Rip Tech’s Hewitt for losing already? Not just yet, I say
Iman Shumpert, who made four turnovers. handles the ball against Dayton. (AP photo)
About now, you’re expecting me to rip Paul Hewitt for losing to Dayton in Puerto Rico. But here’s where I throw the ol’ changeup and say: Losing to Dayton is not a bad loss.
Dayton is good. (Indeed, the Flyers were ranked higher and were favored by a point.) Dayton is expertly coached by Brian Gregory, whom I’d have preferred Georgia had hired over Mark Fox, who managed to lose to Wofford on Tuesday, which was a bad loss. And Tech, as talented as it is, is going to need some time to coalesce.
Yes, this assumes it will coalesce, and after some dud seasons with loaded teams — 2002-2003 with Chris Bosh remains the not-so-shining example, with 2006-2007, when a team with four players who would work in the NBA managed to lose 12 games, not far behind — there’s cause to wonder if this will be any different for Hewitt. I’m willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. But I’m not willing to extend it forever. This team has all it needs to reach the NCAA tournament and play deep therein, and if it doesn’t … well, it won’t be for lack of manpower.
Certain aspects of the Dayton game were familiar. Twenty-six turnovers. Nine missed foul shots. A late lead squandered. But I say again: It’s early. And Kansas, which is ranked No. 1, nearly lost to Memphis, and Kentucky, which I consider the nation’s best team, needed John Wall’s jumper to override Miami (Ohio), which hasn’t had Wally Szczerbiak for a while now. Nobody ever wins a national championship in December, let alone before Thanksgiving.
I expect Tech to get better. I expect it to be no worse than third-best in the ACC. I expect Hewitt to maximize resources. But I have, as we know, been wrong before.
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150 comments Add your comment
dmortone
November 20th, 2009
7:07 am
First!
dmortone
November 20th, 2009
7:09 am
Ironic the first time I get first post is on a column about GT basketball, when GT academics has me up this late/early to begin with.
Just Sayin'
November 20th, 2009
7:13 am
Gel, gel, gel! Be ready when the ACC portion of the schedule begins. Go Jackets!
louisville slugger
November 20th, 2009
7:15 am
26 turnovers. Wow. If that trend continues, we have a serious problem; we can no longer use “inexperienced guards” as an excuse.
NerdLover
November 20th, 2009
7:18 am
I hear that Tubby Smith is available:)
Matt
November 20th, 2009
7:20 am
Nerdlover: No, Tubby is doing just fine in Minnesota with a nicely talented roster.
Peachtree John
November 20th, 2009
7:28 am
6th! That’s a first.
Wishing Paul well, but his history is not good. Hopefully GT will hire a winner next time.
hellavuengineer90
November 20th, 2009
7:30 am
Turnovers, Turnovers Turnovers, poor free throw shooting, poor free throw shooting. These have been the hallmarks of Paul Hewitt teams. I truly hope this team gels, but my patience is wearing thin because I see the same problems all the time. You can thank me later Mark when you have your article later in the year about how turnovers and poor free throw shooting have played GA tech during the Hewitt years. Hopefully you will not have to write it. Ironically this is the first year I have purchased season bball tickets as I have high hopes. It could also be my last for quite awhile too.
John
November 20th, 2009
7:33 am
No one is ripping him for losing. It’s the way he loses. The same crap every year. 26 turnovers? Around 50% free throw shooting. He doesn’t teach fundamentals. He just recruits these idiots who run around the court with no discipline. Hewitt would learn a lot from coach johnson and his players about discipline. Hewitt is a joke. 26 turnovers.
hogmtnplayer
November 20th, 2009
7:43 am
Hewitt’s a great guy and a great recruiter, but obviously struggles building a “team”. Reminds me of Ray Goff . . .
DRC
November 20th, 2009
7:45 am
Mark, this team plays just like a typical Paul Hewitt coached team. Poor foul shooting, turnovers galore, and poor outside shooting. Team is just not fundamentaly sound. This same type of coaching has been going on it seems forever. Frankly, I’m just tired of watching his product on the court and I am a loyal Tech fan. I would think he could see the same thing we see and do something about it. Maybe he spends too much time on his other job. “Time For Change”.
MalibuGT
November 20th, 2009
7:47 am
I’m with you mark. I’m not ready to start wailing with a November game, far from home, against a quality opponent. But Hewitt doesn’t have much of a safety net anymore….
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 20th, 2009
7:53 am
How does a guy go from genius to moron? He has taken the team to the final four and to the bottom of the ACC. He needs to recruit a legit point guard, That has always been Techs strong point, no pun intended.
