By beating Ohio State, Tech can turn haters into bee-lievers
Gani Lawal is among the reasons Georgia Tech has an inside edge. (AP photo)
Milwaukee – For no apparent reason, a Georgia Tech fan stood in the Bradley Center on Friday and, during pregame warm-ups, exhorted the Jackets by yelling, “History!” Turns out the guy was just premature.
History wasn’t on the line in Round 1 — No. 10 seeds oust No. 7’s all the time — but it will be Sunday. And it’s not history of the NCAA tournament factoid sort; it’s history as in memory, in legacy. If the Jackets lose tomorrow, we’ll recall them as a team that flirted with its potential but didn’t quite deliver. If it wins, everything changes.
If the Jackets win, we won’t much care that they were 7-9 in the ACC and were swept by Florida State and finished the regular season with consecutive losses. We’ll see them as a team that took its time learning how to play but one that, at the last possible moment, aced the final exam. We’ll see this as the second-best team of Paul Hewitt’s tenure, the team that reminded us — at a time when we’d all but forgotten — that this coach is more than a man with a golden contract.
The Jackets who were 20 minutes from missing the Big Dance stand 40 minutes from the Midwest Regional semis in St. Louis. They won’t be favored against Ohio State — then again, they weren’t favored against Oklahoma State on Friday — but they’ll have much in their favor.
They’re bigger than this OSU. (Let’s face it: Tech’s bigger than just about anybody.) They’re deeper. They have a guard in Iman Shumpert who defused Big 12 player of the year James Anderson of Oklahoma State in Round 1, and as it happens the Buckeyes’ best player also is a tall guard. His name: Evan Turner.
More than matchups, there’s also this: The team that Hewitt has described as “snakebit” during its regular season has played five close games in nine days and won four. The Jackets beat Maryland on a night they generated more turnovers than hoops. They beat North Carolina after trailing by 10 at the half. They beat Oklahoma State without scoring a basket in the final eight minutes. They are, as the saying goes, finding a way.
Forget snakebit. There’s a growing sense that these Jackets are coalescing in a way Hewitt’s finest team did. Tech reached the 2004 Final Four by winning five games that could have been lost in the final minute. Back then it was Jarrett Jack and Will Bynum making outrageous shots and everyone defending. There’s no Jack or Bynum on this roster, but the defense has been similarly unyielding.
Loading ...“This is no slap on Ohio State,” Gani Lawal said Saturday, “but the way our defense has been we feel like we can stop anybody, even the player of the year.”
To stop now would leave potential unmet. The Jackets didn’t convene in October hoping to slip into the NCAA tournament as a 10th seed and leave after the first weekend. “We did have expectations of how good we could be,” Zachery Peacock said. “And now we’re becoming a unit. We’re all working together.”
They are. But our lasting view of these Jackets will turn on what happens, or doesn’t happen, against the Buckeyes and Evan Turner. “If we win, and we do plan to win, we can get a lot of people riding behind us,” Peacock said. “I guess you could could them ‘haters’. We can win a lot of people over.”
At stake Sunday: A berth in the Sweet Sixteen and the biggest NCAA upset ever posted by a Tech team, but for these Jackets there’s something even more essential at play. They can validate themselves. They can turn haters into fans. They can rewrite their chapter of history.
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269 comments Add your comment
BartBuzz
March 21st, 2010
9:52 am
Nice column Mark. I agree that Tech can make a lot of us believers again if they can beat Ohio State. And I have this feeling they will. But I still can’t change my opinion about Coach Hewitt. His record has been mediocre at best since his run in 2004. A losing record in the ACC does not equate to anything else. Maybe he can coach GT into reaching their potential with a win today. The reality will hit home next year when CPH will have a less talented team. 7-9 may sound good in comparison.
But as far as today goes, I will be rooting 100% for the White and Gold and Coach Hewitt. If GT has 15 or less turnovers and can shoot 75% from the line, they can pull off the upset. Go Jackets!
Stinger
March 21st, 2010
10:03 am
Good job shutting down the dawg nation Yellow Fuzz. They never look at facts. Elite Eight baby!!
James Kiely
March 21st, 2010
10:04 am
To play a smothering defense each night is a tribute to CPH, however I will also say that I am bothered by Tech’s ability to execute an in-bounds pass or run some resemblance of an offensive scheme. I also believe CPH was bailed out against OSU when he prematurley called his last time out right after a time-out with over a minute to play – bad coaching. At any rate, I am pulling for GT and CPH to get to Sweet 16 where anything can happen.
All you UGA fans can suck it!
