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
T-DAWG
November 16th, 2010
7:34 pm
What is taking so long to fire CH. GT basketball used to be a joy to watch against the elite teams such as Duke and NC but today, it is barely worth turning on the TV to watch or even getting the headlines after the game as you know what the outcome is likely to be.
Notso Fast
November 16th, 2010
7:40 pm
Turn out the lights the party is over. Time for a change no matter the cost. Reminds me of Coaach R. Great guy, just can’t coach.
Bravesbobblehead22
November 16th, 2010
7:42 pm
Can’t fire Hewitt, Obama will stop funds to GT since Paul Hewitt is ^%%ck.
NoCoach Blewitt
November 16th, 2010
7:44 pm
Mark,
Jumping on just a few YEARS late. Consider me impressed. Please continue to write similar articles about this hack after every loss. And yes I know that is a lot of writing but it will be worth it in the end.
NoCoach Blewitt
November 16th, 2010
7:47 pm
I am still on the hunt for the illusive semblence of an actual PLAY!!!! I have been looking for one since Jack left. Still yet to find one. Although Ol Blewey entertainingly pretends to call them. Well he does when he isnt assuming the Blewitt Position. (hands covering eyes while shaking head)
FishyBusiness
November 16th, 2010
7:49 pm
I don’t really care !!!!
Tech Tony
November 16th, 2010
8:10 pm
A history lesson.
During the American Civil War, Radical Republicans in Congress were screaming for Abraham Lincoln to fire George McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac. When Lincoln asked who should replace McClellan, he was told by a congressman “anybody!” Linclon replied curtly, “Anybody will do for you; I must have somebody.”
I think we’ve reached a point where anyone will do.
Mike
November 16th, 2010
8:40 pm
Dan:
Please, please fire Hewitt. It is time. What other evidence do you need ? GT is the laughing stock of the ACC (and NCAA). Hewitt gives excuses to cover up his inadequacies. As Mr. Bradley says, “There are no Hewitt defenders”. If this continues, it will kill recruiting. We are in a death spiral. Please help us, Dan. It is time.
Mike
Burgess
November 16th, 2010
8:44 pm
It’s hard to say who’s worse, Johnson or Hewitt
Of course it's the contract
November 16th, 2010
8:53 pm
note to some about THE contract…it never ends.
SmittyATL
November 16th, 2010
8:57 pm
I’m an alumnus of another ACC school. In his glory years at Tech, Bobby Cremins used to beat us fairly regularly, so I was no Tech fan then! But I know that the ACC was a much stronger conference when Tech was up there with Duke, Maryland, NC State, Carolina, et al, and we need Tech in order to regain our status as the premiere basketball conference. Looks like it will take a few years to get out of this; but once Tech can break away from Hewitt, it will be a huge opportunity for a new coach to resurrect the program.
Rodney Johnson
November 16th, 2010
9:08 pm
Hewitt should’ve been fired years ago. He’s a terrible coach.
Rodney Johnson
November 16th, 2010
9:10 pm
Hewitt worse than CPJ but only because we’ve seen more of Blewitt than CPJ.
Gary O
November 16th, 2010
9:16 pm
Mark,
What does it take for Hewitt to get fired?
A losing record in the ACC? Missing the NCAA? What do you think it will take?
GT fan
November 16th, 2010
9:24 pm
Mark, I agree. Hey, you dog, or dawg idiots. Take note-we don’t complain like you guys. Remember Saturday night? We got beat by Kennesaw, life goes on. You got beat by Auburn and you STILL talk about how unfair it is. Why don’t you fire your coach too?