Tech75
November 20th, 2009
7:54 am
Beat the rush, start criticizing now
Seven point lead, 5 to play, go back to his statements (”this team has a chance to be really special”), Gani Lawal’s statements (”not on my watch”).
What BS.
This will end up being another 15-12 bubble team, and Hewitt’s death knell.
Any other decent coach could have pulled this one out – all these games require more mental toughness than Hewitt can bring or create.
Sorry, really disappointed.
MK
November 20th, 2009
7:57 am
He did not take “His Team” to the final four! That’s the point…
SamInAtlanta
November 20th, 2009
7:57 am
Tech had at least one streak of 4 straight trips down the court without attempting a single shot due to turnovers. They say their strong point is in pounding the ball inside to Lawal and Favors. The few times they do this good things happen, but they seem to want to shoot from the outside instead much too much. Really not a good idea when you only have one 3 point shooter. Maybe with experience they will settle down go with the game plan. I hope so. This can be a really good team.
Hey Dogtards
November 20th, 2009
7:59 am
I don’t know why everyone is freaking out. This was against a ranked team on a neutral site. If it was #18 [insert Big 10 or Big East team name here], nobody would care. Yeah it was sloppy. IT WAS THE SECOND GAME OF THE SEASON. CPJ got to lose to Miami without much criticism. If we end up at 15-12 then yes, he deserves to be criticized. But sloppy play during one game at the beginning of the season against a ranked opponent, who you place close, does not deserve the chicken little treatment.
dgroy
November 20th, 2009
8:01 am
Based on what I saw against Dayton……Paul, you better get busy man……your team’s gonna get killed by the elite of the ACC. Overall season record probably won’t be any better than “last year” (quotations because this is the “last year”).
SamInAtlanta
November 20th, 2009
8:03 am
Both teams were ranked; and Tech was ranked higher in the Coaches’ Poll. Tech, being an ACC team and having a 10 man rotation, shouldn’t have lost this game. However, I too thing they will develop and become much better.
Ezekiel
November 20th, 2009
8:06 am
Coach Hewitt needs to win games early in the year to get the fan base interested in basketball game. The Tech basketball program is hemorrhaging money and can’t afford to have this team stumble out of the blocks. Tech fans aren’t going to throw good money after bad after what happened last year. Won’t happen. Talk more Tech hoops at: http://www.bbuzzoff.com
Ozzy
November 20th, 2009
8:06 am
The way he substitutes two and three players every two minutes, they look like a 3rd grade recreation league team.
Does every player get a participation “trophy” at the end of the season, paid for by their parents?
Pick the five that play best together (not necessarily the five best individuals) and let them play. Substitute them when they’re gassed, Paul, not because you want to spread the minutes. (i.e. pulling Lawal after two minutes in the Fl A&M game).
No excuses this year Paul. Produce or do the honorable thing and resign.
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 20th, 2009
8:08 am
Turnovers, foul shots… ah yes, GROUND HOG DAY is back.
BUBBLE BOUND BABY!!!
pws
November 20th, 2009
8:08 am
Hey John, isn’t that what we started accusing Bobby Cremins of doing, recruiting super stars but not being able to coach them on fundamentals? I’m not sure any of the kids are being coached on the fundamentals anymore, they are all trying to play like what they see in the NBA. As much as I hate Coach K, I do think he is one of the few that still coaches fundamentals, along with Roy. And both of those guys continue to win, year after year. PHewitt should watch and learn from them.
GT JJ
November 20th, 2009
8:10 am
Dogtards – i would agree with you (don’t freak out yett) if Hewitt’s teams didn’t have sloppy play at the END of every season. i would be willing to agree with you if there weren’t years of proof that hewitt’s teams do not get better due to coaching. this team should improve just from the fact that the freshmen will settle down and figure out FOR THEMSELVES how to play college level ball. Our final four run was a product of Jack and Bynum stepping up and taking over on their own.
Mark – The most telling comment you made was “Dayton is expertly coached by Brian Gregory”. When has ANYONE been able to say that about a CPH team?
blackprix
November 20th, 2009
8:10 am
Unfortunately ripping Paul Hewitt is deserved these days. Chan Gailey was ripped because we all knew we could be better, AND WE ARE.
Same thing holds true for Hewitt. I hope the GT Alums pony up the $$$ cause this mess is not going to change unless the current coach is let go.
GTpak
November 20th, 2009
8:10 am
Sorry, but I don’t think Paul has a clue. Decent recruiter, but cannot coach and seems to be too lackadaisical. If he were serious about winning, the team would shoot 70% from the free throw line, and reduce turnovers to a respectable level. He would foster team play, rather than a game approach where the players at times seem to have no clue on how to run a half court offense.
