Live from the Stegasaurus: Hewitt looks to break a drought
Paul Hewitt just can't understand what happens in Athens. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Athens — Paul Hewitt has beaten Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. (Once, but it was a big “once.” In 2004.) He has beaten No. 1 UConn in Madison Square Garden. He has beaten a North Carolina team that would win the 2005 NCAA championship in the ACC tournament. He has taken Georgia Tech to the national championship game. But there’s one thing he hasn’t yet managed.
He hasn’t beaten Georgia at the Stegasaurus.
Which makes no sense. The Jackets who beat Duke at Duke and who played for the NCAA title came here in January 2004 and lost in overtime to a band of Bulldogs that didn’t qualify for the Big Dance. (Tech fans maintain to this day that the refs won — or lost — that game.) Three other times Hewitt has come to Stegeman Coliseum and left a loser.
He’s 4-1 against Georgia at home, but that doesn’t say much since Georgia has been in flux for more than a decade. (Mark Fox is the Bulldogs’ sixth coach — seventh if you count interim man Pete Herrmann — since Hugh Durham was fired in 1995.)
Having seen both sides in person — having seen Tech lose to Florida State and Georgia beat Illinois — I can imagine no way the drought doesn’t end tonight. Georgia has one player (Trey Thompkins) who would crack Tech’s 10-man rotation. Tech might well be the most gifted team in the ACC, which means you’re by definition among the most gifted teams in the land. But the Jackets, as we know, can do some strange things.
And now, a metaphysical question: If a drought is broken and nobody’s watching, does it count? I’m guessing 99 percent of Hewitt’s target audience will be watching another game — Thrashers at Penguins — tonight. (Kidding about Thrashers-Penguins, don’t you know.) And I figure Tech winning here won’t matter much to Jacket fans if the football team doesn’t do likewise at Land Shark Stadium.
But they’re going to play this one nonetheless, and I’ll be here to watch, report and converse with anyone who cares deeply about the lost art of repartee. Join me between Orange Bowl commercials, won’t you? Please?
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500 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:02 pm
I’ve lived here since 1984, South, and I’ve never understood Georgia fans’ disdain for the sport. I’ve seen folks at Alabama and Florida and Tennessee and LSU and even Auburn get pumped about hoops. Why not UGA?
gtfan55
January 5th, 2010
8:02 pm
Mark do you atleast have a tv around to watch the OB, so you have something to entertain you other than this trash of game?
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:03 pm
I have no TV, GTfan55.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:04 pm
but if you have a choice of good football or basketball, its a no brainer
GT76
January 5th, 2010
8:04 pm
If we lose count me in for $100 for the pot to fire Hewitt.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:05 pm
would ANYBODY be on the blog if a uga football game was starting..
Steve Thomas pops out of the closet
January 5th, 2010
8:05 pm
“I’m not sure the facility has much to do with it, Floundering. Georgia folks simply take pride in not liking basketball. I don’t understand why”
You think maybe a combo of school still being out for winter break, the team expected to have a horrible year, it’s 20 degrees outside, GT playing a football game tonight might contribute to the low turnout??
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:05 pm
I’ll quibble with that, Coach. I’m from Kentucky. I like both sports. Always have.
And here’s the thing about college hoops: There’s no bowl system.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:06 pm
Mark, wonder if your arrival was foretold by george orwell.
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:06 pm
You’re saying you’d desert me if Georgia was playing football tonight? Gee, Coach, after all we’ve been through together …
Paul's Hewitt
January 5th, 2010
8:07 pm
INDYGT, Theres a pink elephant in the room…lets ignore it. He has a job B/C of race AND because an idiot named Braine(no pun intended) signed a ridiculous contract……..if u want to tell me that in the ATL that things arent racially sensitive, then obviously u havent been here, OR u belong to the school of logic that sez…..Ignore it and it will GO away………llool…..truth hurts sometimes
Frank Wren
January 5th, 2010
8:07 pm
And here’s the thing about college hoops: There’s no bowl system.
Ill give you that. At least they settle it on the field/court
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:07 pm
George Orwell said, “Big Brother wants you to go work in Atlanta.” And I obeyed.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:07 pm
i didnt say i didnt like basketball. but in this state football will always be king. it starts in high schools. emphasis always on football vs basketball.
tgc198
January 5th, 2010
8:08 pm
Stegman was packed in the years with Harrick when we were good. We just haven’t been good in a while.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:08 pm
No, Mark. my statement was based upon you blogging from the football game. willie
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
January 5th, 2010
8:09 pm
Nice alley-oop to Lawal
dandydawg
January 5th, 2010
8:10 pm
Mark,
If you remember when Tubby Smith was the head coach, I think Georgia was headed in the right direction with fan support. He really tried his best to get the fans involved. Maybe one day soon, we can get the house jumping again.
