It’d be better for Hewitt and Tech if the two sides part ways
Even millionaire coaches need to be loved. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
It would be better for both parties if Paul Hewitt leaves. Better for Georgia Tech, which would be free of an increasingly unpopular coach and his onerous contract, but also better for Hewitt, who could return to New York as the people’s choice. As coach of St. John’s, he wouldn’t be viewed as the guy who hasn’t really delivered since 2004; he’d be the man from Queens come home to save the Johnnies.
There was a time when Paul Hewitt seemed the savior of Tech basketball. In his first season he took Bobby Cremins’ remnants and turned them into an NCAA tournament team, and in 2004 he took a team of his own creation to the championship game. And for all those who’ve looked at Tech lately and decided Hewitt cannot coach his way out of a paper bag, the memory of 2004 stands as a golden counterpoint: That team was a triumph of coaching.
I’ve said it before, but here it is again: I don’t know if any other coach could have taken Tech further than Hewitt did in 2004, but I can think of three dozen who could have done better since. Tech hasn’t finished above .500 in its conference or reached the Sweet Sixteen over the past six seasons. His record over his first five seasons was 96-66; his record over the past five is 81-78.
Even more distressing has been Hewitt’s penchant for seizing every crutch. Tech’s too young. Or it’s overscheduled. Or it has injuries, or academic issues, or players who’ve left early. Or it’s just “snakebit.” This willingness to explain away mediocrity has always seemed bizarre, given that the 2004 Jackets were handed a gold-plated excuse — leading scorer B.J. Elder sprained his ankle in Tech’s third NCAA game and didn’t score another point until the final against UConn — and persevered.
There are no perfect collegiate teams. The aim isn’t to see who can cry the deepest river but who can maximize what it has. Thad Matta took an Ohio State team without a true center — or even a real forward — and won the Big Ten; Hewitt took a team with the nation’s best complement of big men and finished seventh in the 12-team ACC. On Sunday, Matta’s team spotted Hewitt’s eight points and won by nine.
Hewitt wasn’t Chan Gailey, who was unpopular among Tech fans from the start. Hewitt was warmly received at the start and beloved after the Final Four, but there was never a follow-through to the daring deeds of 2004. It took Jacket backers a while to get impatient, but they’re there now. They’ve seen the same game lost the same way too many times over too many winters, and they’ve read about his never-ending contract and they wonder if the underachieving will ever cease.
This gifted team was Hewitt’s last best chance to persuade his doubters, and all it did was give rise to deeper doubt. If he couldn’t win big with Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal, what will happen next season when both figure to be gone? Will it ever get better for Hewitt than this? And is 23-13 good enough?
St. John’s isn’t a better job per se, but for Hewitt in 2010 it’s a better situation. He can leave the ACC, in which he has a career record of 67-93, and try the Big East, for which he has great affection. (He was an assistant at Villanova under Steve Lappas.) He can charm the New York media, which has the reputation of being nasty but is a pushover for a return-of-the-prodigal yarn, and he’ll recruit well and have the Red Storm back in the Big Dance soon enough.
Six years ago there seemed no better fit than Paul Hewitt for Georgia Tech, but today the two need fresh starts. No coach wants to fall into the disfavor of his constituency, and no constituency wants to root against its coach. But that, sad to say, is the reality at Tech. Paul Hewitt wasn’t Chan Gailey, but Paul Hewitt has become Chan Gailey.
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567 comments Add your comment
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
7:51 pm
For every dollar Hewitt turns down at St. Johns if he returns to Tech I predict a snide comment, a whispered curse, a chorus of boos, a mysterious scratch on the luxury lease, a dozen negative blogs, a critical analysis by the paper, an averted gaze, a hundred other little insults and slights by disgruntled and disappointed Tech fans who have simply had enough. It will get personal and nasty as these situations always do (even though they really shouldn’t) and eventually there will be hurt feelings, wasted money, legal entanglements, and an overall mess. Hewitt should go, now, before unpleasantness turns into ugliness.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
7:59 pm
Admittedly, it’s not that all that bad yet, but a couple of more years of aloof avoidance and excuses by Hewitt may just earn him more contempt than he could imagine. Tech folks generally behave with more class, but an incompetent leader can bring out the worst in people. I believe DRad knows this, too.
Joe Fan
March 23rd, 2010
8:00 pm
Hewitt says its unlikely he will accept the St. John’s position. Can’t help but hope that he is using his leverage in his current contract to get a better deal out of St. John’s.
Gordon
March 23rd, 2010
8:01 pm
RickyBobby is right. Hewitt wouldn’t have been popular if he came back anyway, but if he came back now after he had a clear path to end this relationship it will be ugly. I won’t be there to see it, though. I won’t be back until Hewitt is gone. I’m not alone. The biggest thing you will see next year is empty seats if Hewitt stays.
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:02 pm
It’s no-fault divorce time. Who’s gonna be our new honey?
