Tech falls to KSU: The Wizard of Techwood dazzles us again
It's a brand new season, but it's the same old outcome. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
If Paul Hewitt isn’t the worst basketball coach in the country, it’s only because ours is a mighty big country. And now, having said that, I ask: At this late date, who needs convincing?
There are no real Hewitt defenders. There are a few excuse-makers, but nobody seriously believes this is a first-tier coach anymore. I could cite his record yet again, but here’s all anyone needs to know: In the spring of 2004 he won five NCAA tournament games in 15 days; in his other nine seasons at Georgia Tech combined, he has won two.
On Monday his Jackets took a ride up I-75 and showed us they aren’t even the best team in Metro Atlanta. They lost 80-63 to Kennesaw State, which has only recently become a fully vested member of the NCAA’s Division I. Tech never led. It trailed by 20 points after 15 1/2 minutes, by 15 points at the half. It was one of those games that was shocking and yet not surprising at all.
Afterward Hewitt was his usual serene self, noting that KSU “out-toughed us” and trotting out the boilerplate: “It’s just a matter of showing more maturity.” And thus did the Owls join the list of Hewitt conquerors, a n array that includes IUPUI, Winthrop, UNC Greensboro and Illinois-Chicago (twice).
Tech made nearly as many turnovers (19) as baskets (21) Monday. This from a team that essentially starts four guards. This from a team that lost two McDonald’s All-Americans to the NBA early but still boasts one more McDonald’s All-American than Kennesaw State will ever sign. (Although the Owls do employ what coach Tony Ingle called “our Wendy’s offense — get it to go, cheese on the fries, let it fly.”)
Afterward Ingle was asked if Tech had recruited any of his players. He said, “No.” But somehow the Owls, who were 13-20 last season when Tech was underachieving its way into the NCAA tournament, were much the better team. They didn’t have the better players, but they were the better team. Which is the story of post-2004 Georgia Tech basketball.
The biggest excuse for Hewitt — I heard it from longtime acquaintance Charles Barkley last spring — is that he’s always losing players early to the pros. And that’s true: S ix Jackets have left eligibility on the table to declare for the NBA draft, Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal most recently. But it’s not as if Hewitt has accomplished much with his one-and-dones: Chris Bosh, Thaddeus Young, Javaris Crittenton and Favors managed a total of one NCAA tournament victory.
And it’s not as if the guys who stay fare any better. Hewitt had Anthony Morrow for four seasons, after which Morrow wasn’t able to persuade an NBA team to risk even a second-round pick on him. He landed with Golden State as a free agent. This summer he signed a three-year contract with the Nets for $12 million.
This month Alex Raskin of the Wall Street Journal wondered if Morrow is the greatest shooter in NBA history. (Not just in the NBA now. In the NBA ever.) And here was a quote from Steve Kerr, the former Phoenix general manager whose status as the league’s all-time leading three-point shooter is being threatened by Morrow: “I saw him a couple of times in college and he didn’t really light it up. He got a little lost on his team. It just didn’t seem like he really blossomed there.”
Who does blossom under Hewitt? Bosh and Favors didn’t get the ball enough. Apart from Jarrett Jack, no point guard has ever really directed a Hewitt team. (Moe Miller, who saved last season after being relegated to the end of the bench, is again not starting.)
But enough. You know what’s going on. Hewitt is a lousy coach, but his golden contract makes him untouchable. Dan Radakovich, the Tech athletic director, sat behind the bench at the KSU Convocation Center last night and looked pained. The man with the $7 million buyout was losing to a school based in the county where Radakovich lives — by 17 points.
Oh, and if you haven’t seen my take on Kennesaw State and its coach … that post can be found here.
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496 comments Add your comment
Ted M
November 17th, 2010
9:02 am
Mark,
Are you covering tonight’s game with Albany?
Inquiring minds need to know as your possible encounter with Hewitt would surely be 10 times as exciting as the game itself.
