1/9 - GT MBB vs Notre Dame

[jbix80]

The whole career high thing is somewhat mind boggling. Kids must love playing at McCamish because we seem to get a gut punch from guys we dont really need to game plan for when we host. If you told me Markus Burton was going to go 4-18 I would have thought GT wins this game by double figures. But here comes the coach's son that averages 7.2 ppg and drops 25.

We do a solid job on Post and Zachary against Boston COllege but McGlockton, who averages 8ppg away from home, goes off for 30.

Its very strange.

It’s unreal. My son has asked me so many times, “Why do unknown guys always seem to go off on Tech?”. As I wrote in an earlier post, we played Burton well (4-18 shooting…forced a lot of tough shots), but coach’s son couldn’t miss.

 

[57jacket]

For the season we are up in rebounding over our opponents 605 to 537 with advantage on both offensive and defensive rebounds. Last night was atypical. I would love to get a legit 5 to move Ndongo over to 4 as much as anyone but it isn't our core issue right now.

Check recent games that have a big. FSU and BC. We DID outrebond equally sized teams early on, but not lately.

 

[GaTech4ever]

I don't disagree with some of that, but there have been times Sturdy has kept us in games. I think what you're saying is a big reason why Sturdy is coming off the bench as opposed to starting.

Agreed 100%

 

[Techwood Relict]

“Not helping your brother” is something I’ve observed at times. Moving without the ball does not happen with consistency with some players. If a player picks up his dribble make sure you work to give him an open player to pass to. If a player is starting toward the basket don’t stand around and watch him. You should be flowing to an open spot, boxing out, moving toward the rim or positioning for a rebound. “Not helping your brother” is the thing that upsets Stoudamire the most. It’s also when we start to look like we are just playing one on one street ball.

Not really a response, but stealing the language. (It's like Harvard, but talking basketball )

I've said to my boys for a few games now, that Reeves reminds me of the guy at the park that always wins. He boards, he picks, he drives, he rains 3s, and will block an occasional lazy player. His game awareness is great. He plays with his emotions on his sleeve some, but he knows how to win and is enjoying himself. Between he and Baye, we have two that can finish games in the future. Despite our challenges, I'm excited for our potential.

 

[gte447f]

I like sturdy’s game a lot. He is smart and skilled and finds ways to beat his defender, score, and impact the game, despite not being a great outside shooter and not being a great athlete. He was one stat ( assist?) away from a triple double in the last game against BC. That doesn’t come easy or often to… anyone. I think Andy Demetra said it would have been the first triple double by a GT point guard since Kenny Anderson. I wasn’t really listening when he said that and I haven’t fact checked it and it seems pretty crazy, but maybe it’s true.

I like Nait George too. I think he might develop into an excellent point guard. What I think jumps out at everyone that watches him play is his innate ability to help the players around him on offense. His effectiveness surprises me a little, because frankly, his ball handling skills are subpar for an elite point guard, and he doesn’t look all that fast, quick or athletic. His 1v1 on ball defense is not any better than sturdy’s in my opinion. I think slightly worse. Sturdy defended better than George against BC.

They both got beat off the dribble by the ND point guard, but he only made 4/18, so they didn’t make it easy on him. I thought Miles Kelly defended him the best. The last full court drive at the end of regulation with 5.5 seconds on the clock was pretty stellar defense by Kelly without fouling to deny the kid a decent shot.

 

[YlJacket]

The issue with Burton wasn't his direct shooting but rather the way he got downhill pretty much at will. That stress on the D had Ndongo on a string especially the second half and caused the rotations that helped lead to open shots for Shrewsberry et al. That is exactly what CDS is looking for out of our PG and why he routinely talks about wanting the PG to get into the paint. We looked good against Duke when Nait came aggressively off the high screen and played lob games with Ndongo but looked like crap when FSU switched and sealed the high screen making us a perimeter team.

CDS was the kind of PG that could get wherever he wanted on the court. He is looking for the same here and it isn't consistent yet.

 

[GaTech4ever]

I thought Miles Kelly defended him the best.

I was very impressed with Kelly’s ability to move laterally and stay in front of Burton the last few possessions of regulation. Unfortunately, because he was the only one who could do it, it probably contributed to Kelly being exhausted in OT.

 

[MtnWasp]

Kelly has really worked hard to be a better defender. It is night and day from his first two seasons. Coleman, also, is night and day better.

 

[jbix80]

I was very impressed with Kelly’s ability to move laterally and stay in front of Burton the last few possessions of regulation. Unfortunately, because he was the only one who could do it, it probably contributed to Kelly being exhausted in OT.

Good point! I thought his length gave Burton some trouble. He was working very hard defensively. I didn't think about that with his legs on the other end in OT.

 

[dtm1997]

Kelly has really worked hard to be a better defender. It is night and day from his first two seasons. Coleman, also, is night and day better.

Coleman seems to be the primary point for opposing teams to attack on defense.

Effort might be there, but I'm not sure he's "better" on defense.

 

[gte447f]

Kelly has really worked hard to be a better defender. It is night and day from his first two seasons. Coleman, also, is night and day better.

I agree they have both upped their defensive game substantially. In my opinion, Coleman still isn’t an especially good 1v1 on ball defender, but he has very good defensive hands in traffic. He often gets steals out of double teams and other chaotic situations.

 

[LargeFO]

I agree they have both upped their defensive game substantially. In my opinion, Coleman still isn’t an especially good 1v1 on ball defender, but he has very good defensive hands in traffic. He often gets steals out of double teams and other chaotic situations.