Gordon
March 23rd, 2010
8:03 pm
Bad luck to name candidates before there is an opening.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:03 pm
JoeFan, I think you are right. He can’t seem too eager to go for the sake of negotiations and appearances. His coyness is hopefully just posturing, but what disturbs me a little is his apparent inability to see the writing on the wall.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:04 pm
No luck is worse than Hewitt’s luck.
bradleyhater
March 23rd, 2010
8:05 pm
Once again mark is talking stupid…. Headline should read…. maybe mark bradley should stop pretending to be a journalist…. that sounds better… hey mark…. fox had a loosing season at UGA…. THEY SHOULD FIRE HIM NOW…… according to your standards…. please stop trying to write about a university that you hate and cannot write objectively about. It insults everyone who tries to read this fishwrapper.
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:06 pm
Oh, right, Gordon. That’s what the lawyers tell me.
Gordon
March 23rd, 2010
8:07 pm
RickyBobby,
His inability to see problems right under his nose has been his downfall. If he had just brought in someone to help him on offense I think he would have done fine. He has a lot of things going for him, but he has trouble admitting his weaknesses. I guess we all do to some extent. But I still think he thinks he has done a great job and is worth every penny he is being paid.
Tiger
March 23rd, 2010
8:08 pm
Who cares about your basketball program
Your whole athletic program sucks
Your academic program sucks too
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:09 pm
Gordon, again you are correct.
Dawglasville
March 23rd, 2010
8:09 pm
Mark, I hope Hewitt doesn’t listen to Johnson and punch you in the mouth. Tech can do better and I think this thing with Hewitt is going to explode next year if he stays. He seems like a very nice man. I agree it would be best for all parties if he left for another big time job. Please just stay away from Tubby. It is a lot easier to lose to Auburn than it is to lose to Tech.
Gordon
March 23rd, 2010
8:09 pm
Buzzard,
I just don’t want ANYTHING to mess this up.
Herschel Talker
March 23rd, 2010
8:10 pm
George Michael–>hehe—>Elton John
30-24. We all know it still pains you greatly.
Mark Fox > Paul Hewitt
Paul Johnson’s boobs > Dolly Parton’s boobs
Mark Bradley > Terence Moore
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:10 pm
Enter your comments here
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:12 pm
I’m just not much for all this drama. I wish we could end this without a nasty media frenzy.
KSEE
March 23rd, 2010
8:14 pm
“They’ve seen the same game lost the same way too many times over too many winters”
Tech’s AD needs to comprehend this statement. it’s not a lie.
Tiger
March 23rd, 2010
8:14 pm
GT ACADEMICS SUCKS
ATHELETIC PROGRAM SUCKS
OH AND THE GT CAMPUS SUCKS
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:15 pm
Tiger: as if anything with that name has any credibility any more.
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:17 pm
I think we were way too emotional when we signed the prenup or our AD would have already handled it.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:18 pm
Tiger knows sucking, that’s for sure. AFter his stellar academic record at Stanford, where he didn’t attend many classes and never graduated, he got a first class education in casual sex with anything that had legs, and a couple of IHOP waitresses who only had one.
Who the heck would we replace paul hewitt with?
March 23rd, 2010
8:21 pm
WHO THE HECK WOULD WE REPLACE PAUL HEWITT WITH??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:22 pm
Gordon: did you say that Hewitt is worth every penny he’s being paid? Say it ain’t so, man. Hey, are you off your medication again?
wes
March 23rd, 2010
8:23 pm
Hewitt Rules!!!
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:23 pm
whotheheck: true, there are not as many coaches as inept and egomaniacal as Hewitt is, but we could robably find one or two just as bad, and several dozen who are better.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:26 pm
oh, I’m sorry, I must have taken your medication instead of my own. slowly losing ab i li ty to form s e n t e nces….
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:27 pm
Well the BD fans on here think that Mark Fox>Paul Hewitt. He probably has to serve Mark Richt coffee up in A**-town. We could probably get him cheap. Ah, but what the heck, we can do better.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:30 pm
I don’t want to get all mushy here but I really dig being able to joke around and verbally spar with Gordon, Jackets2010, FMJ, Buzzard, and other Tech fans who have different views but who all love the YELLOW JACKETS!!!!!
Hewitt's friend who reads the paper
March 23rd, 2010
8:30 pm
If he can’t handle the big bad atlanta media then how will he do with the NYC media.
RickyBobbyOnFire
March 23rd, 2010
8:31 pm
And I appreciate Mark Bradley, too. NOW I am out of here, and I hope that Hewitt is right behind me.
Ozzy
March 23rd, 2010
8:32 pm
I think Tiger got turned down for admittance to Tech.
Go Dawgs! Right Tiger? Hey it’s OK, you may be able to find a job with a Sociology degree Tiger. The world needs waiters and bartenders too.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
8:33 pm
Hewitt’s friend who can read (hehe): the NYC media will make love to him for about a year and then they will eat him alive. With his thin skin they will have a ball baiting and tormenting him before actually going zombie on his brains.