BobbyDodd21/20
November 16th, 2010
9:26 pm
Let me be the 466th blogger to kick the guy while he’s below down, this is not a racist comment,..originally 8 yrs ago i thot, yeah, its vogue, get a black coach, get the roundball black jocks, but few showed up to play well or be coached apparently…so we’re back to…win or be fired…why do you think football back when always had navy, duke, tulane, etc. on the schedule?…and speaking of football, last weeks game against Miami was below pitifull….somedays you just got to play tough, smart & mean, not lay down to let the canes cakewalk…
Fred Masci
November 16th, 2010
9:30 pm
Hewitt is a joke as a coach. He couldn’t coach up high school kids. He may be able to recruit and his players don’t get into trouble…….very good attributes…………but he absolutely can’t coach. Example, look at Anthony Morrow……….lost at GT but is an undrafted free agent in the NBA and becomes a great player after they he is finally coached out. Hewitt needs to be fired now. Where is the accountability at GT. There is none. I know of GT employees who are fired for poor performance but Hewitt is an untouchable!!! Give me a break. If DRad doesn’t have the balls to do it now and get us a true ACC coach…………..then resign right now because you are not doing your job. This is completely pathetic.
jagerman
November 16th, 2010
9:31 pm
Don’t forget the most embarassing fact that we continue to not graduate our players at an acceptable level.
Doesn’t Rad get concerned that year after year GT is at/near the bottom of the ACC for graduation rates. And don’t give me the standards are higher here crap. Last I checked, Duke and Carolina were pretty good schools too.
Fuzzybee
November 16th, 2010
9:42 pm
So Mark – you lob out this grenade and just watch the fireworks, By the way the first paragraph might be one of your funnest ever,
Big Al
November 16th, 2010
9:43 pm
Hewitt wasn’t worth keeping last year what makes this season any different?
Paul Hewitt, Mark Richt, and Bobby Cox's Agent
November 16th, 2010
10:04 pm
one down and two to go.
AlabamaRamblinwreck
November 16th, 2010
10:21 pm
I swear…DRAD could give some high school coaching stud a chance, and it couldn’t be any worse than this guy…Oh, how I wish he would have went to St. Johns….
I know you’re not suppose to hate, but Hewitt makes it very hard. If he had any self-respect, he would negotiate a reasonable way to leave. Maybe he would consider taking the 7 Mil over a 15-20 timeframe, allowing GT an opportunity to hire another coach. I don’t know, but this nightmare has to end right now.
jacketbbfan
November 16th, 2010
10:25 pm
Coach Hewitt, do us and yourself a favor and leave.
Dr. J
November 16th, 2010
10:27 pm
Please buy your Tech student a firearm for Christmas!
Never coached before
November 16th, 2010
11:05 pm
Gee Mark this is great insight…you must come out of retirement and offer your services to the Jackets…what have you done different or better in the last ten years.
pro jackets
November 16th, 2010
11:16 pm
I’m a GT fan and grad but the ones on here talking about how great Roy Williams is and Coach K, shut up…..Geez the team beat UNC 3 times last season, all 3 times as well as Md, Nc St and Wake. That is why Wake coach fired because they could not beat GT. Coach K has lost to his share of nobodies too. (No offense Kennesaw) 3 years ago, I was in Charlotte and all the fans at the bar were cheering for Belmont who was ahead of Duke in the NCAA tournament. How quickly you all forget Duke’s downfalls. I am not taking up for Hewitt just saying Hewitt beat Roy Williams in 2004 as well when he coached Kansas and went on to the final four because of it. Take a look when it was good at some of the caliber plays back in 2004 on You Tube. Somebody did something right. Maybe the coaches should look at it too and remember the intensity of those players. wow! I like these players I want them to win so badly, I hope they can find a way
Jacket 76
November 16th, 2010
11:45 pm
Tech grad/fan here. The last Tech BB game I was at was a Cremins game. Hewitt was able to do a “Houdini” back in 2004 but has not shown me much since to get me back to AMC. Heard on the radio this morning that we lost to Kennessaw – didn’t surprise me at all. It’s been time for a change long time ago so Tech BB needs to bite the bullet and make some progress.
Jacket 76
November 16th, 2010
11:46 pm
Thanks for the article Mark. Right on.