His coaching skills appear to be mediocre at best. How do you get outscored 13-2 in the last 2 minutes?
SamInAtlanta
November 20th, 2009
8:11 am
If Coach K had coached this Tech team during the Dayton game we would have won with a double digit win.
"Chef" Tim Dix
November 20th, 2009
8:11 am
I praise and wish I had his agent who got him the best buy out clause in the history of mankind!
B'Ham Jacket
November 20th, 2009
8:12 am
This game looked like a continuation of last year.
Looked like the same team.
Kept trying to get it inside and that did not work last year and is not working now, missing free throws, turnovers: can’t win with the big boys like this. Is it the players or is it the coaching???
Frustrating to watch.
eBuzz
November 20th, 2009
8:22 am
Struggled mightily to barely win the first game, and now beaten in the third by a lower tier Dayton team, with according to everyone – can’t miss stars. More Hewitt incompetance. He’s taken what finally did in Bobby Cremins (great recruiting, poor game coaching) to newer and newer depths. Time to take charge, D-Rad, and make the tough call (Why do I say tough? Actually, it should be easy by now.) and do what you have done for football.
Dooley's Cardiologist
November 20th, 2009
8:24 am
I’ll start caring as soon as football season is over. That said, he should have been gone a long time ago.
dagnabit
November 20th, 2009
8:25 am
Hewitt is the dreggs of the barrel.
Tech Fan
November 20th, 2009
8:28 am
If the body of work included “this year” then it would be improper to make harsh judgements. The body of work; however, includes a lot more than “this year”. The body of work is consistent: TONS of tallent which significantly underachieves, unless there happens to be a couple guards who can win in spite of the coaching (final four team). The things we were upset about last year, were the same things we were upset about the year before that, and in fact every year, sans the final four team (which didn’t have all his players and I believe won in SPITE of Hewitt, not because of.) The same players who don’t win much for CPH go onto the NBA and are awesome. NBA scouts have admitted that much and scratch their heads. Whoever said Coach K would win with our players is right. The problem isn’t recruiting, fan base, dollars, the weather or anything else…the problem is the captain at the wheel CPH, with the golden parachute.
Herschel Talker
November 20th, 2009
8:32 am
63-59!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ZamBonE
November 20th, 2009
8:33 am
Same stuff, different year. The turnovers are bad, but we are young, and that is expected from a young team. The free throw shooting however, has been awful from Hewitt’s first day. You can’t shoot 55% from the charity stripe and expect to compete at a high level. Look at memphis a few years ago. That team was loaded with talent (Rose, CDR, Dorsey). Granted, they won a ton of games and played in confernce usa, but free throw shooting was their undoing against kansas. Last year Hewitt talked about not being able to finish and win close games. Well maybe if we practiced our FREE THROW SHOOTING, we could have put away at least half of the close games we lost. These guys are elite scholarship athletes and as a team we should shoot very close to 70%. These are uncontested shots from 15 feet away, and for some reason (poor coaching), we can’t make them.
Tech75
November 20th, 2009
8:35 am
DRad needs to fire a shot across Hewitt’s bow – NOW, if he hasn’t already done that.
I don’t give a rip about the buyout. If we need a new coach, let’s go get one, the alumni will fund the buyout if necessary.
I think Hewitt knows he’s on the way out.
If this team, at the half-way point of the season has more than 5 losses, Hewitt should be taken out back and just plain shot.
A VERY FRANK DISCUSSION IS REQUIRED – NOW, before another season slips away.
Brock
November 20th, 2009
8:36 am
slugger- …if that trend continues? it has continued…from last year. Along with the horrible free throw shooting. You would at least think they worked on that over the summer. 2 ACC wins last year was the outcome of poor discipline. Get it on track or get the hell out.
Mark Bradley
November 20th, 2009
8:36 am
Actually, the Final Four team of 2004 was Hewitt’s team. None of those guys had played under Cremins, and only Marvin Lewis had signed to play for Cremins.
TechHoops
November 20th, 2009
8:37 am
The team is young. I am tired of all the Hewitt bashers. He has teams that compete, but lose too often. This Ga Tech’s best recruiting class ever!! You gotta get up there if you want to play against the big boys. That team was a bunch of guys playing together for years. They will get much better. The comeback and play in the second half was really good except for the stretch, which is what matters.
