Here’s what caused Paul Hewitt to stop reading the AJC
Paul Hewitt exits after losing to Louisville in the 2005 NCAA. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Perhaps you heard Paul Hewitt say last week he hasn’t read the ol’ AJC since 2005. Perhaps you heard him mention he stopped because “our columnist here” — he meant me, I believe it’s safe to say — declared the 2004-2005 Jackets underachievers. And he’s correct. I did.
I believed then — and believe still — that a Tech team returning six of its top eight players from a run to the NCAA championship game (and that had added freshmen Anthony Morrow, Jeremis Smith and Ra’Sean Dickey) should have done better than 20-12 overall and 8-8 in the ACC. It should have done better than to enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed and then lose by 22 points in Round 2 to No. 4 seed Louisville.
Was U of L good that year? Absolutely. It reached the Final Four, where it lost in the semis to Illinois, which lost in the title game to North Carolina, which Tech had beaten in the ACC semifinals only eight days before its crash against the Cardinals. After that game, Hewitt opened his press briefing by saying: “This was no upset.”
OK, that’s the background. Here, presented without one keystroke of revision, is the apparently offending article that ran in our paper on March 21, 2005. Judge for yourselves if I had, as Hewitt claimed on 790 The Zone last Friday – here’s a link to the audio – forfeited all claim to objectivity:
Nashville — Georgia Tech has come many miles these past two seasons, but the Jackets didn’t get as far as they could have this March. Paul Hewitt believed this team was more talented than its immediate predecessor, but all that talent exited Sunday as a 22-point loser in Round 2. Louisville threw a zone at Tech, and the way to beat a zone is to shoot over it. The Jackets couldn’t. Their most renowned shooter, B.J. Elder, made one basket in his final game as a collegian.
And that was your ballgame right there. Yes, Louisville fashioned a frenzied start, making eight of its first nine shots and seizing a 13-point lead not seven minutes in, but any observer of this weekend’s doings knows that 13-point leads can be overcome. But Tech needed to make treys to pull the Cardinals out of that 2-3 zone and clear the path for drives to the basket, and the Jackets could make only six.
The knee-jerk reaction is to say that the scheming Rick Pitino outcoached Hewitt, but Tech pretty much knew Louisville would play a zone and prepared accordingly.
“What it comes down to, ” said Willie Reese, Hewitt’s assistant, “is you have to make shots.” And these Jackets, for all their skill and tenacity and seasoning, weren’t good enough shooters. There was a time when Hewitt believed Elder to be one of the nation’s best players, but as an injury-saddled senior he was never a consistent force.
Louisville smacked the Jackets hard early and sat in its zone, waiting for the run that never quite came. Elder’s lone basket drew the Jackets within nine points with 10 minutes left, but Jarrett Jack threw away an inbounds pass and Luke Schenscher walked in the lane and Taquan Dean hit the two killing 3s. “They shot extremely well, ” Will Bynum said. “There was nothing we could do.”
Well, Tech might have made a few shots of its own, but Jack and Bynum are better slashers than standstill shooters. Tech had everything it needed to reach another Final Four, everything except a reasonable facsimile of J.J. Redick. “[Louisville] did a great job of staying on shooters out of the zone, ” said Elder, who played 24 minutes and hoisted five shots, one fewer than Anthony McHenry.
Give Louisville its due. Francisco Garcia had the same sort of inspirational performance that Dwyane Wade authored when Marquette thrashed top-ranked Kentucky in a 2003 regional final, with the point being: A splendid player can, on a given March afternoon, will his team to a higher plane. Tech had lots of players, but no one who could do as Garcia did. Bynum scored 35 points against North Carolina nine days ago; he managed eight Sunday.
The Jackets’ offense failed them too many times this season. They were fine as long as they could drive to the goal, but Louisville made them play in a confined space. The Cardinals simply wrong-footed Tech. “Today we got beat by a better team, ” Hewitt said, and then he added: “A better-coached team.”
It will come as cold comfort to Tech that the Cardinals saw this game as their test. “If you can beat Georgia Tech , you can go to the Final Four and win the national championship, ” Pitino had said Saturday, and here we pause for reflection: Louisville has won two NCAA titles and been to seven Final Fours. Louisville has been a fortress of a program for 60 years, and yet the proud Cardinals and their famous coach regarded Tech, which three seasons ago was happy to make the NIT, as their peer if not their better.
Having played for one national championship, Hewitt assembled enough players to make a run at another. The indifferent regular season can be written off to injuries, but Tech had no excuses Sunday. The Jackets needed a shooter to rise up and make shots, and nobody did. This really gifted team met a really rude end.