Ted M
November 17th, 2010
9:03 am
Crap, I’ve been filter out again.
eBuzz
November 17th, 2010
9:05 am
Agree with Cousin Buzz
GT65
November 17th, 2010
9:16 am
I grabbed the sports page this morning and was disappointed to see that, “The Wizard of Techwood Dazzles Us Again” was not the headline for your opinion piece Mark. Much better that, “No Excuse For Hewitt This Time.” Darn those editors.
Road Scholar
November 17th, 2010
9:25 am
Hewitt :”Hewitt suggested the season is far too young to panic, and said again his team’s biggest problem appears to be a shortage of basketball maturity.”
No Coach, it was the lack of coaching and player development! Still in denial!
Sean
November 17th, 2010
9:31 am
Right on Mark. Tech hoops are a mess
POTTS
November 17th, 2010
9:46 am
Anthony Morrow’s play here and in the nba is the biggest referendum against hewitt.
The guy can’t coach and basically won the lottery in getting this job. Cut the loser lose and take the loss. You don’t keep a liability that continues to erode your product. You get rid of it.
Big Ol Stinger
November 17th, 2010
9:47 am
Glad I saved those season ticket dollars this year. Won’t buy them again until there’s a coaching change.
Jed
November 17th, 2010
9:48 am
Wow when I saw the headline, I thought they lost to Kansas State. Not kennesaw. Wow you lost to Kennesaw. LOL That is a program in major decline.
Ozzy
November 17th, 2010
9:48 am
Glad I saved those season ticket dollars. Won’t buy them again until there’s a coaching change.
Meck
November 17th, 2010
9:51 am
I have a brilliant idea everyone. Bet against Hewitt every game that has a line. You’re sure to win 80% of the time. By seasons end, everyone will have enough money to get rid of the hewitt virus.
Albany is BAD. Watch the game be a nail biter.
Ted M
November 17th, 2010
9:53 am
There are so many referendum against Hewitt.
Lets suppose DRad decides a change is needed and is going to happen…what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing it now as opposed to after the season? Mark, anyone?
Lil' Barry Bailout
November 17th, 2010
9:58 am
Is it just me or are we hearing the same garbage from Hewitt as we did last season?
Roll it Over
November 17th, 2010
10:59 am
Roll over the contract another year baby!!! Hewitt needs more millions!!!!
TechAllMighty,III
November 17th, 2010
11:04 am
Last Christmas I had the honor of meeting one of the best & most respected high school BB coaches in GA. This person has won several championships at the highest level. I asked Coach what he/she thought about PH’s coaching. The answer? “HE WOULD PROBABLY MAKE A GOOD ASST. COACH.” I don’t think PH is even that good!
pcb mike
November 17th, 2010
11:15 am
Do I need to buy another rubber stamp. Mine is wearing out.
“FIRE HEWITT” “FIRE HEWITT” “FIRE HEWITT”
ACC B-Ball Report – 11/17/10 » ACC Blogger
November 17th, 2010
12:03 pm
[...] Tech falls to KSU: The Wizard of Techwood dazzles us again If Paul Hewitt isn’t the worst basketball coach in the country, it’s only because ours is a mighty big country. And now, having said that, I ask: At this late date, who needs convincing? [...]
Daniel Miller
November 17th, 2010
2:23 pm
How stupid am I? I left a team with Mark Fox as coach to go to a cellar dweller of a team coached (or uncoached) by Paul Hewitt.
Big Bob
November 17th, 2010
2:24 pm
Paul Hewitt is one of the best coaches UGA has ever had. Keep Hewitt forever and the DAWGS will never lose to the Nerds again.
Darren
November 17th, 2010
3:20 pm
Was just talking with my dad the other night, and we both said it would not surprise us at all to get beat by KSU. I’ll be surprised if Tech even gets to double digit wins this year. They might be lucky to win 2-3 games in conference.
GTSTEVE
November 17th, 2010
3:52 pm
what has mark fox proven? uga hoops is irrelevant and will always be irrelevant.