Agreed. Coleman is great at knocking rebounds he can't quite get to around to give us a shot at 2nd chances etc.

 

[Golden Tornadoes]

Coleman seems to be the primary point for opposing teams to attack on defense.

Effort might be there, but I'm not sure he's "better" on defense.

I've given myself some time to reflect and post something more thought out than the emotional response I wanted to. Coleman doesn't have the quickness to 1v1 opposing players at this level. He's picked on for a reason, and it's because he either fouls or gives up a bucket. In a zone scheme, I could live with him on the court, but in our man-to-man scheme, he is a liability. His offense has regressed to a point where I'm not sure he should be getting as many minutes as he is given. If he is on a heater, I would be fine letting him see the court more, but I'd cut his minutes if I were CDS. Too many airballs and too many points given up. Someone recently said it might be a good idea for him to transfer down a level and I think that would really help him out. Nothing against him personally, just wish he was a better fit.

 

[MtnWasp]

Coleman seems to be the primary point for opposing teams to attack on defense.

Effort might be there, but I'm not sure he's "better" on defense.

Well, admittedly the starting bar was pretty low. Under Pastner, Kelly and Coleman couldn't keep my Grandmother from dribbling past them (and she passed in 1989).

For Coleman, he's always been a heavy-legged player so his defensive potential is not great. But where he has improved is that he is taking an angle to meet the driver at the elbow and he is trying to belly-up the driver to at least try to use his strength, which he does have. He's not great, but he is better.

At 6'6" 210lbs, he is, pound for pound, one of the worst rebounders you will ever see. his rebounding numbers are just really bad. Always have been.

He was recruited as one of the best shooters in the country. Don't know where that went.

He's not a great match for our system, but he is a good effort guy.

 

[BeeRBee]

Well, admittedly the starting bar was pretty low. Under Pastner, Kelly and Coleman couldn't keep my Grandmother from dribbling past them (and she passed in 1989).

For Coleman, he's always been a heavy-legged player so his defensive potential is not great. But where he has improved is that he is taking an angle to meet the driver at the elbow and he is trying to belly-up the driver to at least try to use his strength, which he does have. He's not great, but he is better.

At 6'6" 210lbs, he is, pound for pound, one of the worst rebounders you will ever see. his rebounding numbers are just really bad. Always have been.

He was recruited as one of the best shooters in the country. Don't know where that went.

He's not a great match for our system, but he is a good effort guy.

This is admittedly purely based on impressions and not study, but I feel like Deebo is shooting much quicker this year. I remember getting very frustrated in earlier years that he would get the ball with an open look but hesitate allowing the defense to recover, and then not shoot. This year he is catching and shooting quickly, he's just not making them.

 

[spdrama]

Kelly gets 7 treys so now I guess Coleman’s the culprit. We don’t have a starting five capable of winning basketball in the ACC. Nor do we have a high caliber 6th man that a winning team needs. Or a quality bench. Ndongo is a starter on any Division 1 team. Reeves can start on most. Kelly can start on many. We’ve got nice athletes & projects, along with veterans that have come up short of recruiting expectations, & portal acquisitions from lesser conferences that offer minor contributions or from major conference teams that don’t seem to fit or haven’t shown they can contribute at all. That’s it right now. It’s a team sport. We lose as a team, not because of one player. We are missing lots of parts. Hopefully our projects develop and make major contributions as the season continues and the missing parts start to arrive in subsequent seasons. If ragging on Kelly or Coleman (or hating Coleman as one poster declared) helps anyone deal with a loss, by all means go for it.

 

[Connell62]

Nait is the key to this whole thing, maybe not this year but in the grand scheme of things. He showed some fire in the BC game (I didn't catch all of last nights game, I tried to watch the replay at about 2am) and he makes solid decisions for a freshman. I see a lot of Kihei Clark in him and I think all of us would take four years of that without question. If Baye and some others stick around and we can add a quality big (portal?) we are going to put the most talented/deep squad on the floor that we have boasted in recent memory.

I agree with you on the added pieces, but I think there is a bit more to it. I think there is a mental aspect to it.

We’ve heard Damon talk about the guys still needing to buy all the way in to what he and the staff are requiring of them. Damon has alluded (a couple of times) that our returning guys haven’t been held to a particular standard. The attention to detail that he’s looking for, the level of effort he is seeking isn’t there 100% of the time.

So I agree that we need a big (other than Baye). Not just for an easy bucket out of the post, but maybe more importantly, for rim protection. We give up WAY too many easy buckets.

I won’t be disappointed if we see some attrition.

 

[Connell62]

What you’re saying regarding minutes makes sense from a coach/fan perspective, but players don’t think like that. Sturdivant lost his starting job, in the last season of his career, to a freshman who enrolled four months ago. Both George and Reeves get the benefit of the doubt over Sturdivant and Coleman to show they’re playing well (which I think is a good thing). But I don’t think Sturdivant or Coleman imagined that happening two months ago.

This would be a moot point if their body language was consistently positive instead of wildly swinging depending on their individual play.

You’re overthinking it. Kyle was one assist from a triple double on Saturday, and he laid an egg on both sides of the ball last night.

As much as I appreciate his service, I’d say that sums up his career at GT. Inconsistency has plagued him the last couple of seasons.

 

[iopjacket]

I think CDS wants to install his system over trying to make up a style of play to fit the players he has. There is young talent on the team and more coming in next year. We are still low on the learning curve.

 

[Connell62]

Stury or PG is NOT our problem. Glass eaters, glasseaters, glass eaters!!!

We were one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the conference prior to last night.