And I’ll leave it at that — almost. The folks at 790 were kind enough to ask for my reaction to Hewitt’s contention that it has become a “personal” issue with me regarding his program. If you’re inclined, here’s the audio link to my response. (And if you’re not inclined, here was my answer: No, it hasn’t. No, it isn’t.)
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286 comments Add your comment
Golfball whacker guy
March 1st, 2010
12:17 pm
Make a big shot, call a TO. Get out of flow. Hmm, wonder what coach that is….
George P. Burdell
March 1st, 2010
12:18 pm
Mark:
As a long time Tech fan who has taken an exception to many of your articles and/or points, I think this one was right on the money. If anything, you were probably a little too reserved in your criticism, no doubt due to the great run the year before. As other posters have mentioned, the Louisville game really defined the start of the decline of the program under Hewitt. Of course us fans are now in the same boat with you since Hewitt has decided that our revolt against his ineptness is hurting the team. I never could or would root against Tech but the losses don’t hurt as much when you see them as the path to better things down the road for the program. I honestly think Hewitt has gone as far as he can with Tech and until that separation is complete, it will only cause more misery for all involved. The fact that he is now lashing out at fans and sportwriters is a no-win route and he is only causing more rifts. As a “stockholder” in the Tech program, I’ll be more than happy to let him have the benefit of the doubt and continue on this path so long as he would be willing to refund my portion of his salary. A man making over a million a year crying about the actions of hardworking people that pay his salary is simply unacceptable. I do feel for the young men on the team and appreciate all the hard work they put it in, but we aren’t doing the future players any favors if we don’t speak out about what many of us see as a glaring problem. I don’t know how anyone can defend him after the NC State near loss. Sure the players have to execute, but how on Earth do you keep running the same inbounds play that didn’t work the other 5 or 6 times it was run? At the start of the season I thought Hewitt should be gone if we didn’t make the Big Dance. After watching that miserable 4 minutes, I knew he had to go. And I do think he’ll be gone. I just pray it is sooner rather than later.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
12:19 pm
FullMetal, that game had eerie similarities to the NC State game. If it had lasted another coupld of minutes, Tech would probably have been scrambling to hold on.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
12:21 pm
hey ss: Last time I looked, Bush never played at Tech and this is a Tech basketball blog. But since I did interject an irrelevant Chuck Norris reference earlier, I’ll cut you some slack. By the way, Chuck Norris is a Republican, and your inability to clearly articulate a meaningful, fact-based argument in defense of Obama is not worthy of Obama since his own vice-president has said the man is very articulate and clean-cut for someone of his color.
Mark Bradley
March 1st, 2010
12:21 pm
I think you’re mistaken the ACC record for Hewitt’s overall road record, Don. Hewitt’s teams are 16-49 in road games since the 2003-2004 season; the record in ACC play is 36-58.
phew
March 1st, 2010
12:22 pm
= chan gailey lite.
when i add the lite i mean that at least chan had a winning record. at least chan was at or near the top of the conference standings every year….. unlike phew.
there is a reason why the students dont attend games. phew has not bothered to bond with the students like bobby did. matter of fact, phew has not bothered to bond with anybody other than himself the entire time he has been at gt.
funny how things will turn out for both coaches. king phew has had a similar record over his entire 10 year reign that bobby had over his last 4-5 years. yet….
bobby has a court named after him. bobby will be in the acc hall of fame. bobby will be in the georgia hall of fame. bobby is beloved by all. folks write books on the exploits of bobby.
phew will have a chapter in contract law named after him. phew will go quietly into the night when he is finished coaching (tearing down the gt program). phew’s only legacy will be the hall of shame. phew is at best disliked by most and even hated by a few.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
12:25 pm
FullMetal, I LIKE YOU, bud.
Granny's on the loose!
March 1st, 2010
12:28 pm
Say hi to me Mark Bradley! I’m an old lady who loves GT sports wooooh!
hey supersize
March 1st, 2010
12:30 pm
I admit I’m a gay man, but that doesn’t change my view on politics FullMetalJacket.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
12:32 pm
phew: “(Hewitt) will have a chapter in contract law named after him” is a great quote. I would add that he might get some ink in UGA archives for his losing record to them, and the fact that his agent is purportedly a UGA grad.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
12:34 pm
hey supersize: I am glad you are a happy fellow.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
12:39 pm
Mark, or someone else who knows for sure: Is there a contractual deadline by which Tech must notify Hewitt of his status (retained/fired) in order to have some say in the pay out of his remaining salary (the notorious $7 M or so)? I may be mistaken (yet again) but I thought Tech had to tell him by March ?? or else pay him off without the chance to negotiate.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
12:43 pm
Time for Lunch!!! I just saw DRad eating a thick, juicy contract while D. Braine was finishing off a crow salad. I don’t know what P. Hewitt is having; I can’t afford the kind of restaurants he can.