Techie
November 17th, 2010
4:17 pm
It’s just like 1980 and Baptist College all over again. Bring back Dwayne Morrison!
Born2Buzz
November 17th, 2010
5:40 pm
rex, Cremins walked away, he wasn’t fired. He admitted he was burned out, had lost his taste for big time college ball and just wasn’t getting the job done. Funny how a guy can admit that after 2 bad years and walk away like a man.
Let’s see if Hewitt is a man as well and admits his shortcomings and walks away as well.
GssiT
November 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
Congrats to Tony Ingle & his Owls; he’s know for out-coaching his opponent. Could he be GT’s “fox” in the hen house? Why not?
wesleywhatwhat
November 17th, 2010
8:46 pm
finally someone wrote what we are all thinking…
CR
November 18th, 2010
7:38 am
After a dozen or so seasons as a season ticket holder, I did not renew this year. Is it the under achieving? Is it the Carelessness with the Basketball? Is it the inability to make free throws? Is it the inability to close out games? Not getting the best players the ball or even a situation to perform?
Players Not Understanding Roles? Or just overall sloppy basketball.
Go back to the beginning season of 2004 and they way they dominated those first 12 games before losing in double overtime to GA. They were beating teams by 20 and 30 points and ranked TT, Uconn and others. We all thought it was his style of basketball. Pressure defense that created turnovers, fast breaks, Sharing & distributing the ball with quick passes that found open people for easy shots & dunks. If you dont remember, the best example would be how Kennesaw State played against us in the first half and dominated us.
The issue is that was not his style. It was an illusion. We all bought into it. Over the last half dozen years he has proved it wasnt. It isnt even close.
Lil' Barry Bailout
November 18th, 2010
9:10 am
I’m not sure what Hewitt’s style of play is. It seems to be whatever the five on the court think it is at the moment. Hewitt’s main responsibility seems to be rolling the ball onto the practice court and making up the lineup.
ga_tech_92
November 18th, 2010
10:27 am
Clearly based on recruiting we have had far superior talent than anyone we’ve played this year. The results:
2010-11 OVERALL RANKINGS
POINTS PER GAME 64.3261st
OVERALLREBOUNDS PER GAME38.0152nd
OVERALLASSISTS PER GAME12.7185th
OVERALLFIELD GOAL PCT.374284th
OVERALL
laughable…like all but ONE year that Hewitt has been here…Ground Hog Day continues till he is fired.
ga_tech_92
November 18th, 2010
10:28 am
Clearly based on recruiting we have had far superior talent than anyone we’ve played this year. The results:
2010-11 OVERALL RANKINGS
POINTS PER GAME 64.3
261st
OVERALLREBOUNDS PER GAME38.0
152nd
OVERALLASSISTS PER GAME12.7
185th
OVERALLFIELD GOAL PCT.374
284th
laughable…like all but ONE year that Hewitt has been here…Ground Hog Day continues till he is fired.
FullMetalJacket
November 18th, 2010
2:22 pm
It could be worse…Paul Hewitt could still be our coach. Oh, wait a sec….damm, I guess it couldn’t be worse.
somethingwickedthiswaycoaches
November 18th, 2010
2:25 pm
Forget about all of the damage Paul Hewitt continues to wreak on the GT basketball program and legacy. The important thing is that Mrs. Hewitt is happy here in her nice Atlanta home.
somethingwickedthiswaycoaches
November 18th, 2010
2:25 pm
Enter your comments here
WilsonDunkit
November 18th, 2010
2:27 pm
Yes, I am so relieved to know that Mrs. Hewitt is content with her life (and biga$$ paycheck) while her husband drives the Tech program deeper into the ground. He’ll be able to recruit Chinese players pretty soon.
FullMetalJacket
November 18th, 2010
2:32 pm
2010-2011 ACC Summary: The Lizard of Techwood makes another million or two and Tech falls another year behind the rest of the conference.
