UGA wins a shocker, but should we really be so shocked?
Tech's Paul Hewitt was brought low in Athens yet again. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
ATHENS – There’s a good team in there somewhere. Maybe it’ll show itself Saturday when Duke comes to Atlanta. It needs to show up soon. We’re into January now, and Georgia Tech still acts as if it’s just another collegiate aggregation. It could, and should, be much more.
“This team still has a pretty high ceiling,” Paul Hewitt said Tuesday night. He said this moments after his tall and talented team had run face-first into a closing door.
The Jackets came to Stegeman Coliseum to play a game not many folks watched — another Tech team was busy elsewhere — and for that Hewitt can be grateful. Tech fans, as we know, have seen it all before. But here, for late tuners-in, is a recap:
Once again the Jackets allowed a lesser opponent to dictate tempo. Once again Tech seemed determined to match every basket with a turnover. Once again it lost.
Yes, yes. We must credit Georgia at the same time we castigate Tech. The Bulldogs have one player (Trey Thompkins) who would make the Jackets’ 10-man rotation. Mark Fox is doing brilliant things with this undermanned team. And Hewitt … well, he’s not looking so brilliant.
Three days ago Georgia lost to Missouri by 28 points. On Tuesday it beat Tech and was the better team throughout. You kept waiting, as is always the case with the Jackets, for talent to have its way, but talent, as is often the case with these Jackets, meant little without direction.
Tech’s best play was an offensive rebound — it had 19 of those and 18 second-chance points. It didn’t make a trey until the game’s 33rd minute. Its famous freshman Derrick Favors finished with more turnovers (five) and fouls (four) than baskets (three). I hate to keep harping on coaching — really I do — but if you’re ranked 20th in the land and you can’t handle the team picked to finish last in the SEC East, what does that say about the man at the top?
It wasn’t as if the Stegasaurus took on the charged ambience of Cameron Indoor Stadium. The place was barely half-full. But Tech allowed Georgia to become the aggressor early, managing but 12 points in the first 11 minutes. You can’t do that on the road. You have to hit the other guy harder sooner. Tech did nothing but counterpunch.
The Jackets finished with 66 points. With their size and speed, they should be playing games in the 80s. But they don’t know how to press the issue without throwing the ball away. (They finished with 20 turnovers against 23 baskets and eight assists.) They’re young on the perimeter, sure. But they act even younger.
In the end it came down to Georgia making the assertive plays and the Jackets being unable to guard Ricky McPhee, who’s listed as 6-foot-1. When in doubt, the Bulldogs put the ball on the floor and made something happen in the lane. Thompkins drove for a huge hoop at the shot-clock horn, and McPhee, of all people, shook free down the lane for an underhand banker to clinch it.
Tech, by way of contrast, did its stand-around thing. When it got the ball low to Gani Lawal, it was OK. (He had 21 of the Jackets’ 66 points.) When it couldn’t, it was at sea. And that, sad to say, is the impression Tech has left after 14 games. It has won 11 times, but when put to the test by Florida State and now Georgia it failed. FSU is a decent-enough team. Georgia still has miles to go before it can lay claim to decency.
But say this for the Bulldogs: They know who they are and how they have to play, and they keep doing it. “We have limitations,” Fox said, “but we know what they are.” Contrast this with Tech, which has assets almost everywhere but doesn’t seem to know where to turn.
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451 comments Add your comment
FD
January 6th, 2010
8:57 am
Time for Hewitt to go. Cremins took Tech basketball to a new level. Now we need a coach who can take them to the top – and that is NOT Paul Hewitt. I was as student at Tech during the Jack-ain’t days (the late 70’s for those too young) and have no desire to see us return there.
I'm Gumby, dammit!!
January 6th, 2010
8:58 am
Let the coaching search begin. I’ve had enough of Hewitt’s underachieving teams.
