobby Knight school into the program.
1. File for bail out money and buy out Hewitt, we’re sure the Army needs more recruiters. Recruiters never get command/leadership positions.
2. Miss a free throw – call a timeout and entire squad runs a suicide for each miss in front everyone. Run out of timeouts – welcome to the bench with the miss. (Train ballboys how to clean up vomit) The players who don’t make the NBA can enter the NYC marathon).
3. Wear skin tight uniforms, that baggy gear gets pulled all the time and referees are too winded to call a fair game and see all the pulling/pushing going on. Football lineman wear them to eliminate the problem.
4. Take a shot, follow the shot – you’re the first person to know it ain’t going in.
5. No ally-oops, showmanship until you’re up by 10 pts. You haven’t earn the right for ‘free play’ basketball.
6. Your shorts aren’t tied, you’re not going on the floor, get off my court. Be prepared or get the hell back into the locker room.
7. Every second a player standing flat footed on offense, another practice suicide is run.
8. Pick up your dribble, throw the ball away, have teh ball stolen or tied up for a jump ball — you’re going to the bench.
9. Since the pep band outnumbered the student body for the last 4-5 games – no student body tickets allowed next season. Since we ’supposed’ to be better next yr, GTAA may make up the 2008-9 ticket sales revenue for full price admission – damn poor students.
xpr
March 5th, 2009
9:35 pm
Mark, nice to see you write an article that doesn’t tick off Tech fans. For a team that can’t shoot free throws, what about also adding Mark Price as an assistant as well? The problem with Keener suggestion is that now it won’t happen since you suggested it and Hewitt would have to then admit he was wrong, which he can’t. But it is a great idea.
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:40 pm
I think the Keener thing could happen, my support notwithstanding.
And I hate to be a crab, but … I hear someone yell “follow your shot” at every game I attend, from the NBA to the Upward League at Griffin Middle School. And I should tell you that coaches don’t always want a player to follow his/her shot, especially if he/she is a guard. Coaches want floor balance, and if a guard follows a shot and doesn’t get the rebound, the other team is looking at a 2-on-1.
And someday I’ll explain why all those who criticized Bobby Cox for not guarding the lines when Dave Winfield hit his 10th-inning double in Game 6 of the 1992 World Series are completely wrong.
chad
March 5th, 2009
9:44 pm
Look at this way, how bad is the uga basketball team this year? Tech got lucky, I do mean lucky to beat them. 95 % of the teams Tech has played this year were much better fundamentally than Tech was. Tech is still having trouble on the inbounds pass. Explain that to me please?
Mark Bradley
March 5th, 2009
9:48 pm
It’s hard to fathom, but Georgia has won more conference games in 2009 under Pete Hermann than Tech has under Paul Hewitt.
chad
March 5th, 2009
9:50 pm
That is pittyful, just plain pittyful.
chad
March 5th, 2009
9:55 pm
Mark Price will not commit the time to be a true asst. coach. He enjoys his family time too much. Not that there is anytnhing wrong with that, but he is good at what he does. A semi asst who gives shooting lessons to the team. From my point of view there aren’t enough hours in the day for him to help tech.
chad
March 5th, 2009
10:08 pm
Thank goodness for Tech baseball is here. Hope they don’t disapoint this year. That team could really make some noise.
chad
March 5th, 2009
10:21 pm
Is the discussion over?
BCWRECK
March 5th, 2009
10:28 pm
Good article until you mention Keener. That was odd.
The current Assistants have put this undermanned team in position to win 6 or 7 more ACC games. Tech lead late in most all of the ACC games. How are the assistants responsible for those losses?
The players were looking at the Head Coach during these late collapses.
With the talent on this team, Tech should have won 2 or 3 more of those 6 or 7 games, and should be 4-12 or 5-11 at the end of this year.
Hewitt tends to lose these close games, not his assistants.
reckrider
March 5th, 2009
10:40 pm
We have needed new assistants for a couple of years now and I am glad that Mark has put it out in the open (although it has been discussed ad nauseum in Tech chat rooms). If the current assistants are so great (other than Charlton Young being a great recruiter), why haven’t they been approached for better jobs like Dean Keener and Cliff Warren were. CPH is a great representative for our school and I wish him much success next year. However, if changes aren’t made in the coaching staff after this year, he needs to understand that DRad has every right to ask for his resignation. I know Braine awarded him with an airtight contract, but if he continues to accept money for performance like this year, he should be ashamed.
chad
March 5th, 2009
10:44 pm
amen reckrider!
chad
March 5th, 2009
10:56 pm
I hate using this example, but look at Duke’s bench coaches. They do a wonderful job for coach K. Just saying.