4 Jacks
November 17th, 2010
12:01 am
This once proud program that did compete with Duke and North Carolina and others has been completely dimantled and run completely into the ground by this so called coach Paul Hewitt, If he had any real love for GT he would take a lesser buyout and resign. However, I do not beleive the man loves or has ever loved GT. It was just a podium for his agenda. What is his agenda you ask, well look at his hires for assistant coaches when he has an opening. Take the last one, when we really needed some experience at the assitant position. someone like a Dean Keener or someone that had say 15 to 20 years experience to help us who does he hire? Darryl LaBarrie. A former player and yes man to Hewitt. Not to get down on Mr. LaBarrie, just to point out this mans agenda. He has no love lost for GT and his lack of love for the institute and his lack of dignity means he will play this for all he can get. Well fine, it is time to fire his sorry ass and pay the jerk off. Drad did not create the problem, but as one of my owners told me long ago when I was made boss after he fired the other guy ” I know you did not create the mess, but I full expect you to handle the mess” . Well Drad, I have loved what you have done for GT, but it is time to handle this mess and shove the garbage to the street. Cremmins built a solid and mostly always competitive team, all but his last 3 or 4 years. Hewitt has destroyed all that was built here and should leave immediately. Hell, let Darryl LaBarrie take over, he certainly cannot be any worse than the joke of a coach we have now.
4 Jacks
November 17th, 2010
12:09 am
Also, @ pro jackets..if hewitt had won 2 or 3 or more titles as Roy Williams has and coach K has he would not be catching this type of heat. Except for one run of 5 games 6 years ago, the only team he had that overachieved was his first one that he took over from Cremmins. That leave 8 years of underachieving. If most all of us underachieved as this guy has we would not keep our jobs either. Wake up and get all your facts lined up before you take one random year when a team is down and the say “we beat Roy” why don’t you look at the total record. Most of us here are not on Hewitt because of 1 year, it is because of 7 or 8 years.
Jacket 76
November 17th, 2010
1:06 am
Dave Braine ruined my 26 yr (football) season ticket ride. Started in the west stands (Homer Rice was AD) and got to the 15 yd line, 18th row. Box seat construction moved me to the east stands and finally got to the 43 yd line, 16th row, lower east. Then Braine decided to sell yellow seat tickets to Toyota and other big companies’ executives. I moved to the upper east 45 yd line and held them until they no longer let me park on Techwood Dr. Put up with it 2 more yrs and now I love my HD TV with my drinks out of my cooler at arms reach and great food from my own table. Loyalty is gone from Tech athletics and I’ve been affected by seeing the idiots like Braine and Clough make stupid decisions that affect me as an alum. Thank goodness for DRad but he needs to make a decision on Hewitt soon.
I was at the massacre (football) at Bobby Dodd Stadium this past Saturday and to see half the yellow seats empty (where I used to sit) was just insulting. Just and example that better decisions need to be made before our BB program is too far down the toilet.
Kudos for Kennessaw for their win. Hewitt’s contract is another mistake from Braine and Clough, and Tech will need to make a move on that, sooner or later – better sooner. I’ll bet that we could get a local high school coach that can immediately outcoach Hewitt, for a fraction of Hewitt’s contract.
Ron Hyatt
November 17th, 2010
1:19 am
Paul Hewitt, the Obama of Basketball Coaching.
macrotech
November 17th, 2010
2:42 am
Gary O, none of the above…a little over 7 million dollars! SUCKS!!!
Drexel Gal
November 17th, 2010
3:06 am
Hewitt is a GREAT RECRUITER … now al Tech needs is a GREAT COACH.
the don of realism
November 17th, 2010
3:40 am
You can’t win ‘em all.
Sourgrapes
November 17th, 2010
5:21 am
yea, but Tech doesn’t even win most of ‘em.
Greg
November 17th, 2010
6:07 am
Mark, all true. And been true for years. Where Hewitt is concerned, I guess valid arguments don’t have any impact at GT.
yearofthedawg
November 17th, 2010
6:37 am
Bradley has been channeling Vince McMahon the last several years. I just wish Richt or Hewitt would get him in a steel cage hit him with a chair. Or let him look the other way when Nick Fairly is around.