Tech is gonna be really good for the next few years with these guys and a couple coming too. You guys need to lay off Hewitt. I tell you be careful what you wish for. If he leaves I think we will have Chan Gailey type medicre seasons but won’t be great. Remember, his teams gel at the end of the season. We were awful last year but almost went to the semis in the ACC. If Hewitt is pushed out I don’t think we will fare well for a while.
Tech will be different this year. LEts see how we do against James Mason who took Villanova to the wire. We should be able to impose our will. I wish we had won as I think we would take Villanova this year.
We also got a bad call that gave them the go ahead 3. Our problem is the perimeter still leaves their man on defense. Even Bell did it and did it more than Miller did (who was really bad about that last year)
This team did not look like last years team. That team would have folded and lost by 15. We came back and were winning. Just no confidence and defensive problems on the perimeter. But don’t worry. That coupled with taking care of the ball will have this team looking really good before Christmas. I think we will win our ACC opener against Fla State (who is ranked)….just watch.
Baba O'Riley
November 20th, 2009
8:39 am
If he can’t win with this talented group, HE CAN’T WIN. Does it matter what players are here? I know it’s early, but Hewitt teams make the same mistakes over and over and over again. I get tired of seeing the other team hit uncontested 3’s. I get tired of HOPING we hit 1 of 2 foul shots. I go into every game KNOWING we will dribble the ball off of our own feet and out of bounds at least twice. Unforced turnovers galore. Welcome to another season of GT basketball. Thank you Dave Braine.
sidewalk74
November 20th, 2009
8:39 am
As long as Hewitt’s the coach this is what we will get. One lucky season out of 9 does not make him a good coach. It makes him a lottery winner based on the crazy contract he was given. Since the Final Four run in 2004 he has done nothing worthy of keeping his job. Poor win\loss record and an even worse graduation rate. For him its only about getting kids to the NBA, everything else is secondary.
Johnny dee
November 20th, 2009
8:42 am
If only coach Hewitt were as good a coach as he is a person. Same ol same ol…too many turnovers, lapses of concentration, sloppy play, no energy etc. etc. Nothing changes until the coach goes bye bye
Tech Fan
November 20th, 2009
8:43 am
The good news, if you want to call it that, for CPH is that he has a lot of games to prove the doubters wrong. Anyone who says, “well if so and so stays we will be awesome”, is automatically an idiot in my view though. No stud player you would tend to say that about stays. They all leave as soon as they can. I don’t blame them. I agree with that choice. My point is, don’t hold your hat hoping some top 25 NBA prospect is gonna stay just to help GT win. Anyway, it’s Groundhog Day so far this year, and last year, and the year before, and….ahh well…who really cares…isn’t that the point?
GTGuy44
November 20th, 2009
8:43 am
The only positive going on is the Hewitt supporters are shrinking in number. Before last season they said we would be really good. We were 2-14 in the ACC. Pitiful. Then they said wait until the frosh arrive and we will be great. We will have a losing record in the ACC. He simply cannot coach. I pray that our new president has the guts to broom him and just face up to his buyout which Dave Braine totally screwed Tech with.
Mark Bradley
November 20th, 2009
8:45 am
Tech plays George Mason this afternoon, and GM nearly beat Villanova in Puerto Rico. Let’s see what develops in this one, shall we?
Paul Johnson>paul hewitt
November 20th, 2009
8:46 am
Hewitt again finds a way to allow his team to squander a lead late in the game. Different team, same results. We’re up by 7 with 3:30 left to play. Turn it over twice in that span and miss the front end of a 1-1 (just like a turnover).
Dayton didn’t seem to have a problem making their free throws down the stretch.
You had a chance to pad your NCAA tourney resume with this one and you blew it. Being up 7pts late should result in a W every time with the talent we have on this team. Had we won though, Villanova would have beaten us like a drum. After we underachieve again and miss the tourney, DRAD needs to go get Jay Wright at Nova.
Whatsthegoodword
November 20th, 2009
8:46 am
Don’t y’all have someone up there that can delete all this “first” crap – and all the posts that have nothing to do with the blog??
thebull35
November 20th, 2009
8:46 am
Why is it that Derrick Favors only got SIX SHOTS in a game that is a close loss, and DeMarcus Cousins can go for 26 and 18. Derrick was the CONSENSUS player of the year by most voting services and has dominated Cousins everytime they have faced each other in the past couple of years on the AAU circuit, AND when they faced each other last year in high school. This is a clear sign that Hewitt is not using the kid right and not allowing the offense to go through him through critical stretches of ball games. I have always been a follower of Tech Basketball and have supported Hewitt through his tenure, but it seems as if Hewitt is delibrately trying to freeze out Derrick so that he can keep him for more than one year. Everybody (including me) has used that excuse for Paul Hewitt, saying that Tech cant have continued excellence due to the enormous amount of one-and-dones that he has had. But this is outrageous. Let the kid play, because if not you wont see many more big time recruits coming to the flats while Hewitt is there.