Gordon
March 1st, 2010
12:44 pm
One of the things Mark mentioned in his radio interview with 790 is that Hewitt has been around long enough to have a big enough sample of data to choose from. A large sample makes variables such as injuries, youth, or just plain bad luck much less of an excuse. For argument’s sake let’s say we win 3 out of 6 games for the rest of the season (1 out of 2 in regular season, ACC, and NCAA). We might do slightly better or slightly worse. Given that here is an average Hewitt year at Tech:
10 year average 17-14 (7-9), with a 50% chance of making the NCAA and a 40% chance of having a losing season.
5 year average 16-15 (6-10), with a 40% chance of making the NCAA and a 60% change of having a losing season.
We have a mediocre coach, with a not so mediocre salary.
Chollie'sHadAGreatSteakSandwich
March 1st, 2010
12:47 pm
The Truth is “what caused Paul Hewitt to stop reading the AJC sports pages.”
Chollie'sHadAGreatSteakSandwich
March 1st, 2010
12:48 pm
. The Truth is “what caused Paul Hewitt to stop reading the AJC sports pages.”
Bigstack O' Pancakes. It is an Irish name.
March 1st, 2010
12:49 pm
Watch out! Hewitt will go on another twitter rantpage. See what I did, I combined rant with rampage and came up with rantpage. Practice will probably be cut short so he can tweet his rage at Mark Bradley. If CPH comes after you on twitter I got your back. I have a twitter account and will light him up like a Duke didin Cameron Indoor. By the way, under-performing talented Tech teams have been a calling card of the Paul Hewitt era with the exception of the Final Four year. For example, the 2007 squad with Thad Young and Gun-toting Crittendon, both first round picks in the NBA draft, made the NCAA’S as a 10 seed I believe. Out in Round one. This team will be lucky to make the tourney and it isn’t the players fault so much as it is Coach Hewitt and his staff. With this amount of talent it is clear they aren’t being coached up.
Gordon
March 1st, 2010
12:51 pm
FMJ @ 12:39. I think Hewitt must have 30 day written notice that Tech does not intend to extend the contract. The rollover date is April 15th, so the notification date is in about two weeks. Currently we must pay Hewitt through April 14th, 2015. If we make no move in the next two weeks, that date moves to April 14th, 2016. Each year he gets some percentage more than the previous (maybe 5%).
Chollie's
March 1st, 2010
12:52 pm
Gordo: Well said. It is not a single bad game, an occasional unlucky injury or loss, or a situational lack of leadership that makes the case against Hewitt. It is nearly a decade’s worth of all of the above. The only thing worse than having paid so much for such mediocrity is to not learn from our mistake and continue to pay for it.
Braineiac
March 1st, 2010
12:53 pm
Braine–the genius with the big contract after a fluke season for Hewitt—now, Tech can’t afford to pay his millions in buyout money and his stuck with him for 3 more years.
Gordon
March 1st, 2010
12:57 pm
Braineiac, why do you say 3 more years? We stop paying Gailey after 2 more years, but other than that, nothing significant is different after any year, at least financially.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
12:58 pm
Thanks for the info, Gordon. Hopefully, DRad and the Administration are already getting the paperwork in order and making a short list for his successor. The day we fire Hewitt will not be a happy day for most of us Tech fans, but we know it is something that must be done. Hiring the next guy may at least encourage some excitement and optimism for the future which keeping Hewitt most certainly will not.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
1:03 pm
Braineiac: I am not sure why you specify 3 years, though I agree somewhat with your sentiments. With the automatic rollover, we will ALWAYS owe Hewitt 5 years of future salary. It was a bad contract from the beginning, but I do understand the context in which it was given. I also have to acknowledge that Clough and the Tech administration approved the contract (on Braine’s advice). Regardless, the sooner we fire him the sooner we can get through the 5 years.
full metal
March 1st, 2010
1:03 pm
no facts? surely you jest. i listed 3-4 which you choose to ignore….. but that is a pub for you. they never let facts get in the way of an argument.
if you dont want to discuss politics in a sports blog than i suggest that you keep your mouth shut and not bring up your cheap political shots. matter of fact… if you read the entire blog their were multiple political references all done by republicans and none done by democrats. what does that tell you?