Here’s hoping Radakovich feels the same way.
the ghost of bobbie dodd
January 6th, 2010
8:59 am
me and Furman got you out of the SEC so you could be GDI’s like Notre Dame but nooooooooooo you had to go to the bb conference.
DawginLex
January 6th, 2010
9:00 am
I thought we had a good one in Coach Fox but last night he proved it. If I were a Tech guy, I’d be wanting a new bball coach. too much talent to play like that.
I thought Fox would do well once he started getting his roster upgraded and he hasn’t done anything to make me think otherwise. Could UGA basketball be on its way back to being somewhat relevant? I sure hope so.
Mikey
January 6th, 2010
9:02 am
I have been losing faith in Paul Hewitt over the last couple of years. The Florida State loss and the UGA one last night have made me finally realize that the coach is responsible for not being able to mold a cohesive team. Great recruiting does not translate into wins if you can’t coach. It is time for the AD to make a move.
red5.ws
January 6th, 2010
9:03 am
Mark didn’t you predict Tech to beat UGA in hoops and Iowa in the urnge bowl ? I may quit my job and move to vegas so I can make a killing going opposite your picks!
DawginLex
January 6th, 2010
9:04 am
Comments not posting?
All I said was that fox is a good coach.
the ghost of bobbie dodd
January 6th, 2010
9:07 am
nobody but Dooley wanted us back in the SEC. I wanted to cum back but I burned too many bridges. I’d luv to be a GDI agin just like Notre Dame. Now I’m just a misfit in the bb conference.
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
9:09 am
There’s a fox in the beehive!
I’m kidding. Credit Fox for the solid effort he is giving in Athens.
Paul Hewiit seems to have it all. I think he is a good coach but at the same time I know Tech alumni expect more. This may be the beginning of the end for Paul.
I just hope this is the beginning of something good for the Bulldogs hoops program.
booby cremins
January 6th, 2010
9:15 am
Good win for the mutts at the rodeo arena last night. When is the Diving Mules show?
wade white
January 6th, 2010
9:19 am
FIRE MIKE WOODSON…LOSE TO THE KNICKS 2X, THE bULLS, THE PISTONS W/O THREE STARTERS, THE HEAT- HE CANT WIN GAMES HE SHOULD CONSISTENTLY….HES HORRIBLE
Tell It Like It Is
January 6th, 2010
9:20 am
Tech needs to stop recriting blue chippers. They have one thing in mind…the NBA. Basketball is a team sport. Coach Hewitt cannot make the individual blue chip players play as a team. They have money on their minds not academics or the fickled Tech fans. Maybe its better to recruit white players from more affluent homes as was done in the old days.Duke does it well. That would eliminate the racial issue. Unfortunately, it will not win conference championships or NCAA tournaments.IT IS WHAT IT IS.
Clay
January 6th, 2010
9:21 am
This may have been mentioned; but, I had no idea Tech hasn’t won in Athens in over 30 years…amazing!
Lerocious
January 6th, 2010
9:29 am
Mark, I kind of figured you’d take the “this is what Tech did wrong” angle instead of saying that Georgia just outplayed and outhustled Tech from the beginning to the end. Here were a few of my observations from the game last night:
(1) Dustin Ware was the best player on the court last night. He played all but two minutes and controlled the tempo and handled the ball almost exclusively against the Tech pressure. He also hit two huge 3-pointers, including the one after Tech momentarily went up by three points. He showed the importance of good “in charge” guard play.
(2) I was blown away by Derrick Favors’ lackadaisical attitude. The only time he showed any emotion was when one of his four foul calls went against him. He was not assertive at all, and he seemed to slump around throughout the game.
(3) Travis Leslie brings the type of hustle that makes a difference in these close games. I’m glad he’s at Georgia and not at Tech or anywhere else.
(4) Trey Thompkins made big plays when it counted, whereas Lawal and Favors were pretty invisible. If he takes on more of that “I’m the guy” attitude at crunch time, that will be a key for the Dawgs.