March 21st, 2010
10:26 am
HA!HA!HA! GEORGIA SUCKS!!! TECH IS AT LEAST IN THE DANCE!!!
HBTD1
March 21st, 2010
10:33 am
Yeah….YF the AH REALLY shut the Dog Nation down, Stinger. When Ealey and King get done slamming it down your throats again for double the yards, you will KNOW what being shut down is all about, lil feller.
Yellow Fuzz
March 21st, 2010
10:41 am
HBTD1
March 21st, 2010
10:33 am
Yeah….YF the AH REALLY shut the Dog Nation down, Stinger. When Ealey and King get done slamming it down your throats again for double the yards, you will KNOW what being shut down is all about, lil feller.
HBTV1
Yeah like the 408 yards we ran for the last time between the hedges. Top that AH!
icedawg
March 21st, 2010
10:42 am
Here’s one DAWG pulling for Tek! You go Bees!
Dawg it
March 21st, 2010
11:02 am
Go buckeyes!
jacket3
March 21st, 2010
11:02 am
“If” we play like we did the last 5 games Ohio State is in for a rude awakening. With Kansas gone GT really has a chance …wouldn’t that be something if we get to the Final 4! You gotta believe. Go Jackets!
U Gotta Believe In Something
March 21st, 2010
11:03 am
They’ve got the talent to compete with these guys. No one gives them a chance in the media relm, but who are they to say. By the way, they did pick KANSAS to win it all. See what I’m saying. GO JACKETS! AND DO YOUR THANG.
Tank
March 21st, 2010
11:07 am
What are the odds that the 1 2 and 3 seed in a region would be out during the first week? Can you imagine if tech does win? And with all the talk we heard all week how tough the region was not because of teams seeded 6 and higher but those seeded 1-5. I bet there has never been a 1,2 and 3 seed gone after the first week ever. And that’s what tech faces. The odds are stacked highly against them.
Brad P
March 21st, 2010
11:09 am
OSU favored by 6 1/2. I took tech and the points.
Brad P
March 21st, 2010
11:10 am
3 hours from tip off. Where’s MB?
bruce mac
March 21st, 2010
11:18 am
You rock, we suk. Feel better now Yellow Fuzz? Good luck versus OSU.
Lochness
March 21st, 2010
11:23 am
I believe MB’s absence probably has something to do with the cold he was wrestling plus prepping for the game.
Watching Tech’s season this year has been an exercise in patience. At times they look invincible, particularly when Inman is hitting 3s, to stretches where they look like an inebriated bunch of un-coached high school kids. My living room wall has a dent in it from me watching many of their inbound plays.
But now, starting with the ACC tourney, they seem to sloooowly be gelling. Many point out that we cant’ count on 94% free throw shooting (was that *my* Tech?!) but by the same token I think we can’t count on such poor shooting from 3-point land. The key is to minimize these turnover stretches and handling the front-court press. Tech appears to be heading in that direction.
Kansas getting knocked off is huge. All of a sudden, Final Four is a possibility that won’t get you laughed at in public. With a win against OSU today, there is even a possibility of seeing an ACC championship rematch at the NCAA finals. How cool would that be?
Get well MB. Hopefully you will be up there for a while.
Bee-lieve.
Dawg1
March 21st, 2010
11:31 am
Coach Hewitt has always struck me as a class guy who tries to do things the right way. His coaching is constantly being trashed and seems to get no credit for the caliber of player he has brought into the Tech program.
If you based opinions on AJC blogs you would conclude that Tech doesn’t deserve this team or coach; but I think the rational ones who participate that all schools have their share of idiots.
Congrats to CPH and the Tech basketball team. They are living up to the hype when it counts the most.
Technophobia
March 21st, 2010
11:37 am
We need to focus on the game at hand. Unless we beat OSU, final 4, elite 8 and even sweet 16 don’t happen. Beat the Buckeyes! Go Jackets! Sting em!
Yellow Fuzz
March 21st, 2010
11:45 am
bruce mac
March 21st, 2010
11:18 am
You rock, we suk. Feel better now Yellow Fuzz? Good luck versus OSU.
Yeah
HBTD1
March 21st, 2010
11:46 am
We will Yellow Fuzz! Sometimes you are pretty funny on the UGA blogs but other times…..
Anyway, good luck today against the Buckeyes! Believe it or not YF, some UGA fans actually pull for you guys.
Lochness
March 21st, 2010
11:50 am
@Technophobia: You are absolutely right. Tech has also done a good job recently at focusing at the task at hand. One stop, one rebound. I believe now that Tech, and in particular, Shumpert has proven to everyone (including themselves) that they can d-up against the best offenses we will see them put on their best defensive effort of the year against a strong OSU team. If the bees can minimize the turnover sprees and Shumpert and Rice can find a 3-point stroke (freeing up the big boys all the more) then this team is one to be feared. But, back you Techno’s point, one game at a time.