get a republican in an argument and they bring up irrelevant stuff like spelling. ask them to for a show of facts an they hem and haw and say ‘let me get back to you on that’ .
the fact that shooting doctors in the back and birthers and death panels and sarah palin and people riding dinosaurs and the church at c street and mark sanford and blackwater represent republican values and ideals speaks quite loudly.
as far as the bowing and stuff goes. you need to check your facts yet again their bucko. obama is not the only president to show courtesy to foreign dignitaries. obama is not the only president to apoligize. look it up. never mind your a republican. pubs dont read books or do any research.
i could swear i saw pictures of W holding hands with his saudi uncle on more than one occasion. AND why on earth would a president allow relatives of bin laden to leave american airspace without even allowing the fbi to ask them question. that is treason to me.
AND your worried about an american president showing a little humility. time for you to go home… get the bible out, oil up the gun and clean your cowboy boots.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
1:03 pm
FullMetal, it’s a nice thought, but I fear it won’t happen. I hope I am wrong.
Paul Who
March 1st, 2010
1:07 pm
Hey Hewitt, you can put your head in the sand but that doesn’t change your team’s performance on the court. In another article I read where Hewitt is on Tweeter. Hey Hewitt, tweet this – you lost to FSU twice and Miami when you have the talent to win the ACC. Only one piece of the puzzle is missing “COACHING”! Enough is enough fire this guy and hire Mark Price!
Chollie's
March 1st, 2010
1:07 pm
Hewitt’s Most Wondrous and Rewarding Contract is the Screw Which Just Keeps Screwing Tech. I can live with his sitting on a beach sipping umbrella drinks while collecting millions for doing nothing. I can not live with his sitting on the bench at AMC criticizing Tech fans while collecting millions for doing nothing.
Hewitt = Obama
March 1st, 2010
1:12 pm
“full metal”, or whatever name you want to steal and corrupt next, NO AMERICAN PRESIDENT has EVER bowed to another dignitary before….until Obama. This is no longer a republican vs democrat thing, anyway; there are plenty of republicans who need to get the hell out of dodge also. We fought a “civil war” once to end slavery. I, for one, and damned if I want to return to slavery….the kind in which we the people are “slaves” to the powers in Washington, who for the most part are nothing but liars, cheats, and crooks. By the way, I might point out that Clinton, when president, had bin Laden (not just his relatives) in his sights and failed to go after him. And, since you brought up the word FACTS, would you care to tell me how and why Obama and his cronies continue to deny (or ignore) the latest polls that show clearly that the majority of Americans are against their health-care plan? And yet still they plan to ram it down our throats (and up our …..), increasing the burden on hard-working, non-welfare-receiving Americans who are already barely getting by?
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
1:14 pm
“hey ss” a.k.a. “full metal”: In the first place, I did not introduce politics to this site. I only responded to your political references. Also, your opinions are not facts so your argument remains unsubstantiated even though I freely support your right to state your opinions. Finally, the “Shift” key is neither Republican nor Democrat (there is one on both the Left and the Right side of the keyboard) so you might wish to employ it, unless of course you are emulating e.e. cummings, which might also explain your shortcomings in grammar and syntax also.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
1:16 pm
FullMetalJacket, do you really think he has any idea who e.e. cummings was? LOL
Chief Nock A Homa
March 1st, 2010
1:21 pm
Fire Terence Moore!
Gordon
March 1st, 2010
1:22 pm
FMJ @ 12:58, one good thing is that Selection Sunday will occur the day before Tech must notify Hewitt whether the contract is to be extended. So if Radakovich wants, he can use that as the basis for his decision. If we make the field, I think Hewitt will be here next year for certain. If not, it is much more problematic, but there is still a good possibility that he will.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
1:25 pm
Gordon, I fear you are right
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
1:28 pm
“hey ss” a.k.a. “full metal”: Now that you’ve gotten me started, I don’t move my lips when I read and write (as you apparently must) so why should I keep “my mouth shut” on a blog? Not to be picky, but your numerous mistakes really do weaken your factually flawed argument. For example, dont (don’t), their (they’re and there are the words you seek), your (you’re), etc. Well, as you suggest, maybe only Republicans are concerned with spelling, grammar, education, etc., but your stereotyping (bible, guns, cowboy boots) reveal that you are the resident bigot, sir or madam. Your inability to differentiate between a handshake from a bow is truly surprising, as is your omission of the phrase “Imperialistic Running Dogs” in your missive.