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:33 pm
Right, RickyBobby. Politicians and coaches forget that it is not about them or the team. IT IS ALL ABOUT US FANS.
wjd42
March 23rd, 2010
8:34 pm
Streetball coach, bring on someone who knows basketball and has played in college and pros. That is Mark Price!!!!!!
GT Gary
March 23rd, 2010
8:36 pm
Mark, I agree whole heartly with you , but since your for it- and your predictions are a jinx– Hewitt will stay at GT and keep us in the lower tier. Hewitt cant even coach the kids on how to throw the ball in.
the good word
March 23rd, 2010
8:38 pm
well Mark I guess your head is so big you can’t fit in your house!
Tech fans telling you they “agree” with what you said about Hewitt, and you “thanking” them all over this blog. I am a VERY LOYAL Tech fan, have been all my life, so it bothers me to see someone like you come around and throw sorry words out during basketball season about our coach. Not a few times, but constantly, you really had a bone to pick with him. For a writer, you get the last word. Does that make your ego feel good, and conscious? You stopped writting opinions long ago and started attacking .
What if Tony Barnhart didn’t think you should be “writing” and started writing articles about it, listing several valid reasons why you were not worthy to be in print, then keep it up for months, especially when bloggers really jumped in and fueled him on. How tough do you think your skin would be?
Do you ever really read what you write, or care what you write?
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:42 pm
It is a conundrum. Hewitt can recruit great, and he can do a great job coaching kids he didn’t recruit. This may give insight into the problem – he can do a better job when he can’t be held directly accountable. A lot of folks are like that. It’s not a moral issue, or a work-ethic issue, but it sure becomes a problem in high profile jobs.
UGA LOSER WHOSE TEAMS ARE MEDIOCRE AT BEST
March 23rd, 2010
8:42 pm
My basketball and football teams are horrible so I guess I will troll the Georgia Tech related blogs.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
8:43 pm
I’m leery of the Mark Price hire, but willing to consider most anyone but let’s get Mr. Contract Law Footnote out of town first.
Jackets2010
March 23rd, 2010
8:44 pm
What is everyone doing here?
Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are on “Are U Smarter than a 5th grader hosted by ex jacket Jeff Foxworthy.
He plans to libe up to his name – Foxworthy – after the show is over.
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:46 pm
J2010, where’s the mystery? We already know they aren’t smarter than a 5th grader.
Tiger
March 23rd, 2010
8:47 pm
Yes in 2wks it will be go dawgs since I will be back in “JAWGA”
But my education is better than your crap from downtown ATL
What do they teach you hicks from JAWGA
Oh thats right how to build a toilet so i can take a dump
Thanks for your contribution to society
Hewitt fan
March 23rd, 2010
8:48 pm
i repeat unless we hire Dean Smith we will still not win the acc….Duke and NC are the only teams allowed to win it…the refs do not let the players decide the game…the game is decided by the refs..Its all about coaches in the acc.People forget that players play the game not coaches..we went to the ACC tournament championship and won a game in the NCAAs..that’s what should have been expected…our best lineup consist of 1jr,1 soph,3 fr. ..the big east is a real basketball conference, that allows stars to be stars….in the acc big men are not allowed to showcase any skills at all..they constantly get put in foul trouble..well except Duke and NC ….If Hewitt left he would be able to coach like he did at Siena..Full Court pressure for the entire game…At GT he has to sub in and out just to keep down on fouls…I can remember how he complained about big Luc receiving no calls when he was at GT.. Favors is leaving because of it..Lawai would leave but he is not ready..he would not get any playing time….When Hewitt arrived, the program had a lack of talent and had lost all recruiting pipelines because, Cremins would make players transfer if he didn’t like they game…Saunders,Morris,Martice Moore just to name a few..and he had more talent than Hewitt ever had..Best,Barry,Forest,Mackey,Geiger and u lose to southern..1st round..and his name is on the court..Hewitt gets a break for the first 2 years….He just has not been able to keep a backcourt with experience…. when he had a veteran backcourt GT almost won the whole thing..THE GUY CAN COACH……Paul Hewitt is the best coach in GT history far and above the rest……
Buzzard
March 23rd, 2010
8:48 pm
Tiger, I thought you used the cat box.
Jackets2010
March 23rd, 2010
8:48 pm
The problem with the explayer is three words: Curry, Goff and Shula.
They were not experienced enough for the job yet kept it longer than an outsider would have.
Maybe things would be different with Price but I’m a little wary too.
Hewitt needs to accept the job offer if it arrives before we get too carried away with next.
John
March 23rd, 2010
8:48 pm
If CPJ went 2-6, 3-5, 1-7 the next 3 seasons and then had a stellar recruiting class and went 4-4, do you think us gt fans would want him here? Stupid hewitt supporters.
UGA LOSER WHOSE TEAMS ARE MEDIOCRE AT BEST
March 23rd, 2010
8:48 pm
We run Shreveport!!!!
Jackets2010
March 23rd, 2010
8:50 pm
Prediction: if Hewitt stays, it is almost a sure bet attendance drops. I’ll bet a lot of the defenders don’t even have season tickets.