(5) McPhee is the best shooter since that 66-year-old guy who sank 42 of 50 3-pointers at halftime of the Pepperdine game!
(6) If the Bulldogs can keep Thompkins, Ware and Leslie around until they’re seniors, and add some pieces around them, we could end up being pretty good.
Go Dawgs!
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
9:31 am
Clay, i heard that on the radio this morning and did not know that either. pretty wild.
PDawg
January 6th, 2010
9:32 am
Is it just me or would it have been nice for the writer to have mentioned the final score somewhere in this article?
Bayou Philosopher
January 6th, 2010
9:35 am
Yeah, Dawgs rule this State —but nothin’ else. Richt’s program is the most overrated underachieving collection of thugs in America. The Dawg basketball program is THE textbook NCAA scandal. Andy Landers has been completely passed by LSU’s women’s program and Summit’s Vols bitch-slap him consistently. And don’t forget your No. 1 Dawg baseball team –the one that can’t win the SEC or get to the CWS. Oh, right that was LSU that won that national championship. Look at the comments posted above and tell me Dawg fans aren’t the ones obsessed with beating Tech. That’s all they got. So much trash talk and so little to base it on.
Gavin
January 6th, 2010
9:36 am
Hewitt can recruit but can’t coach. His blue chip recruits can’t play together and they can’t shoot foul shots either. Can we figure out a way to fire to guy?
phil
January 6th, 2010
9:37 am
I’m a jacket fan but it might be time for Paul to go…..
Atticus
January 6th, 2010
9:38 am
Good article Mark. Mark Fox is a very good coach, we’ll see if he can do what Tubby was doing when the place was packed and the NCAA tourney was the destination. Hewitt is NOT a very good coach, at least not at GT.
Paul in RDU
January 6th, 2010
9:44 am
Tell it like it is -
The problem at GT is not the skin color or quality of the players or the fact that the top players want to play in the NBA it is the coaching. Roy Williams has a bunch of blue chippers, loses players early to the NBA on a regular basis, coaches the players up and still wins regularly – no-one in the Triangle doubts that the loss to CoC will be more than a bump in the road.
Coach K also gets blue chippers (and if you think white players can’t play you haven’t seen Scheyer or Singler) and melds them into a Team.
Very few coaches are as good as Williams or Coach K, but for the contract Hewitt has GT should expect better than Sidney Lowe level
BUZZ B
January 6th, 2010
9:46 am
FIRE CPJ! This high school offense is not working anymore! Teams have figured it out.
Marvin Mangrum
January 6th, 2010
9:47 am
I do not know why but I have always loved the Jackets, I am talking from the 60’s. Paul Hewitt is not the answer. He has done all things positive he will ever do at Tech. If you know ANYTHING about basketball you can see that this team does not get the concept of playing and winning! And not just this team, but many before it!They lose to nobodys, they lose to dam near anybody they hardly ever win a close game1 And its been like this for years. If I had a kid that played in high school being recruited by this crowd, I would do everything to keep them away. The kids who leave are not much better than when they got there. And all thats sad but the really sad part is the folks paying this faker money to coach is sad.
Dawgs21
January 6th, 2010
9:51 am
Its was a good game. I walked away very impressed with Coach Mark Fox!!!
Im a dawgfan but i always wonder how/why CPH doesnt get more out of his team. With the talent and the basketball hotbed that is ATL you would think they could do so much better. Check his conference record in his tenure. Was it last year or the year before they only won 1 game. How many games on the road have they won? Inexcusable.
I hope this win, along with other to come get the DAWGNATION fired up about BBALL!!! GO DAWGS!!!
BigDawg
January 6th, 2010
9:56 am
The perfect day: Found out I’m having a son (future dawg) in the morning, then get to watch the Dawgs whip that *** and Iowa whip that ***. Looks like the glorious spread is domed to fail. You can only get away with a gimmick for so long.
Mark Bradley
January 6th, 2010
9:56 am
If you hated this game column from last night, I’m sure you’ll despise this followup effort every bit as much.