BCWRECK
March 5th, 2009
10:59 pm
Keener was absolutely horrible at James Madison. He was 14-58 in 4 years. Not exactly a Developer, X’s and O’s coach, etc. Why do People and Sports Writers try to divert blame of the Tech Program to Assistants?
Who are the assistant coaches at the perennial losing teams? Do these programs need new assistants?
chad
March 5th, 2009
11:03 pm
Maybe he is more suited as an asst. rather than being a hc?
brian
March 5th, 2009
11:09 pm
Pretty much spot on the issues here. The fact Hewitt keeps making these lame excuses is very very sad. And the double whopper is he thinks this team is so good on defense. How many offensive rebounds did Miami have last night. It was maddening. And all an offense has to to is run a couple pics, create a big man/little man mismatch and go to town. I could sit in the stands (the few times I could tolerate the frustration of the team) and call the play for the other team… If a bozo like me can figure this out, why can’t hewitt? I will not even get into the lack of motion on offense, poor shot selection, free throws, silly ball handling by Miller, amazingly excessive dribbling by Shumpert, puzzling lack of heart by Peacock, and spotty performances by Aminu/Lawal. Oops, I just did. All comes down to what was mentioned – a total lack of player development. I just want to enjoy going to AMC again….
Jackets Rule
March 5th, 2009
11:32 pm
Sorry Mark but the best defense is an offensive rebound on a missed shot and a made shot should yield a 5 on 5 the other way…Tech fails too many times to get back on defense and gave up too many points be floor spectators this season. Hustle is not a word associated with any post-2004 Hewitt team.
chad
March 5th, 2009
11:44 pm
Congratulations to Tech basketball, RPI is 149. Makes me excited to be a jacket?
Ted Striker
March 6th, 2009
12:34 am
I blame the BCS for Tech’s basketball woes. (The BCS is also responsible for global warming, the flagging economy, male pattern baldness, and the Chris Brown/Rhianna fiasco)
The Bitter Gus
March 6th, 2009
12:44 am
9 years?
Since Lethal Weapon 3 in 1990… Tech has finished over .500 in the ACC just twice (Marbury in 95-96 @ 13-3 and Jack & Co.in 03-04 @ 9-7). So that makes 2 over .500 seasons out of 19!!!!!!!!
Translation – Tech STINKS!
There is no “mandate” to be good at basketball at Tech. How do I know this? It is obvious – Hewitt is still coaching! Imagine if Hewitt was the football coach and he was still here?!? MERCY.
Sure TECH will eventually have a winning season soon – but they will NEVER, EVER, EVER be a consistent 20-game winner / 9-10 win ACC team. Based, on the empirical historical evidence – you would be a deluded fool to even think this could ever happen.
Wreck7
March 6th, 2009
3:05 am
Fire Hewitt… Hire Cliff Warren… Just sayin
Alessandra
March 6th, 2009
5:04 am
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Alessandra
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Gordon
March 6th, 2009
6:41 am
Bitter Gus,
I am a deluted fool. I think Tech could be a consistent 20 game / 9-10 win ACC team. We play in a great conference, in a great city, and can attract great talent. With a good coach, why couldn’t we?
GT71
March 6th, 2009
7:00 am
One of the things we like about Mark Bradley is he gets into the job – he cares. He even cares enough to read through fan blogs and answer them. For that, Mark, we all thank you. As for Hewitt, he is, we’ve all heard, a really nice guy and a caring one too. Of course, we all know where the ‘nice guys’ finish. Would I like to have him over for dinner and a talk? Heck, yeah. Would I pick up his contract for next year? Heck, no! We don’t like the blame game, but Braine has to be mentioned in all this. Never, never, never give a coach or a national leader a ‘contract for life’. Never works. Like naming stuff for politicians before they are safely dead.
Mark Bradley
March 6th, 2009
7:06 am
Why, thanks, GT71.
As for Keener’s stint at James Madison … that’s not an easy job. And Larry Shyatt wasn’t a successful head coach at Clemson, but he made a difference as a Florida assistant.
mowreck
March 6th, 2009
7:17 am
Once you get in a rut, its hard to get out of it.
James Jackson
March 6th, 2009
7:43 am
Maybe we could use some of the Obama stimulus package money to buy out Hewitt’s contract. Now that would be money well spent!
BCWRECK
March 6th, 2009
7:52 am
Shouldn’t the current Assistants get credit for giving Tech the lead in most ACC games? The assistants didn’t lose the leads.