1/4 - MBB vs. Boston College

[Peacone36]

I think our string of good play is more about the resurgence of McCollum than the exit of DO (and an easier schedule).

McCollum said on post-game radio that he started feeling like himself again the week of the A&M game. He’s been on a tear since. 59 points over the last three games. He and LT have been ballin!

Tip of the cap to Duncan Powell as well. I am often skeptical of guys transferring so far up but Powell has really stepped up the last couple weeks

 

[spdrama]

Tip of the cap to Duncan Powell as well. I am often skeptical of guys transferring so far up but Powell has really stepped up the last couple weeks

H.S. Scouting Report​

H.S. Athletic Background​

Duncan Powell is a Small Forward from DeSoto, TX.
Ranked No. 85 nationally, Powell is a skilled offensive talent. He can shoot with range, is very clever around the basket and presents a mismatch for defenders because of his ability to play on either the inside or outside.
A legitimate high major talent, Powell plays with an edge to his game and isn't afraid to show his emotions

He actually isn’t stepping up. Finally at the level predicted for him. Very serious HS injury kept him from playing under Musselman at Arkansas in SEC. He was scratched off recruiting lists of Power conference coaches because of his knee. Dedicated himself to recovery, including redshirting freshman year at an HBCU school. He now appears to be achieving the success 2021 evaluations predicted for him. Talent & guts. And 1 more year of eligibility after this one. Great portal find.

 

[Peacone36]

H.S. Scouting Report​

H.S. Athletic Background​

Duncan Powell is a Small Forward from DeSoto, TX.
Ranked No. 85 nationally, Powell is a skilled offensive talent. He can shoot with range, is very clever around the basket and presents a mismatch for defenders because of his ability to play on either the inside or outside.
A legitimate high major talent, Powell plays with an edge to his game and isn't afraid to show his emotions

He actually isn’t stepping up. Finally at the level predicted for him. Very serious HS injury kept him from playing under Musselman at Arkansas in SEC. He was scratched off recruiting lists of Power conference coaches because of his knee. Dedicated himself to recovery, including redshirting freshman year at an HBCU school. He now appears to be achieving the success 2021 evaluations predicted for him. Talent & guts. And 1 more year of eligibility after this one. Great portal find.

Yeah I saw this posted the other day as well. Fact remains, it’s a big hill to climb.

Our experience with Bubba Parham ( love Bubba) gives us an understanding of the difficulty at this level in terms of scoring when compared to a conference even as good as the Fun Belt.

Jeremis Smith, Theodis Tarver, Kam Holsey and Travis Jorgensen provide an understanding of coming back from serious knee injuries and how they can change a player.

 

[Ramble1885]

HERE ARE THE PLAYS YOU NEED TO SEE

 

[Ramble1885]

VPI would like a word.

Miami would also like a word

 

[g0lftime]

Tip of the cap to Duncan Powell as well. I am often skeptical of guys transferring so far up but Powell has really stepped up the last couple weeks

He really likes to shoot from the corner and hits a good percentage. He has been getting good looks when his man leaves him to help. He is a good outside weapon.

 

[57jacket]

McCollum and Terry are turning into stone cold killers with their shots.

George is playing smart ball even when not making shots.

Souare is turning into a decent player and you can tell his teammates are enjoying playing with him.

We played good defense and had impressive shooting, especially from 3 point range.

Would hate to miss so many free throws in a close game.

We are looking like a team, folks.

Powell is also a big plus.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Powell is also a big plus.

Yes! I said after the ND game “who is this guy and where has he been.” Glad he’s starting to reach his potential after some hard luck.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

HERE ARE THE PLAYS YOU NEED TO SEE

Those two plays also stood out for me. Mustaf also had a reverse layup under the basket in traffic that caught my eye. I would post it if I knew where to look. I was surprised at how agile he was and didn’t expect the shot.

 

[awbuzz]

“I think the most important thing is when I look in these guys’ eyes now, they believe,” Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said.

Georgia Tech wins third consecutive game, blasts Boston College

Four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures, and Tech has won three games in a row for the first time this season.

www.ajc.com

 

[g0lftime]

Getting McCollum back and finding a lineup that plays well together is working. Coach has got a substitution pattern now. Baye needs to stay out of foul trouble. He still makes unnecessary fouls at times. This team will be a tough out the rest of the season. Still need to prove we can win on the road.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

“I think the most important thing is when I look in these guys’ eyes now, they believe,” Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said.