PSUWHO?
January 6th, 2010
10:01 am
Hey Bayou-inbred, your team sucks. How did you like the azz-whipping my Lions put on you southern crackers? SEC and LSU WHO? LMAO
SEC East Headlines – 1/6/10 | MrSEC.com
January 6th, 2010
10:01 am
[...] last night. The Yellow Jackets haven’t won in Athens since 1976.9. This writer believes “Mark Fox is doing brilliant things with this undermanned team.”10. Fox would like to have more Dawg fans in the stands to see [...]
PSUWHO?
January 6th, 2010
10:02 am
LSU the bastion of southern education? That explains why the south sucks so much.
PSUWHO?
January 6th, 2010
10:03 am
I’m impressed an LSU grad can actually read a blog. Good job champ!
Dawgrulz
January 6th, 2010
10:07 am
72-66, theres a new sheriff in town and his name is Coach Mark Fox. To win against GT that supposedly has two lottery picks, final four coach, blah, blah, blah is astounding. Georgia= Team on the Rise, GT= Team on the decline. Get used to this GT, once UGA recruits a little you will not win as long as you keep CPH.
» SEC links: Georgia pulls upset win over Georgia Tech John Clay’s Sidelines
January 6th, 2010
10:07 am
[...] Mark Bradley of the AJC on Georgia’s upset win over Georgia Tech in basketball. [...]
DanNotDan
January 6th, 2010
10:15 am
This was and should be a big time program but it won’t ever get back to that level and certainly won’t consistently stay there with this very ordinary coach. Hewitt appears to be a pretty good guy, a good communicator, looks great, and has a strong and positive public image. He may have what it takes to be an outstanding Sports Information Director, or even Athletic Director, but he is what he always has been, an average ordinary coach more suited for small time programs like Siena, or as an assistant in a higher profile program than the head guy at Tech..
After nine full seasons at Tech Hewitt is 24 games below 500 and only has a single winning season in the ACC…………….and it’s getting worse not better. The ACC needs second and third tier teams for North Carolina, Duke and BC to beat up on and Hewitt is the perfect guy to lead Tech in that role, but if you want to win in the ACC you need much better than Hewitt.
Long Memory
January 6th, 2010
10:26 am
January 5th will go down as the Night of the Great Nerd Slaughter. If Coach Fox can keep a handful of the recruits in this state we will no longer be a basketball afterthought. Excellent coach and motivator. As for football, the Trade School will be looking for a new coach after Johnson gets tired of losing his bigger out of conference games. Norm Parker is 68 years old and suffers from diabetes. As much as I would love to have him as DC he is not leaving and I don’t think we will interview him to begin with.
Mike
January 6th, 2010
10:28 am
HOW
‘BOUT
THEM
NERDS !!!!!
JacketLady
January 6th, 2010
10:54 am
This says it all!!! When a JOKE of a basketball program beats what’s supposed to be a top recruiting class and loaded with talent team then who is to blame?? HEWITT!! He needs to go. When will the Athletic Director see that season ticket sales are down (you can actually get tickets to Tech games in the mighty ACC), longtime Tech fans no longer talk about Tech basketball, and great recruits don’t show much talent and the team continues to lose and show poorly against much weaker opponents. Get rid of him now before he ruins the program entirely!
Littering and, littering and..........
January 6th, 2010
11:24 am
Hmm, that hewitt pose sure looks familar. Yeah, its his, I’m never gonna win games for this school, ok, keep your composure, look upset, keep the dollas rollin!
We Wrecked Tech |
January 6th, 2010
11:46 am
[...] last night. If you didn’t make it out to the game check out the highlights here rather than reading this article. While Stegeman wasn’t close to full, it was great to see how many students showed up for [...]
