We all wanted Kelly back. And as soon as he returned it looked like he was on board with the new program, expanding his game to include penetrating, rebounding, unselfish passing and improved defense. We all recognized his shooting slump and most of us showed patient support for him to get through it.
At an earlier presser, CDS talked about one particular thing he has no tolerance for; bad body language. Watching the positive efforts of Ndongo, George, Reeves, & Sturdivant the last 2 games through bad losses, the only other eligible guy with enough skill & experience on this team has been exposed as completely lost. He looks like he doesn’t belong. The physical & mental lapses by a player with his experience makes me wonder if his face is showing frustration, disappointment or just a lack of interest or caring about winning.
I think everyone, including CDS, wanted & expected him to be the #1 contributor on this team. As the only returning starter, he should have established himself, by just taking it, the team leadership. Now, if one thing is clear, he lacks leadership or any desire to acquire that attribute. And with Nait George grabbing that role as a freshman, Reeves always playing with positive energy, Ndongo always playing hard, Kelly looks like a weak link. We already spot our opponents one quality player in the starting 5 lineup. Adding another and this team stops being fun for fans to watch.
With recruiting on such a major upswing I don’t doubt that the future under CDS is going to be a bright one. Just don’t like admitting I am losing interest in watching them play right now.
And even worse than that, losing like this brings out the haters, who when the team does things like upsetting Clemson at Littlejohn or beat top 25 teams back to back, never offer anything complimentary, just “crickets”. Now these geniuses want CDS gone, so Tech has to absorb his payoff, find & contract with a new coach, have a top 20 ranked recruiting class all decommit, and lose George, Ndongo & Reeves to the portal. We desperately need to win now just to shut them up. Heck, if we win a National Championship we might never hear from them ever again.