GTGuy44
November 20th, 2009
8:48 am
The only positive going on is that the Hewitt supporters are shrinking. Before last season they said we would be great. We finished 2-14 in the ACC. Pitiful. Before this season it was wait until the frosh get here we will be great. Face facts Hewitt cannot coach. I pray that our new president sucks it up and fires him. I absurd buyout that Dave Braine left us with is painful, but necessary to get rid of him.
acowa
November 20th, 2009
8:50 am
Fan apathy has set in. People aren’t buying tickets and students aren’t coming to the games either. CPH really needs to get off to a good start. We have great talent this year.
willie
November 20th, 2009
8:50 am
I agree. This is clearly a make-or-breat season for Hewitt, but an early close loss to a good Dayton team is nothing to get worked up about.
Mark
November 20th, 2009
8:50 am
Same old same old. 26 TO’s, and barely .500 FT’s. Just poor. How many McD All-Americans do we have now? 38% six-year graduation rate! It’s clear to me why we are losing. How my alma mater can put up with this, I don’t know. I know the buy-out is huge, but CPH needs to get it in gear before Christmas, or what’s left of the fanbase will be gone. This is an embarrassment.
Tech75
November 20th, 2009
8:50 am
Anyone who thinks GT Basketball is on a long-term uptrend has to be deluded.
The trend is DOWN.
Hewitt’s program, his “stars”, will be gone inside two years. His program has become simply a waypoint for the NBA…players come in, get a taste of the ACC, get some physical maturation, then they’re gone.
We need good, solid, 4-5 star players that WILL NOT leave for the NBA after 2 years; we need to get 3 years out of them on the average, not 1 or two.
No team can develop any consistency if there’s a revolving door, and half the players are concerned solely with being a lottery pick…
They may be great individual players, but they are THE WRONG PLAYERS.
GTGuy44
November 20th, 2009
8:53 am
TechHoops you are out of your mind. His teams gel at the end of the year to simply insure another losing season. Look at his record before you embarrass yourself.
George P. Burdell
November 20th, 2009
8:56 am
GT basketball is starting to remind me of Groundhog Day. I keep hoping to see some improvement with the “upgrade” in players, but this game looks exactly like how we played last year, and the year before, and so on. We don’t defend the 3, we don’t hit the 3, our defense is sloppy and lazy, our offense at times just disappears and the ball handling will get us killed in the ACC if we don’t see some improvement. The really worrisome thing about this team is we don’t seem to have any shooters. We are great from 4 feet and in, but once that is taken away, our offense goes into hibernation. We sorely need a few more players that can hit the 8 and 10 foot jumpers, or this team becomes way to one dimensional. Lets not mistake the opposing team getting sloppy and making a bunch of turnovers as some great coaching job by Hewitt. They let us back in the game and then when the game was on the line, the true coaching and talent took over.
Paul Johnson>paul hewitt
November 20th, 2009
8:57 am
Mark – You’re right about Marvin Lewis signing to play for Cremins (as well as Clarence Moore). However, if Lewis would have left when Hewitt was hired, we don’t make the Final Four in 2004. Matter of fact, we wouldn’t have made it out of the first round. Remember the following year after Lewis left, we still had Jack, Bynum, Elder, McHenry, and Big Luke. We definitley lacked a consist outside shooter and leader, which Lewis and Moore brought to the Final Four team. Hewitt hasn’t been able to bring in a leader to this team since 2004. I don’t really see a leader emerging for this year’s team either.
chatter
November 20th, 2009
8:57 am
Your wrong Mark Bradley Clarence Moore was a major part of the final four team. As for Paul Blewitt, he recently made comments at the Black College Coach’s Assoc. stating that Black player shouldn’t go to a school that doesn’t hire black coaches. What is that called, I will help you Racists. If Paul Johnson says the same thing about white players he would be fired. The leash for this looooooser is to long and the sad fact is he has a life time contract Tech can’t afford to fire him. Unless the Tech nation refuses to go to games and support the joke of team he puts on the floor he is going no where except to the bank to keep depositing pay checks. D Rad he doesn’t have Tech’s best interest at heart he is self serving Jerk Off.
juvenal
November 20th, 2009
8:58 am
mb-do you dictate your posts?..if 5 turnovers were the equivalent of a fumble or int, how happy should we be with 4 or 5 a game?since the d coach left after san an, we don’t play any when it matters, all a lot of us wonder is if we have the best assistants, cmr & cph share the same arrogant stuborness in refusing to even seemingly to even stoop to consider any criticism about THEIR underlings…cph needs to consider that with CPJ’s sucess, we may be able to afford to buy him out…
jacketbacker
November 20th, 2009
8:58 am
we’ll see mark…..the team i saw yesterday looked alot like hewitt’s teams from the last couple of years……turnovers and missed freethrows!!……..this is just one poorly coached basketball team….can’t even do the fundamentals….i hope DRad is doing his homework on possible coaching candidates for next year……i bet he is making some phone callls soon!