John
January 6th, 2010
12:18 pm
You know all these Techies got excited when they beat Georgia for the first time in eight tries last year. Then we started to see the Tech hats, shirts, stickers and car tags emerge from the bowels of the ACC basement. Then came the cockiness from the North Avenue Trade School or should I say Nerdland. One Techie told me, “Oh, Paul Johnson has Georgia’s number.” Roll the clock back to Thanksgiving … Johnson forgot to use that number. So we go to the hardwood … Tech rolls into town with a No. 17 or 20 ranking, two different polls, their football team is in the Orange Bowl and all the Techies just knew they were going to salvage at least one win this year from the Dawgs… Guess what, that didn’t happen either. So now what’s the excuse… You can’t beat a struggling football team when the media is touting you and your coach as the greatest thing since sliced bread. They blow Paul Hewitt and his basketball team up with the great Derek Favors and lose to an unranked team with a new coach – Congrats Coach Fox! So what’s next? Baseball? Whatever the case may be, Mark Richt will run this state in coaching and recruiting. Mark Fox will eventually get a strong foothold in the Atlanta basketball recruiting world, and Tech will be left standing where they always are … with a T-shirt that says, “Georgia owns me.” Go Dawgs!!!!
30-24 Dawgs - WE RUN THIS STATE
January 6th, 2010
12:21 pm
Long Memory – that’s a good one – “January 5th will go down as the Night of the Great Nerd Slaughter”
30-24 & 73-66 all year long & don’t you forget it!
UGA89
January 6th, 2010
12:36 pm
The Georgia Tech football team has some deficiencies
The Georgia Tech basketball team has some deficiencies
But despite those deficiencies:
–The Georgia Tech football program is now better than the Georgia football program as GT won 11 games and still has a ways to go before being considered a really really good team, but they will get there.
–The Georgia Tech basketball team will always be better than the Georgia basketball team.
JEWELL ROLLEN
January 6th, 2010
12:56 pm
I’m not shocked at all. Hewitt’s teams never play smart. turnovers always outnumer assits. Plenty of missed lay-ups. The substitution pattern is crazy. How do you get a rythum when you go in for 1 minute? 3 McDonald All-Americans on the team and they play like crap. I have seen an offense from Hewitt. How can you not feed the ball to Favors? Hewitt’s gotta go….
That Guy
January 6th, 2010
1:25 pm
Once again, consider this the dumba$$ UGA fan affirmation appreciation blog. Are all UGA fans really as stupid as they appear on any GT blog? Yes. yes they are.
JPK
January 6th, 2010
1:28 pm
Tech needs to play the freshman at point and put Shumpert on the bench.
Dawg Dominance
January 6th, 2010
1:33 pm
“That Guy”, you really hurt my feelings…Not! What a loser. What a great way to end the year. Go Dawgs!
Skeezix
January 6th, 2010
3:24 pm
AJC WANT AD: COLLEGE BASKETBALL TEAM LOCATED IN THE ATLANTA AREA NEEDS COACH REAL BAD. Preference will be given to coaches from the Charleston area who have had successful ACC experience and who have white hair.
TEKie
January 6th, 2010
4:09 pm
As I said after the Dayton game: “Fire Hewitt Immediately”. Same set of reasons apply, and Dayton would run the bball pups out of the arena.
Bradley: Hewitt’s Future May Ride on Next 5 games « Fire Paul Hewitt
January 6th, 2010
8:36 pm
[...] the day. The previous came nearly immediately after the embarrassing defeat. It was entitled: “UGA wins a shocker, but should we really be so shocked? | AJC.com”. This one was more of a game story slash pissing contest than one of Bradley’s usual 5 points [...]
Dave Braine
January 6th, 2010
9:04 pm
Fire Paul Hewitt
Live from Tech-Duke: Something big MIGHT happen | Mark Bradley
January 9th, 2010
1:22 pm
[...] that would guarantee a GT loss.) But any good team that has had to endure the criticism – much of it from this correspondent – after losing to Georgia is all but duty-bound to give a stirring account of itself in its [...]