4 Jacks
November 17th, 2010
7:28 am
Geez, all these ugagers here espousing such wisdom. I am sure you guys and Murray will win in Athens this year, but for all of you that claim that Tech is irrelevant and not even a rival, it is funny how this game has defined your season for the last 3 or 4 years. My how the mighty have fallen. Also, I don’t care what conference you are in 5 and 6 or 6 and 6 means you are irrelevant also. I am sure that is why you are here taking shots at Tech. You are just as irrelevant in your conference as we are ours, the difference, you accomplished it with 4 and 5 “star” recruits. We are lucky to have 3 or 4 4 “star” recruits on our entire roster and for the most part has always been that way. UT beats their non rival Vandy 23 or 24 straight, and you get excited with 8 out of 9. With your advantages you should be beating Tech like UT does Vandy. But with all the lack of class you guys have, drunken AD’s, arrest everwhere so that you won the Fulmer cup, a DC that gives the choke hold to a student athlete, and trashing your own campus. Yeah, I hope beating Tech makes your season over and over and over again, because that means you are irrelevant, and it looks as if it could be that way for a while. You guys sure have nothing else to hang your hat on but beating Tech, and all of you here just proves that beating Tech is all you have in your pathetic lives. I do not see it happening, but it would be funny if ugag turned the ball over 4 or 5 times and Tech won…then what would you numnuts talk about to define your miserable lives?
rex
November 17th, 2010
7:40 am
I will say it again……Political Correctness is the reason Hewitt is STILL coaching GT.
Cremins lost many players to the NBA, but a couple disappointing seasons and a true ICON is shown the door. Cremins did much much much for for the GT Program than Hewitt or any other hoops coach and nobody hesitated to fire him, this clown gets rewarded for failure and under-achieving
Atticus
November 17th, 2010
7:45 am
Does the Atlanta Spirit Group own GT?
Brunswick Tech
November 17th, 2010
8:17 am
more excuses…..same old Hewitt crap……i’ll be interested in Tech bball again as soon as we get a new coach!
eastofA1A
November 17th, 2010
8:31 am
If the world and the legal system were fair, we’d be able to garnish every single red cent asset from Dave Braine’s estate to help pay for the buy-out. But, alas …
Buzz
November 17th, 2010
8:34 am
This crap stinks! 447 comments and 419 against Hewitt…wake up Drads, ole Paul Hewitt has got to go. Main reason he’s a big Time Joke not a Coach. Going on 4 plus years of his sorry a@@ work if you can call it that. Stop your support of GT till he is gone.
big hoss
November 17th, 2010
8:35 am
The truth is that except for the NCAA run to the finals, Hewitt has never had a TEAM on the floor. Every one of his prima donnas are waitinbg to jump ship and be a tattooed thug in the NBA. Enough of this recruiting players who will be gone after trhe first year where their grades would have disqualified them anyway if they stuck around. Scholar atheletes on the Tech tyeam are sitting on the bench and throwind back foul shots and range finders for the NBA wannabes. If you wanted to se a real TEAM. you had to look no further than Butler and Duke last year. How refreshing to see real TEAMS on the floor.
Paul Hewey
November 17th, 2010
8:36 am
Hewitt can do less with more than any coach in NCAA BB and is getting paid for it.
what gt basketball
November 17th, 2010
8:40 am
Let us know when the spin man Bewitt is gone………..and GT returns to real BB.
GT Dad
November 17th, 2010
8:49 am
Dan Rad: I vote with my dollars, I’m a season FB ticket holder and used to attend Basketball games. The final straw was Tech losing their home ACC opener against FSU. The team with all of that talent looked like they were playing a playground pick up game. I won’t pay for another ticket while Hewitt is coach, heck I won’t go to a Hewitt coached game even if I was given tickets. Take a look at what Pitt’s coach Jamie Dixon has done with a lot less talent. Despite losing four starters–including two NBA players DeJuan Blair and Sam Young, Dixon guided his 2009-10 Pitt team to a 25-9 overall record, second place finish in the Big East with a 13-5 slate, the school’s ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 3 seed upon entering the tourney.
Billyboy
November 17th, 2010
8:56 am
Hewitt is the man! Hewitt will take GT to the Final Four this year, then, everyone will be wanting to extend his contract . . . if not, then, Hewitt will show that he is the man by resigning . . . just watch Hewitt will show that he is a man!
Ted M
November 17th, 2010
8:56 am
Mark,
Has Hewitt called your editor yet to complain about your bashing? What’s going to happen the next time you have to speak with Hewitt? Will you even try to get any post game comments from him?