Go Dawgs!
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:10 pm
i’m afraid poor george was delutional. he also wrote road to wigan pier and i checked: there’s no pier in wigan. but several great pubs.
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:10 pm
Tech is taking charge now. Four points by Lawal. Tightened up D.
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:11 pm
Udofia gives Tech the lead. Another second-chance basket.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:11 pm
Kentucky is a border state so no telling what the sports attitudes are there.
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:12 pm
I believe someone mentioned to Favors that he might could play a bit better. He’s working now.
Paul's Hewitt
January 5th, 2010
8:12 pm
Ok…as much hate as I have been spillin…Ill let u guys in onna secret…….just to show I mean what I say……I Do play World of Warcraft……..let the ganks begin!!!!!! Go jackets!!!!
Paul's Hewitt
January 5th, 2010
8:13 pm
Hey 12 million onliners cant be wrong…..agreed?
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:13 pm
i see your liking of sports as from a professional perspective. i suppose its nice to appreciate good play at anything, but most folks need a villian, just like wrestling.
The Other St. Simons
January 5th, 2010
8:13 pm
Caleb King just scored again. 6 points for the Dawgs!!!
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:14 pm
rickey stumble a bit there?
Paul's Hewitt
January 5th, 2010
8:15 pm
Oh chit….just turned over…..CPJ is 2-4 in bowls….NOT good!
RICKEY MCPHEE
January 5th, 2010
8:16 pm
Coach M, I’m still with UGA. Where you at right now??
3DawgKnight
January 5th, 2010
8:16 pm
Mark, Dawg fans do like b-ball and will strongly support it once we get a consistently competetive program. One of the best sporting events I have ever attended was in 1990 when the Dawgs beat LSU for the regular season SEC Championship. LSU had the young “Twin Towers” including Shaq and we had Kessler. The Steg was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think!
IndyGT
January 5th, 2010
8:16 pm
Paul’s Hewitt – He was hired bc he did fairly well at Siena. Remember he took us to the dance in his first year. He said he would when he was hired at his press conference, even though Braine wanted him to not mention going to the big dance. He was given a big contract bc he took a team to the Championship game, that no one expected to go to. In hindsight, was that a bad deal for us – YES! He looked to be a great coach. I thought we’d found the next great coach. But, the last few years, he’s done very little with very good talent. I’ve seen people mention race on here, and it just makes you sound ignorant. I spent 6 yrs. getting two degrees from GT. I bleed old gold and white, and I loved ATL.. If you want to go race baiting, you’re free to.. but you just make yourself look bad. The fact is, CPH has done really badly the last few years.. and unless there’s not improvement, I think we need change.
Mark Fox
January 5th, 2010
8:17 pm
McPhee, get your @#$% off this blog!!!!
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:17 pm
Tech by a point, 16:30 left. Georgia has one basket this half.
Zack Swansey
January 5th, 2010
8:17 pm
couldnt they use me now?
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:17 pm
Price misses a dunk. Georgia has missed two.
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
January 5th, 2010
8:18 pm
How do you miss an open two-handed dunk?
Mark Fox
January 5th, 2010
8:18 pm
Price, get on this blog and out of the game!!
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:19 pm
I covered the game, 3DK. I remember it well. Neville Austin made the winning free throws.
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
January 5th, 2010
8:19 pm
Tech wins the toss and defers to the second half. Iowa gets the ball first.
Mark Fox
January 5th, 2010
8:19 pm
Mark, can you believe Price missed that? Drives me to drink.
Floundering Fox Hounds Batman!
January 5th, 2010
8:19 pm
Georgia Tech won the toss at the orange bowl.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:20 pm
Coach Fox, you dont know anything about people missing plays…
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:21 pm
Hard to believe the Orange Bowl didn’t commence at 8 p.m. sharp. Not.
willie martinez
January 5th, 2010
8:21 pm
now we’ve lost the audio. play by play time Mark
Bill
January 5th, 2010
8:22 pm
Fire Hewitt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark Bradley
January 5th, 2010
8:22 pm
Lost audio, eh?
Favors fast-break dunk after a Shumpert steal. Tech by three.
Floundering Fox Hounds Batman!
January 5th, 2010
8:22 pm
Coldest Orane Bowl ever @ 49 *
Floundering Fox Hounds Batman!
January 5th, 2010
8:23 pm
opps… Orange
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
January 5th, 2010
8:23 pm
Tech’s football team is already off to a better start than in last year’s Chick-Fil-A Bowl … the opening kickoff didn’t go out of bounds!