Georgia Tech wins third consecutive game, blasts Boston College

Four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures, and Tech has won three games in a row for the first time this season.

www.ajc.com

Repeating myself a lot but cannot say enough about how they are playing like a team. They are playing with that kind of osmosis where they know where a teammate will be and who is coming to help them, leaving little gift packages for one another all over the court.

For you basketball minds out there is this superior to running set plays? I know there are specific times when you need to run a set play but this looks like understanding the bigger picture and where someone will be when you recognize what the defenders are doing.

More specifically, there was an inbound play at the BC end of the court where George cut behind the defense with a ball hitting him in stride and he had an uncontested layup. It was a great play whether specifically called or not but I had the feeling it was one more example of the kind of court awareness CDS is trying to teach and the players just saw it and executed.

Am I wrong?

 

[AUFC]

“I think the most important thing is when I look in these guys’ eyes now, they believe,” Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said.

Georgia Tech wins third consecutive game, blasts Boston College

Four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures, and Tech has won three games in a row for the first time this season.

www.ajc.com

This was the line that stood out to me during his presser when I watched it yesterday. It's worth watching the actual delivery of the line (the quick focus zoom-in beforehand helped hah). I timestamped it here:

 

[orientalnc]

My thoughts after the BC game:

McCollum was a matchup problem for Hand and BC had no one else who could stay with him.
Venning was a matchup problem for us and it took Grant until the 2nd half to see it.
George had 10 assists and could have had 15 if a few more shots had fallen.
Terry is a much better athlete than I realized two years ago. He is a dude!
I like the chemistry with this bunch. Everyone seems to accept their role. Does that change if/when Reeves returns?
You have to have some sympathy for Grant. He had a decent team last year and all five starters left.

Remember when Swarm fonts wondered if CDS would play George & McCollum at the same time? Throw Terry or Mustaf in the same lineup and you have three PGs on the floor.

 

[fernbank]

I love what Nait is doing as a facilitator. He must be leading the ACC in assists and assists:turnover ratio.

ACC Statistics (click on "Leaders" and "Assists")

Naithan George does lead the ACC in assists (he has 6.3 per game, while Pitt's Jaland Lowe and UNC's Elliot Cadeau each average 6.1), but he is 3rd in assist/turnover ratio (94/33 = 2.8) behind NCSU's Michael O'Connell (54/14 = 3.9) and ND's Matt Allocco (50/14 = 3.6).

 

[Root4GT]

Repeating myself a lot but cannot say enough about how they are playing like a team. They are playing with that kind of osmosis where they know where a teammate will be and who is coming to help them, leaving little gift packages for one another all over the court.

For you basketball minds out there is this superior to running set plays? I know there are specific times when you need to run a set play but this looks like understanding the bigger picture and where someone will be when you recognize what the defenders are doing.

More specifically, there was an inbound play at the BC end of the court where George cut behind the defense with a ball hitting him in stride and he had an uncontested layup. It was a great play whether specifically called or not but I had the feeling it was one more example of the kind of court awareness CDS is trying to teach and the players just saw it and executed.

Am I wrong?

That was an interesting inbound play. Mustaf made the same cut as George and George followed abotu 15 feet behing Mustaf. The defense followed Mustaf leaving the lane wide open.

I agree with your premis that the players are starting to under the offensive concept. It also helps the McCollum can get into the lane and score consistently. Nait and Terry also are getting into the lane. Terry scores and Nait gets assists. Mustaf is beginning to show he can go hard to the basket and is getting better at his decision making on when to attack the rim.

 

[kg01]

Glad we're seeing McCollum get his sea legs under him. He's what we've been missing. Well, part of it anyway.

 

[MtnWasp]

Repeating myself a lot but cannot say enough about how they are playing like a team. They are playing with that kind of osmosis where they know where a teammate will be and who is coming to help them, leaving little gift packages for one another all over the court.

For you basketball minds out there is this superior to running set plays? I know there are specific times when you need to run a set play but this looks like understanding the bigger picture and where someone will be when you recognize what the defenders are doing.

I frame my thoughts with the following question: What happened to the ACC and where does Gt fit in with those changes?

The easy answer is that there was a mass exodus of great coaches. But I actually think the old coaches left due to changes around them, their leaving did not initiate the changes.

On the court, what we used to see during ACC competition was gonzo intensity. Routinely, games were a slug-fest.