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 20th, 2009
9:06 am
When Chuck Amato was fired from NCST., GT became the school with the worst Head Coach in Men or Women NCAA (all divisons) sports.
collegeballfan
November 20th, 2009
9:07 am
” I expect it to be no worse than third-best in the ACC.”
Wow! Do not get to far out on the limb good buddy.
MRPGT1
November 20th, 2009
9:09 am
Same problems, different year. 26 turnovers, 55% free throw shooting, poor game management, poor timeout management( who told Paul it was a good idea to call a timeout in the middle of a run after a made basket).He never has enough timeouts at the end of a close game because he has wasted a few needlessly. The sad fact is we are stuck with him for this year and 2 more. Until we pay Gailey off at the rate of $83,333.33 a month we can’t afford to fire him. I’m not sure we can fire him then. Dave Braineless did Tech a real diservice when he gave Paul his current contract. Yes, it is early, but our problems are the same. Our coaching staff does not, cannot teach the fundamentals of BB.
Tech Fan
November 20th, 2009
9:09 am
Paul Blewitt, hah, good one
BB's
November 20th, 2009
9:12 am
How is it that Lawal and Favors together took fewer than 20 shots! The whole team only took 45 shots. the offense is, and has been, pathetic under Hewitt. The thing that most amazed me last year was the inability to inbound the ball. Nevermind a play to score off of an inbounds pass, they couldn’t even get the ball inbound. Surely there is someone there who could take the chalkboard away from CPH and draw up a freaking inbound play! Two points in the final 5 minutes, and that came when a Dayton player “saved” the ball from going out into Favors hand for an uncontested dunk. How does a group of All-Americans go 5 minutes without scoring. For the most part, they can’t even get good shots. It’s coaching, plain and simple. I played the game, and I’ve coached the game. It ain’t rocket science. And a lifetime contract…One more dagger to the heart from Dave Brainless, the man who also gave us C Gailey. Thanks Dave. Go where UGA goes.
Gordon
November 20th, 2009
9:14 am
Mark,
Clarence Moore was a big part of the 2004 team and did sign with and play for Cremins. But you are right that other than he and Lewis the team was Hewitt’s. He deserves credit for that team, and deserves credit for his first 2 years given what he had. I also think the year after the final four he gets a pass because of the injuries to Ish and BJ. But the other 5 seasons he has underachieved, sometimes badly. I will try not to be negative and give him the benefit of the doubt for now, but as you have pointed out we are barely .500 since the final four team and have won exactly one NCAA game in that time. He should be fired if he doesn’t beat UGA and win at least one game in the NCAA tournament this year. He has NO excuses this year. If he can’t win with this team, he can’t win.
I understand UGA’s frustration with Richt, watching talent get wasted. And like Richt, he makes very questionable staff decisions. Van Gorder did much of the heavy lifting at UGA in Richt’s first few years, and Keener and Warren did it for Hewitt.
Tech Fan
November 20th, 2009
9:18 am
With all the socialism taking over our country taking from the rich for the ‘greater good’ /cough of the masses……….doesn’t that provide some sort of loop hole to get out of his @$#$ contract? I mean, one man is benefiting with @$$ amounts of greed and making an institution of higher learning and masses of thousands of students and community suffer for his own selfish greed. Now, if I’m him, I love that contract, but I’m saying with all the goverment bailouts to get us toward socialism, I think we need to consider his contract in that same category. (half joking, yes)
Rob
November 20th, 2009
9:18 am
Same old story.
wiley
November 20th, 2009
9:19 am
North Carolina turned it over 26 times the other day…Kansas turned it over alot versus memphis…lets just give them some time to improve. The second half was not that bad…its the first that killed us. Dayton had 20+ turnovers also…it was a miracle just to still have a chance to win. Beat George Mason today!
GT Fan
November 20th, 2009
9:21 am
Win are Lose..I’ve lost all respect for Mr. Hewitt. I wouldn’t P@#$ on him if on fire. Last 2 years was enough and he wouldn’t be here now if Not for X-AD Brain dead. Last season fans couldn’t give their tickets away. I love the players and wish them the best but no love for PH and no support.