Chia Pet Hewitt
November 18th, 2010
2:33 pm
Someone needs to water Hewitt’s head…the chia plant growing there is getting a little grey and spotty.
Chuck Allison
November 18th, 2010
3:50 pm
Thanks for trying to help us get rid of Paul Hewitt, Mark. We need all the help we can get. If he were a white guy, he would have been gone years ago. I hope to wake up some time soon and read that GT has called a press conference and announced that Hewitt is gone. I hope he choses to leave the state also. The Tech student body and alumni would celebrate all night!
showing my age
November 18th, 2010
5:03 pm
Braine – Virginia Tech ties – GT President @ the time – Virginia Tech ties – Evergreen contracts to TWO LOSERS. What do you think?
Htown Jacket
November 19th, 2010
8:37 am
Mark,
We have become the laughing stock in collegiate sports. Even UGA hoops has surpassed ours in talent and obviously coaching. Our AD was conned into hiring the biggest hack in college football as our new leader. And don’t even get me started on our annually most overrated baseball team. I’m ashamed and embarrassed.
Roger Kasier
November 19th, 2010
9:25 am
GT was humiliated. They are not even the best basketball team in metro Atlanta.
Football? “Well, um, we won the 2009 ACC title.” September rolled around with ALL of the ACC losses to powers like Dolly Madison or was it James Madison? Anyway, that ACC champ thang with the blow out to a fairly decent Iowa team and one of the worst UGA teams up until this year, pretty much sums up GT football ……………..a joke by Coke.
It is coming GT ……………..a whupping in what will be very, very unfriendly Athens. Imagine getting stomped by this very, very, very, very lousy UGA football team. I mean, this time next year UGA AND
Y’ALL will be looking for a football coach.
UGA 48-GT22
aubrey
November 19th, 2010
8:13 pm
Hewitt claims the team needs more maturity. BS!!!!! What it needs is a coach. To bad he didn’t fly the coop to St. Johns but he probably knew he wouldn’t do any better there and would not have the $7M golden parachute. As stated in posts last year it is time to bite the bullet and find a way to get rid of this embarassment to the Yellow Jacket BB program. It is a shame that he does’t have the personal integrity to resign instead of holding up the Institution for a buy out that has not been earned.
Rt in NC
November 19th, 2010
10:33 pm
Is that UGAG offer of 7 mil really on the table? Playing football there for the next 5 years would be worth getting rid of Hewitt. Its just embarrassing. The man must have no shame at all. He’s like one of those GM union guys that gets paid to sit and do nothing.
Bravesfan79
November 20th, 2010
12:45 am
U know its bad when a team is considered “on fire” when they shoot 35% from 3 pt land in one half. Is anyone else tired of landing players judged on “athletic ability” instead of shooting/ game smart ability? Im sorry, but give me a team of 5 white dudes with no Athletic ability that can shoot 50%+ from the 3pt line anyday! At least the white dudes would play with HEART and Brains!
Golden White
November 20th, 2010
12:58 am
Dear Mark Bradley,
I am just a Georgia Tech side walk fan. And it is time for CPH to go . I do not have 7 million dollars to buy out Coach Hewitt’s contract but I would think that there are a few
thousand like minded Tech fans that would gladly pony up a few dollars to get this done.
Could a person who sent in a check to the GTAA for this reason write it off on taxes ?
The GTAA needs to add a spot to their web page for the purpose of getting a list of
donors and the amount that they will pledge . ” Buy Out CPH ” . Afterwards they could
send the donors a fancy, suitable for framing certificate, that states ” I Helped Save GT
Basketball “.
Just an idea but damn … Let’s do something !
Aaron Borenstein
November 21st, 2010
7:23 am
Save the money rebuilding Alexander, and use is it to pay off Hewitt’s contract.
Elliot
November 21st, 2010
3:25 pm
Bring back Cremins and name the court Hewitt’s House.
Lil' Barry Bailout
November 21st, 2010
8:40 pm
ESPN is reporting that Tech is on the bubble.