Tough loss at FSU, but Tech again shows its potential
Here we see four Jackets: All of them freshmen, all good. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
I caught a lot of grief for suggesting back in December — it was the day Georgia Tech first played Florida State — that the Jackets “should have a splendid chance of reaching the Final Four.” On cue, Tech lost to the Seminoles, prompting one and all to question my eyesight and sanity. (And by “all,” I include myself.)
You know by now Tech has again done what has become a Tech tradition — it lost another winnable game to Leonard Hamilton and his ‘Noles. It missed as many free throws (11) as it sank. It made 20 turnovers. It ended the game with a turnover when a 3-pointer would have won. By checking The Hive, I know what many observers are already saying, and I’m thinking you have some idea what this observer is about to say. But here I’m going to disappoint you.
I don’t think this FSU game was a failure. When one good team plays another good team, one of them’s going to lose. It helps if you’re the good team playing at home, and that’s one reason this game troubles me far less than the first Florida State loss.
The other reason, the bigger by far, is that we’ve learned much about Tech in the past five weeks. And we’ve learned (I say again) that this team should have a splendid chance to reach the Final Four.
In December, Tech hadn’t beaten anyone of consequence unless you count Siena. In January the Jackets have beaten Duke, North Carolina and Clemson. Had it beaten Florida State, we’d be crediting Tech with victories over the four ACC teams that figure to play deep into the NCAA tournament. (Sorry, but I still don’t trust Wake Forest.) Even in losing, Tech showed enough to make us believe it’s no less capable of a long postseason run.
Gani Lawal scored only five points and Derrick Favors 10 and even Zachery Peacock, who’s the best sub in the land, had a quiet day — and still the Jackets led inside the final 30 seconds on the road. Brian Oliver scored 20 points, and Brian Oliver is Tech’s seventh man. And there’s the reason I’m so high on these Jackets.
They won’t play a team with greater overall talent. They won’t be awed in any game anywhere. They’ve already beaten teams led by Coach K and Ol’ Roy, who have five national championships between them, and they’ve gone against the likes of Kyle Singler and Ed Davis and Trevor Booker and Solomon Alabi.
During the strange week that saw Tech lose to Georgia but beat Duke, Paul Hewitt said, “This team knows it has a high ceiling.” The Jackets know this because they look across the locker room and see talent everywhere, the deepest collection of talent in Tech annals.
And these guys are learning to coexist, which wasn’t readily apparent five weeks ago. They lost Sunday by two points, but they’ll handle Wake here Thursday and they’ll be better in Feburary than they are now, and they’ll be a load come the Ides of March.
Understand: I’m not ready to say, “Tech will reach the Final Four.” But at least now I don’t feel I was insane when I suggested this team has that potential. Because it does. And for those who say Hewitt can coach them there, I say this: He took a team to the national title game in 2004, and this team is far more gifted.
(Oh, and I’ve seen some Tech fans complaining about the shot Lawal took inside the final 10 seconds. I had no problem with it. Hewitt called a timeout — yes, Hewitt had a timeout in his pocket — and got the ball to his best player. The same happened out of a timeout against Duke, and Lawal hit the game-clinching turnaround. That was a tough shot, but he nailed it. This was a tough shot, and he missed. It happens.)
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238 comments Add your comment
Mark Bradley
January 25th, 2010
12:45 am
Tech has lost five in a row to Florida State, OG-T. All of them close.
pga
January 25th, 2010
1:07 am
tiger woods is a cheater.
Ah the race card
January 25th, 2010
1:23 am
But Tiger doesn’t cheat in golf
Technophobia
January 25th, 2010
1:35 am
Shouldn’t it be Cheetah Woods, lol.
DR
January 25th, 2010
7:59 am
to expect to go far in any endevor when ill prepared is silly. Only when this team learns to shoot free throws can they expect to be above average. Missed free throws were the biggest problems in every GA Tech loss.
Hal
January 25th, 2010
8:00 am
I am not impressed with this Tech team.
Jeckyll Island
January 25th, 2010
8:40 am
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
30-24!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
73-66!!!
GA Tech is NOT the champions of their own state in anything! ha ha ha ha ha
Athens, GA
January 25th, 2010
8:41 am
Mark Fox is not impressed with Georgia Tech are their coach Paul Hewitt.
okieman
January 25th, 2010
9:44 am
Athens, GA – what does “are their coach” mean? Is that something learned in Coach Harrick’s English class?
GT FAN
January 25th, 2010
9:52 am
I understand that everyone is down on CPH, but he has lost a good bit of talent to the NBA. We do not have a true point gaurd and that hurts us. Look at Carolina, last year they had great gaurd play and now, not so much. Trust me, I will yell at the TV more than most and yesterday was no exception. Tech made bone head plays and made stupid fouls and looked tired. Oliver had a great game and if everyone played has hard as he did we would not be bashing the Jackets. Udofia(sp) has to get a grip he plays out of control and it hurts the Jackets. The big men took a game off and it showed. When are gaurds and big men don’t score we will not win.