Mark Bradley
March 1st, 2010
1:30 pm
Hewitt will be back if Georgia Tech makes the NCAA field. And Joe Lunardi of ESPN has GT as a No. 7 seed in his latest Bracketology.
Coach Hewitt
March 1st, 2010
1:31 pm
You guys are really pushing my buttons, and it hurts, but it sure ain’t bothering the million dollars + I’m making every year. So good luck with your complaining, and stick your heads in the sand cause I’m here till I get my BIG buyout!
Hewitt = Obama
March 1st, 2010
1:32 pm
FullMetalJacket, it should be obvious that only Republicans (and a few intelligent democrats) are concerned with spelling, grammar, education, etc, when even the president of the United States says “aks” instead of “ask,” which I heard him say in an interview on CBS news last week. That, my friend, is pathetic.
OldDawgfanNewTechfan
March 1st, 2010
1:33 pm
I thought switching over to be a Yellow Jackets fan was the right thing back in the summer, but then my ole dawgs beat GT in football, and then basketball with a new coach I was worried the program would certainly suck. Sorry guys, I may have to bounce back to being a Dawgs fan, woof woof, meeeeow!
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
1:36 pm
Mark, if the Jackets lose their last two, which is a very real possibility, since we never win at Littlejohn, and VT is good, do you still think we will make the field?
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
1:39 pm
Supersize, Gordon, et al. I also have a sickening feeling that Tech might retain Hewitt just for making the NCAA field. I think that the best scenario is that Tech makes the NCAA’s (thereby improving CPH’s chance to get another job which might incrementally assist in our payout negotiations) and we still fire him. DRad is either a good poker player (he’s still very supportive of Hewitt in public and private) or a much less adept businessman that we give him credit for. I don’t see how keeping Hewitt can be justified with the multiyear trend toward mediocrity, declining revenues and attendance, the growing alumni dissatisfaction, the deterioration and erosion of branding, and the inability to effect positive change in basketball management.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
1:40 pm
OldDawg: Don’t even try to learn new tricks. Stay in Athens and bark all you like. Good doggie.
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
1:41 pm
FMJ, once again, I HOPE you are right and somehow or another we see the last of him this year
Chollie's
March 1st, 2010
1:43 pm
Losing in Littlejohn seems a good bet, but VT is about as bad as we are on the road. I think we make the field, get one of the lowest At-Large seeds, and fold like a lawn chair.
Mark Bradley
March 1st, 2010
1:43 pm
I do, Supersize that order.
Gordon
March 1st, 2010
1:43 pm
“Hewitt will be back if Georgia Tech makes the NCAA field. And Joe Lunardi of ESPN has GT as a No. 7 seed in his latest Bracketology.”
We get in, IMHO, if one of the following 2 things happen: win one regular season game or two ACC tournament games. I think it is highly unlikely that we won’t (in fact we could go on a little run), so get used to the idea of Hewitt being here next year. I think he will be let go after next year when we go 4-12 in the ACC.
Chollie's
March 1st, 2010
1:44 pm
FMJ: you seem mighty erudite for a straight guy, assuming you are straight.
eggguy
March 1st, 2010
1:46 pm
Hewitt turns down Mark Price’s offer to help team with free throw shooting…..hummmm.
What do Petway, Price, Noodles Neal, Harpring,the Barry Bros., Luke S. all have in common? Say it, it’s o.k. Say it…..
THEY COULD ALL SHOOT FREE THROWS!!!
Supersize that order, mutt
March 1st, 2010
1:48 pm
Chollies’s, is “erudite” a word that straight guys use? LOL
Mark Bradley
March 1st, 2010
1:51 pm
Speaking of Craig Neal — he’s Steve Alford’s No. 1 assistant at New Mexico, which is 27-3.
FullMetalJacket
March 1st, 2010
1:52 pm
Thanks, Chollie’s, I think. Yup, I’m straight, though I do have a man crush on Paul Johnson. I am concerned that next year will get very, very ugly on and off the court if Hewitt comes back. If we did in fact go on a great run and get into the E8 or F4, AND Hewitt talked Favors into returning and recruited a couple of more top recruits, AND Hewitt made some changes in his assistants, AND Hewitt expressed the willingness to make some changes in his team and game preparations….THEN I would feel just a little better about him returning. I still would not renew my season tickets, until he proved he had changed and could still win….but let’s face it, none of these things is going to happen. It will all come down to math for the NCAA selection committee’s decision; I just hope that DRad considers both the math and the future of Tech Basketball when he makes a decision on Hewitt.