THE LADY JACKETS HAVE A VERY GOOD COACH AND TEAM. SUPPORT The Lady Jackets!
W
November 20th, 2009
9:25 am
I for one am glad that basketball season is almost over. All of this fire CPH talk has wore me out. Wait, it is only the 2nd game of the season? We lost to a ranked team? Our fans are damn good coaches far better than anyone who gets paid to coach.
Tech82
November 20th, 2009
9:26 am
This team doesn’t need time to gel, it needs a competent coach. As usual, we have no half-court offense. If we can’t score in transition, we’re in trouble. Nobody on offense is coached to move without the ball. As talented as this team is, they would be better off without a coach and simply rely on their pick-up ball skills. Hewitt is doing nothing but getting in the way of this team’s success.
Tech Fan
November 20th, 2009
9:28 am
Anyone who bashes us for bashing the coach “so early” hasn’t been watching the last 4 years. We are bashing the last 4 years, not the first two games of this year. One tourney win in 4 years…with how many guys that went to the NBA?
DRC
November 20th, 2009
9:29 am
UNC and Duke bring in 4-5 star players every year and some of their players leave early also, but they contend for championships. It is all about the coaching, which we have none.
o-me
November 20th, 2009
9:31 am
W= the key word is” Lost” forget ranked team………you” Lost” Get It.
Blewitt, right on.
Mark
November 20th, 2009
9:35 am
Can we get bailout money for this? What an idea! Somebody in the GTAA needs to check this out.
As for wiley’s comment above about TO’s. UNC is 4-0. KU is 3-0. If you win with a lot of TO’s, people will shake their heads and come back. If you lose for 4 years running and turn it over that much, people will complain.
Finally, it was a miracle for GA Tech to have a chance to beat Dayton? Really? Have we sunk that far? It wasn’t all that long ago that we were standing toe to toe with the Georgetowns, UNLVs and Kentuckys, let alone the UNCs and Dooks of the world. Now its a miracle to even have a chance to beat Dayton? You said it better than I ever could.
Bo Williams
November 20th, 2009
9:37 am
On the subject of UNC players leaving early, had May, Felton, Williams, etc., not left early, UF would not have won back-to-back championships. It would have been the Tar Heels with all the gold. THey did leave and UF did win, so they deserved the championships. They were good, but not as good as UNC would have been had all their underclassmen stayed around.
blazer
November 20th, 2009
9:40 am
IT IS EARLY BUT CAN ANYONE COACH FREE THROW SHOOTING PEOPLE????????
W
November 20th, 2009
9:41 am
If Tech won the game the girls would still be crying. Win or lose girls still crying.
TechFan
November 20th, 2009
9:41 am
Coach Paul Hewitt needs to be fired. His teams don’t defend the 3, have too many turnovers and can’t shoot free throws. The combination of those 3 things means you will never challenge in the ACC much less win a championship.
With the talent on this team, there is no excuse for poor FT shooting and 26 turnovers. If results do not approach potential then the coach is at fault.
o-me
November 20th, 2009
9:43 am
W=Its not just that game DA, its the last 4 years. Whats girls got to do with it? They could beat the boys the last 2 years.
BB's
November 20th, 2009
9:48 am
And here is the scary part. You tell us that Dayton is a “good team,” they are ranked. Hello! We play in the ACC. That of UNC, Duke, Maryland, and on and on it goes. His best year in the ACC was 9-7. Got on a lucky run and made it to the championship game. But he does not win consistently. Never has. Never will. Can’t teach players how to inbound the ball and get shots. And I won’t even to the Free Throw shooting. Actually, I don’t blame the coach for that. Players have to be willing to change their shot and practice. Hardly anyone in America can shoot today. But let’s learn how to get an open shot. Let’s play a game without so many turnovers. Just once. Please!
Boss
November 20th, 2009
9:54 am
All I know is it’s a shame GT doesn’t play in the SEC. They’d go undefeated in conference every year. There wouldn’t be enough room in the stadium to hang all the banners.
last year the SEC got in an 8 seed LSU and that’s it. They are like the WAC of basketball.
DRC
November 20th, 2009
9:57 am
W, you need to go back in your hole and hibernate. As for as shooting the bb, didn’t Mark Price volunteer his time to help but Hewitt would have none of that ?
GTOption
November 20th, 2009
9:58 am
W…..do you know anything about basketball? My cat could coach this team better than Hewitt! As a long time season ticket holder, I hope this changes but I am not encouraged at this point!