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
11:54 am
I Hope Mark is feeling better! Well, he should be getting to the arena I guess and firing up the Laptop shortly. Keep the Turnovers down and the ball in the paint and I think Tech can win this game. All these games have proven any TEAM can win. Go Jackets and you dawgs just keep on running your mouths from home.
GT BOYZ
March 21st, 2010
12:00 pm
One of your best, Marcus, with one exception… You are a hater, aren’t you Mark? Aren’t ya?
GT
March 21st, 2010
12:01 pm
Foul shots, they will see a ton of them. Lawal get to the foul line ,practice. Close your eyes and think if I make this shot we win if I miss it we lose, that is the only game plan you need Don’t worry about the defense it is there, but there is no defense in the world that can overcome missed foul shots. You are here because you hit them for the first time this year. At the end of the day this ends up being a game of horse and your shot is a foul shot every time. No one guarding you and 2 million watching you play horse.
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
12:02 pm
Mark Bradley where are you? I hope you are feeling better and on your way to the arena. Fireup the laptop and lets chat. I think this a bad matchup for OSU more than TECH. Keep the Turnovers down and fet the ball inside Tech can win.
OSU Fan
March 21st, 2010
12:04 pm
Buckeyes will win by 10 plus points! Then we will face the Vols next….from there we will see. Go Buckeyes!
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
12:09 pm
10 points you are smoking something good OSU Fan. Most games have been close this will be the same.
Technophobia
March 21st, 2010
12:11 pm
It’s amazing how much is riding on this game. Lose today and the haters will be back and we’ll be left wondering why we couldn’t pull it together a little sooner and gotten a better seed. Win today and the program regains confidence, the season will be deemed a general success if not a complete success and we’ll probably benefit with recrutiting. Go Jackets! Sting em!
heartofdarkness
March 21st, 2010
12:12 pm
Anyone think Thad Matta will do a better job in a close game than Travis Ford? If Turner is taken out of his game, do the Buckeyes have the scorers to pickup the slack. Do the Jackets get enough 3 pt shooting? OSU looks small unless they pass and have a strong mid range game.
jojatek
March 21st, 2010
12:19 pm
Right on, Mr. Bradley. I have said all along (in this column, in fact) that Tech must make the Sweet 16, at a minimum, to restore the credibility of this year’s squad, and to send Favors (and Lawal) to the NBA with the recognition they deserve, but have not yet earned. The formula against OSU seems so simple: Outwork/out-hustle them on defense (Hewitt has been spectacular this season getting that message across…); work the ball inside, but don’t force the ball inside (turnovers); move without the ball to create passing lanes and easy buckets (both on offense, and when we’re in-bounding the ball against the press); make your free-throws (if we do the other things, we won’t have to be 96% from the line to win this game…). The officials are obviously letting the big men in this tournament play this year (alot of contact underneath, but not alot of calls…); that should work to our advantage…
Go Jackets! Stay loose today, play smart, and make us all believers again…
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
12:21 pm
Techno I am still not on the Hewitt bandwangon, but I don’t see anybody with the money to buy him out and nobody ready to replace him with.
Buckhead Bulldog
March 21st, 2010
12:25 pm
The best of luck to you, Technophobia, and to the Yellow Jacket Nation today. Win today, and who knows what may happen. Possibly the F4? The stars could be aligning for y’all!
Seriously! Go Jackets!
PlusSizeModel
March 21st, 2010
12:38 pm
Let’s face it: the only reason this team with such horrible guards is in the 2nd round is because they shot 24/25 from the line in the first round. Oh, and Hewitt is comically bad coach, to the point that national writers mention how they enjoy watching him just to see him do stupid things. GT has zero shot against the relentless balance and athleticism they face today.
BuzzUGA
March 21st, 2010
12:39 pm
Stop recruiting players with their minds on The NBA and other things..lol
The NBA is facing a lock-out because they are losing money, and one season of high school hype won’t sell tickets in the struggling markets with lottery picks. A player like Lebron is one in a trillion! This NCAA Tournament proves it. Most players have to play for seasons to become dominant.
Having to take -away the players ipods and cellphones this late in the game is awful..
Technophobia
March 21st, 2010
12:41 pm
Thanks Buckhead, good luck to Fox next year.