ArkyTech
January 25th, 2010
10:45 am
I expect this team to be 3-5 in the ACC by next week. Same old same old.
As I have said from day 1, I’ll get excited when we get to 7 ACC wins. Until then I expect to be disappointed.
ArkyTech
January 25th, 2010
10:52 am
GT fan, I do not care who we have in the NBA. In fact, it bothers me that our players are better in the NBA than they are in college.
And isn’t it the coach’s job to recruit/develop a “true point guard?” I don’t see how that can be an excuse. Again.
JTK
January 25th, 2010
11:16 am
Call me crazy but have we not seen this “game” before? There is a lot of talent on this Tech team but something is missing and I think it has to be called coaching. Something is just not right with the Tech basketball program and has not been right for a long time. Paul Hewitt is a class act as a person but just can not get it done as a coach.
IfHeOnlyHadABrain
January 25th, 2010
11:25 am
A great coach emphasizes his strengths (recruiting) and admits and adjusts for his weaknesses (floor coaching and fundamentals). Paul has never done this! After the final 4 I asked him why they did not practice free throws more, and his answer was that the players were suppose to practice free throws on their own, and not during practice time! Also, he has surrounded himself with “Yes Men” and not good fundamental teachers of basketball skills (X’s and O’s)! He is missing a major rule of management! This team plays “street ball”, chasing the ball like a pack of dogs on defense, and having a freshman (Oliver) put it up constantly after only one or two touches on offense (bad shot selection that is not being corrected!). When cornered they constantly pull up their dribble, and NO one comes to the ball! This is why Tech fans have lost faith in PH! The same flaws that we have seen for 5 years!
Unbiased
January 25th, 2010
11:32 am
Bradley, you have completely lost your mind or you ran out of “Paul Hewitt is a terrible coach” material. His strength is recruiting, but his coaching is abysmal. I see a team as you stated has “potential” but that will only get you so far.
It’s completely obvious to those who have watched/followed GT basketball that while Hewitt is a great human being, his performance record wise is severely lacking.
Arky Tech is a buzzdraft flunky
January 25th, 2010
11:34 am
See the hive
UGAisSOlastDECADE
January 25th, 2010
11:36 am
It is interesting to read his quotes after a loss. He never takes the blame for any of it. And who is Mark Fox?
yellarjacket
January 25th, 2010
11:48 am
Mark – you suggest this team is capable of reaching the Final Four. Hell, I just hope we make the NCAA tournament as this point. It’s very possible this team could be 3-5 in the ACC after the game at Duke. The next game against Wake at home is a must win, b/c we’re not going to win at Cameron Indoor. The best we can hope for is 4-4 halfway through the ACC schedule.
At the mid point of the ACC schedule, the good news is we’ve already played Duke and FSU twice, we will have played UNC, Clemson, and Wake once. The bad news is we still have to play at Clemson, at Wake, at Maryland, and we have UNC again at home. We must win our remaining home games against mid/lower tier ACC teams like NC State, VT, and BC. We’re going to have to steal a couple on the road just to get to .500 in conference, which is why I’m concerned about whether we even make the NCAA tourney. Does an 8-8 ACC team with an overall record of 20-9 with no real signficant OOC wins qualify? If so, we’re no better than a 8, 9, or 10 seed. We’d be lucky to get out of the first round.
I’m very concerned with losing again to FSU, even if it was on the road. We knew exactly what they were going to do and we did not make any adjustments, especially on the offensive end. We knew they were going to double team our big men and make us beat them from the perimeter. No adjustments from Hewitt to even remotely get Lawal or Favors involved offensively. We still can’t run a play against a zone defense. That falls on our coaches. Thank goodness Oliver had a big game or we would have been blown out. When FSU went to the zone defense in the second half, we looked lost offensively. We still can’t shoot free throws and we still turn the ball over at crucial times in the game. That still concerns me!
Phillip Fulmer
January 25th, 2010
1:20 pm
Just another example at how the most overrated school in the nation is a complete joke. Hilarious!!
nance
January 25th, 2010
1:21 pm
don’t worry tools. Baseball is just around the corner and soon you will be able to brag about yet another preseason top 5 team just to get hammered by UGA and finish out of the top rankings, as usual
henry
January 25th, 2010
1:23 pm
Man, FSU owns you on the hardwood too? How embarrassing
JvilleDawg
January 25th, 2010
1:24 pm
Another huge UGA win, another humiliating Yech loss. Classic!!
mr. thomas Anthony "The Taxman Cometh" Jones, SR (Waf-SS, Lt. Colonel, 13th SS Panzer Divsion , Berman, Germany/ret.)
January 25th, 2010
1:46 pm
Tech will be in the NCAA Touranment this year and will go far. The ACC is very good this year. Watch out for Tech, FSU, Wake Forest, and Clemson. NC is so overated. Duke is dumb joke. They can not jump!!!!! And never let your daughters go unescosted to a Duke University party!
has there ever been
January 25th, 2010
3:34 pm
a contract that had a perpetual five year continuation?
How could anyone issue a contract that has no end?