And to me, that is where the changes in the ACC are most evident. It is not a talent thing, it is not a scheme thing, it is not a technical thing. It is an energy/intensity/commitment thing.

What has stood out to me in our preseason power conference losses was that the opposition just jumped us. They came out and played really hard and we did not match them at all. There was disjointed play, but to me it started with effort and intensity. Our players were shocked and awed by the intensity of the opposition.

In short, the ACC finds itself in this state because there are too many dilettantes and not enough street fighters.

So for Stoudamire, his straitening his squad out faced two large obstacles: 1. Getting his players to play hard enough so as not to get jumbled by good opposition, and 2. that would allow them to execute the schemes with efficiency.

But it starts with playing really hard. You can't execute a scheme, you can't get stops, you can't shoot efficiently if the other team, which has comparable talent, is playing harder than you are.

The team looks like it is starting to put it together, and I think it started by playing with consistent effort and intensity.

 

[Root4GT]

I frame my thoughts with the following question: What happened to the ACC and where does Gt fit in with those changes?

The easy answer is that there was a mass exodus of great coaches. But I actually think the old coaches left due to changes around them, their leaving did not initiate the changes.

On the court, what we used to see during ACC competition was gonzo intensity. Routinely, games were a slug-fest.

And to me, that is where the changes in the ACC are most evident. It is not a talent thing, it is not a scheme thing, it is not a technical thing. It is an energy/intensity/commitment thing.

What has stood out to me in our preseason power conference losses was that the opposition just jumped us. They came out and played really hard and we did not match them at all. There was disjointed play, but to me it started with effort and intensity. Our players were shocked and awed by the intensity of the opposition.

In short, the ACC finds itself in this state because there are too many dilettantes and not enough street fighters.

So for Stoudamire, his straitening his squad out faced two large obstacles: 1. Getting his players to play hard enough so as not to get jumbled by good opposition, and 2. that would allow them to execute the schemes with efficiency.

But it starts with playing really hard. You can't execute a scheme, you can't get stops, you can't shoot efficiently if the other team, which has comparable talent, is playing harder than you are.

The team looks like it is starting to put it together, and I think it started by playing with consistent effort and intensity.

Interesting take. I believe there is a very strong correlation between having a HOF coaches and how a team plays. The ACC HOF coaches all had teams that player hard and intense basketball almost all of the time. There was never an easy game against Coach K, Roy, Jim B, Rick P or Tony B's teams. Winning against any of those coaches was very very hard.

As the ACC expanded for football ACC basketball became a shadow of what it was. Then the HOF coaches left. In my view the current set of coaches are marginal at best and the league's talent level is at an all time low.

Obviously GT is still in the rebuild stage and CDS is working to instill a toughness and ownership into his players. The past 2 games we have seen glimpses of what he wants. We still have a ways to go as a team and as individual players to get near what CDS wants both individually and as a team.

Progress seems to be taking place!

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I frame my thoughts with the following question: What happened to the ACC and where does Gt fit in with those changes?

The easy answer is that there was a mass exodus of great coaches. But I actually think the old coaches left due to changes around them, their leaving did not initiate the changes.

On the court, what we used to see during ACC competition was gonzo intensity. Routinely, games were a slug-fest.

And to me, that is where the changes in the ACC are most evident. It is not a talent thing, it is not a scheme thing, it is not a technical thing. It is an energy/intensity/commitment thing.

What has stood out to me in our preseason power conference losses was that the opposition just jumped us. They came out and played really hard and we did not match them at all. There was disjointed play, but to me it started with effort and intensity. Our players were shocked and awed by the intensity of the opposition.

In short, the ACC finds itself in this state because there are too many dilettantes and not enough street fighters.

So for Stoudamire, his straitening his squad out faced two large obstacles: 1. Getting his players to play hard enough so as not to get jumbled by good opposition, and 2. that would allow them to execute the schemes with efficiency.

But it starts with playing really hard. You can't execute a scheme, you can't get stops, you can't shoot efficiently if the other team, which has comparable talent, is playing harder than you are.

The team looks like it is starting to put it together, and I think it started by playing with consistent effort and intensity.

Root’s response to you on this seems correct to me. I would add more explicitly with regard to Tech, it is hard to play with consistent intensity when you are learning a system at the same time. As Root pointed out, the players are figuring out what the coach wants now. Progress.