Chike
November 20th, 2009
9:59 am
Didn’t see the game. (Will see today) But is sounds like more of the same. 2 points in the final 4:37! The squads inability to execute basic plays in crunch time is depressing.
I hope Hewitt’s use of time-outs has improved. (Why he constantly stops GT scoring runs I never know) I hope his substitution scheme is better (It is early & he wants to see everyone, but limiting players to 3 min stretches doesn’t allow anyone to get comfortable on the floor)
And finally I hope we don’t hear any crying about inexperience at point!
Go Jackets!
Baba O'Riley
November 20th, 2009
10:03 am
If Hewitt coached Dayton and Gregory coached Tech, we would win by 30. Hewitt is the spoiled brat we all grew up with whose parents bought him the best equipment for every sport and he still sucked.
Duke Yellowjacket
November 20th, 2009
10:04 am
Hewitt “maximize resources”, Brad? Surely you jest!
NEVER has ANY coach, in ANY sport, at ANY level, EVER gotten so LITTLE out of so MUCH as Paul Hewitt. From turnovers, to free-throw shooting, to inbound passing, to defending the three-point shot, to committing ticky-tack fouls away from the basket, you can always count on Hewitt-coached teams to be fundamentally flawed.
Damn you, Dave Braineless.
W
November 20th, 2009
10:10 am
O you would be the DA. Sad excuse for a Tech Fan. As for the other fool if you or your cat were such great coaches you would be working not yapping.
GT65
November 20th, 2009
10:11 am
Mark: It is not so much the loss itself, it’s what happened during the game that helped contribute to the loss. Contributing to the loss were the same old same old –11 of 18 from the line and 26 turnovers. Let me repeat that for emphasis, 26 turnovers! We’ve seen this misery before.
PMC
November 20th, 2009
10:14 am
You are correct. Dayton is good. If you’re Georgia Tech… you have to be better than Dayton even early in the year. I don’t care if they have 5 stud 5th year seniors… Georgia Tech should be better than Dayton on any court at anytime and you can’t say that that isn’t a bad loss.
If you are a Tech fan… that is a dreadful loss. The good news is in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal. They can get better. They have a lot of talent… but if this edition of the Jackets doesn’t get to the Final Four… it should be treated as an epic failure.
Justafan
November 20th, 2009
10:14 am
Tobias Harris picks Vols over GT…wonder why? Can’t blame the kid for not playing for Hewitt. Paul Hewitts got to go>
Work To Be Done « From The Parking Lot
November 20th, 2009
10:14 am
[...] to make a big play in the final three minutes. Writing for the Altanta-Journal Constiution, Mark Bradley says it’s too early to blame Paul Hewitt. He’s correct that losing to Dayton is [...]
PMC
November 20th, 2009
10:15 am
Finish in the top 3 of the ACC regular season, go deep in the ACC tourney or win it, Go deep into the NCAA tournament or don’t come back should be written on Hewitt’s goals list for the year.
PMC
November 20th, 2009
10:17 am
Hewitt is kind of getting that Ron Zook/Ed Orgeron reputation for being a great recruiter but not being able to do a lot with it consistantly.
PMC
November 20th, 2009
10:18 am
Hewitt is getting that Ron Zook/Ed Orgeron Reputation for recruiting well but not being able to do much with it consistantly.
o-me
November 20th, 2009
10:25 am
W=I’ve been a GT fan since 1955. So don’t tell me about any sad excuses, I’ve watched them all. Bless you too.
Steve
November 20th, 2009
10:26 am
Don’t worry – Tech is a sweet 16 team or better this year, barring injuries – watch and see. It may take 6 games or so for all cylinders to start clicking, but they are too deep and too talented not to do some very good things this year.
Tech Fan
November 20th, 2009
10:28 am
Clearly, for some peole, even years of horrible coaching isn’t enough to complain about yet.
Tech Tony
November 20th, 2009
10:31 am
Mark, I will agree that losing to dayton isn’t that bad of a loss. At season’s end, when you see the “bubble teams resumes” under quality loses, Tech will have Dayton listed. They are a quality team with a very good coach.
However, because it is more than probable the Jackets will be the same poorly coached team come March that they’ve been over the past few years, that quality loss list will also include “Duke, UNC, Clemson, Maryland, Molly Putz University, etc.”
aztec
November 20th, 2009
10:34 am
he still hasnt himself or hired a asst coach that can teach free throw shooting, i dare you too show any girls teams who shoots free throws worse that gt boys team over the last several years..and lets not forget that every sr, jr, and redshirt soph on that final 4 team belong to bobby