David Duncan
January 25th, 2010
3:35 pm
There are those of us who doubt that Tech will even make the NIT. When you lose to a mediocre team such as Georgia, you demonstrate that you can play down to one of the worst teams in basketball. NIT bid would be a bonus for Tech’s poorly coached team.
yeah dpj98 but...
January 25th, 2010
3:40 pm
the end result was D’Rad and CPJ…two of the best of the best. D’Rad is as big time as they come and CPJ…nuff said. Eventually we will say “BYE” to Hewitt
FullMetalJacket
January 25th, 2010
4:30 pm
Here’s hoping that the Jackets win out the season, go deep in both tourneys, and someone else offers Hewitt a “better” job. It seems that’s the only way to get rid of him since DRad lacks the courage to pull the trigger. Now, if Hewitt were to actually build a great team with a real future (not just more “potential”), I’d be just as happy if he stayed…..but after six years of mediocrity, I don’t think that is going to happen.
FullMetalJacket
January 25th, 2010
4:34 pm
First, we get UGA fans posting here, and now Nazi’s….what’s next? Hewitt himself?
RaceCutsBothWays
January 25th, 2010
4:39 pm
To paraphrase a great man, we may have kept Hewitt for the content of his character, but we have refrained from firing him due to the color of his skin.
jollygoodfellow
January 25th, 2010
4:43 pm
if you go back and watch the ending of the game – (I’m trying to remember how long was left, it was the last play so only seconds really) but under the FSU net and the ball goes out of bounds – the ref called that it was FSU ball. I ran it back and FSU definitely knocked the ball out of bounds. It should have been Tech ball under the FSU net with enough time to make a final shot. Granted on the home stretch we couldn’t finish that last possession we had so maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference, but leave it up to refs to find a bad call in a clutch situation
Born2Buzz
January 25th, 2010
4:54 pm
Not sure if I can blame this loss on Hewitt. We had a 1 pt. lead and Peacock at the line with 30 seconds to go. He misses the front end of the 1 & 1 and our freshman fouls the FSU guy. Now down 1 we got 2 good looks at the winning basket. The players need to step it up sometimes and make a shot in the clutch.
That being said I can’t understand why they can’t shoot at least 60% from the FT line. Shoot just friggin 60% and we win that game as well as UVA. Coaching has something to do with the lack of concentration at the line that causes us to be a 50% shooting team in certain games.
SoGaBee
January 25th, 2010
5:49 pm
So we fire the guy that got the talent here? I don’t think so. This is a very young team that needs to work together to find their roles. One problem is that many times teams with “superstars” (Lawal, maybe Favors soon) tend to wait for them to act — they stand around. I remember a team with a freshman superstar that underperformed — he was one and done, then this “poor coach” took what was left to the final game. I agree with “Barks Madly” (although he is trying to shuck the name) – this team has the talent to go deep, if it gels as the season progresses. Losses to FSU now are hard, but in them they learn to win in March. If not, what we have left next year will go deep again — just like the last time we signed the superstar.
Vidalia man
January 25th, 2010
8:04 pm
I believe Mark Price would be willing to help Hewitt in coaching players in shooting free throws. His pride would probably stop him from asking, but why wouldn’t he want to help them. Price was one of the all-time great free throw shooters. Hewitt has proven through the years, that he can’t improve their free throw shooting. Get some help, so we will win more close games.
Mark Price was on BC's staff
January 25th, 2010
8:12 pm
Price was an AC Bobby’s last year. The team shot FTs like an old lady throwing bricks.
Philip
January 25th, 2010
8:49 pm
I watched the game in Tallahassee yesterday. I am a FSU fan and that was an exciting game to watch. I respect GT team, and they have a lot of potential left. They will have to learn how to win in a half court physical playing game. Despite winning against UNC, Clemson, and Duke, Florida State has dominated the inside and made role players win the game. GT will go far in the tournament if they learn how to play all styles of play. They can also be a good team in the future if they can keep their stars together for more than one year.
DC Jacket
January 25th, 2010
10:10 pm
For all CPH supporters, how much longer are we going to blame losing for “young” team. We have had a young team every year since the final four run. He should change his recruiting if he cant win with one and done players. Last time Ive checked, winning programs had their share of one and done players but they dont use that as an excuse for losing consecutive years.
Lets face it. Tech has not progressed for several years. Thats enough said. I believe a good coach would win with the talent currently at Tech.
Tweets that mention Tough loss at FSU, but Tech again shows its potential | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
January 26th, 2010
12:52 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley, Brian. Brian said: Mark Bradley is either insane, or REALLY desperate to draw readers to his blog. Calls #GaTech a Final Four team. http://is.gd/714ct [...]
okiemon
January 26th, 2010
12:46 pm
Quote from DC Jacket: “For all CPH supporters, how much longer are we going to blame losing for “young” team?”
Good question. I heard Dickie V on the radio this morning talking about how Kentucky’s Coach Calipari is winning with “a very young team”. Maybe Tech’s young players are even younger than KY’s young players?