POAD, you’re right about the finances.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/georgia-tech-athletics-sweating-387705.html
It makes a lot more sense to work constructively to return the program to what we saw in 2004. I don’t believe in flukes and the end of this season provides further evidence of what a Hewitt team CAN be. I hope, when it’s all over, that DRad and CPH can sit down and have a constructive review of the program and get it back to the level that I believe Hewitt is capable of but which has eluded us for much of the recent past.
Jacket13
March 21st, 2010
12:42 pm
Tech fans may be getting what they want after this run in the NCAA tourney is over. During an interview, Hewitt said he had turned down two jobs to stay at Tech! I think he is telling the truth. Well if the Jackets lose today, expect for both Seton Hall and St. Johns to offer Hewitt their job. I am willing to bet with the lose of Favours and Lawal to the NBA, the bashing that he receives from the media here in Atlanta, he will bolt for one of those jobs. I mean when you think about it, the man already has a lot of money, One of those schools will buy him out of the Tech contract, and he can recruit big time players like Bosh, Young, Crettiton, Favours, etc. So Tech fans even after the tourney no matter how far Tech dances, the irony is that you may finally get your wish and Hewitt will bolt for a job up North.
Dawg #1
March 21st, 2010
12:45 pm
we dominate the tech nerds in everthing. you will killed today against a much saperior team. enjoy the beat down nerds.
Tech Fan
March 21st, 2010
12:46 pm
Grats Jackets on the win. I still hate the way we play. We play stupid street ball. Smaller teams who play smart ball make us look stupid. The game against OK was great and all, but let’s be honest, making all but one free throw was the difference in the game. The previous tourney we set the all time record for poor free throw shooting. The likely hood that we can win games shooting free throws is very low. I would rather have a team that plays smart TEAM basketball, than to watch a bunch of future NBA players play one on one games. I’m happy for the players to get some wins before they are gone, but honestly, there is far too much water under the bridge, aka, Ground Hog Day, with Hewitt. Hewitt must go!
Tech Fan
March 21st, 2010
12:47 pm
Jacket13 I hope your right, let the man go where he is wanted! There has been too much damage done, this is too little too late, we’ve had enough Ground Hog Day years ago.
Ron
March 21st, 2010
12:48 pm
St Johns and Seton Hall have been irrelevant for decades. GT has made final 4’s before PH came. And the basketball talent in Atlanta is much better today than 15 years ago. We will get a tubby smith type coach and be dancing again if he leaves. Most tech fans and alum just want him to get better assistants.
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
12:51 pm
Dawg 1 how did that UGA GT baseball game workout for you?UGA hasn’t beat Tech at anything in 2010 now have you dawg?
Lochness
March 21st, 2010
12:53 pm
@Dawg#1: Dominate Tech at everything? Really? How’s UGA faring in March Madness this year? I’m having trouble finding which bracket they are in. And where did UGA, with all its hype, end up in the final football rankings? And don’t even start me on academics. It’s an argument I really can’t start with someone who misspells the word “superior.” I hope that irony is not lost on you.
I am NOT a Dog hater. I support the Dawgs in every game except the ones against my bees. But people like you? Well…better luck next year.
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
12:53 pm
Dawg 1 great spelzing on your post.
Dawg #1
March 21st, 2010
12:55 pm
Moron
Tue, Jan 5 at Georgia L 66-73
Dawg #1
March 21st, 2010
12:58 pm
i didnt know this was english class
1 win last decade. losing recrod in basketball this decade to uga. we domanate you in everthing. suck it nerd
Pi$$onaDAWG
March 21st, 2010
1:00 pm
Dawg did you even finish middle school? RECORD, DOMINATE these are not even difficult words.
BamaFan
March 21st, 2010
1:06 pm
GO TECH
Brock
March 21st, 2010
1:07 pm
Dawg #1
March 21st, 2010
12:45 pm
we dominate the tech nerds in everthing. you will killed today against a much saperior team. enjoy the beat down nerds.
saperior? Really? Why don’t you go get a job with the UGA sanitation dept and clean up that landfill you guys call a campus. I mean, that was your major right?
Dawg #1
March 21st, 2010
1:12 pm
eat it tech nerds. i will be laughing when you get cremed today. no bowl win. loss to uga evertime. ha nerds you cant win anything.
ohio will win by 30
Sautee
March 21st, 2010
1:14 pm
Not to take anything from Shumpert, who did a nice job on Vasquez and Anderson, BUT Evan Turner is NOT Vasquez or Anderson.
Most mock drafts have Turner second overall in the NBA draft.
I like Tech, but OSU by 14. Tech with 15 turnovers.
Hope I’m wrong.
Dawg #1
March 21st, 2010
1:15 pm
and rememer tech nerds. we run this state in all sports! suck it nerds