Article Georgia Tech vs Grambling State

RamblinRed

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First off. Bad loss. Nothing more to say about that.
Watching the game in person I felt like it was the worst i've seen a GT team play against an inferior opponent since College of Charleston whipped up 26-27 yrs ago. Had the same feeling almost the whole game. (and that CoC team was alot better team than this Grambling ST one).
The fact GT almost stole this one would have been highway robbery as Grambling St was the better team in every phase of the game. Shot better at all three levels, outrebounded GT, defended better.

Ben's ankle was really bad tonight. Before the first timeout i turned to the African American gentlemen sitting next to me and told them he looked like a statue.
Pastner mentioned in the postgame he hasn't practiced since injuring the ankle in the RGV game as that is the only way he can play in the games, but it is affecting his timing and conditioning.
I thought Pastner should have pulled Ben at times and tried some of the other bigs in the middle as he simply wasn't able to do much. His movement was so obviously limited. But frankly none of the bigs looked good tonight at all.

Grambling ST had figured out by halftime he couldn't move well and they were unafraid to go in and shoot against him in the paint. They were able to score consistently in there and that hasn't happened much against GT with Ben.
It really hurt GT on offense as well as you would like to have him flash to the middle and force the zone to react to him but he spent almost the whole game in the corner not really moving much, not really involved in the offense.
To get a sense how much it is hurting the offense, since the injury Ben has 3 assist and 9 TO. He looked awful tonight.
Pastner said in his postgame interview that the team's goal is to get him through the next 2 games and then keep him off his feet completely for a week and hope that helps heal up the ankle.

Curtis was way too passive in the first half. He just isn't ready to be a demanding offensive player yet, which is unfortunate because we need him to be one. But right now he is content to defer to others. When he finally got aggressive in the late second half he made 3 threes. He passed up a couple of great looks in the first half. I felt horrible for him about the own goal as he was one of the bright spots tonight. Generally played good defense, had 5 rbs, 5 asts,1 TO, 2 steals. Just unlucky. Wish he had gotten the last shot, he was wide open in the corner. He actually reminds me a little of MGH as a FR. You can sense the talent and wish he would simply be a little more aggressive and selfish, but he is really playing within the offense rather than trying to force things at all and willing to defer to older teammates.

i like how one of my GT friends describes Jose. He's a gamer. He's a kid who might miss everything for 35 min, but the last 5 he will hit everything. He should have passed to Curtis for the last shot, but he played well overall and he and Curtis were the only reason GT really got back in the game late. He is so much fun to watch.

GT did everything wrong for 34 min, then did everything right for 5, then did everything wrong for 1.
Got a 3 pt lead. Fouled on an inbounds. Got 2 FT- missed both, played good defense and ended up with an own goal. Kept the ball for the last shot when the defense collapsed three guys on the shooter.

FT shooting was ultimately the big downfall. Came into the game shooting 75% as a team. Shot 50% tonight with the 2 SR going a combined 5-13.
Make one more you go to OT, 2 more you win a game you had no business winning. Wish i had confidence in Tad taking the FT, but I just kept thinking please make at least one of them. Unfortunately he didn't make either and the first was an ugly looking shot.
in fairness to Tad, in the first half the crowd jumped on him a little when he made an interior pass to Ben that went out of bounds. Ben was the one at fault on that, not Tad. A healthy Ben easily gets that pass and makes a layup. But Ben simply couldn't move fast enough to get to the pass and it went out of bounds. He and alston were the only reason the game was close at Halftime.

I had no real belief in this team making the NCAA and that was before Josh's injury. After Josh's injury my thought was we would at least get to play the FR alot so they can be ready next year. My hope is that the team can scratch and claw enough to get back to the NIT (which frankly was my goal before the season). Now, if the team goes 12-6 in the ACC then this game won't matter. But right now I just want the team to get better.
We need to get a healthy Josh and Ben or it is going to be a long season. The 2 FR bigs both looked lost tonight and AD had one of his worst games of the season. He is trying too hard right now to make moves beyond him, rather than just executing simple things.

Hopefully we come out with alot more energy Sunday as they came out really flat tonight. it was obvious, I think even to the coaches as they pulled most of the starting 5 before the first timeout.

I know its hard to think about the future when you want to win now, but the thought of a perimeter that includes Jose, Curtis, Josh, Devoe and Phillips next year is quite exciting.

i hate that Pastner said this in his pre-game interview, but it ended up being very true - we nearly beat UCLA and nearly lost to B-C. This team can beat any team it plays but it can lose to any team. We have to be focused on each game and worry about winning just that game.
 

okiemon

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I am a huge Pastner fan...one game will not change that.
That said, you can create whatever excuses you like, this is the most embarrassing loss for GT basketball in this century.

We have a winner! Knee-jerk hyperbole of the year!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

jeffgt14

We don't quite suck as much anymore.
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Is Ogbonda still hurt or something? I prefer him greatly over AD offensively. Not sure why he's getting no minutes with Ben hurt if he's healthy.
 

shakim3

Jolly Good Fellow
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252
I’m not sure why everyone is saying this isn’t a tournament team now... we don’t know what this team is yet down it’s best offensive player. Okogie’s presence will completely change the spacing and turn some of our struggles into exploitable matchups. This team can beat anyone and can lose to everyone right now but give them time and there’s not reason they shouldn’t be in the hunt.
 

shakim3

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
252
I appreciate what Pastner is saying with Tadric and Ben but surely we are starting to see other ways Tech can win. It’s by design that he is putting pressure on his seniors but this team has talent and it’ll take time to cultivate it.
 

KeystoneJacket

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Wow. Forgot about the game tonight as some friends came over to check out our new place and do a little bar hopping. At the last bar my buddy was facing the TV and said, “GT lost....to Grambling?” Unreal.
 

OG-T

Jolly Good Fellow
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292
Staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours now, trying to understand how I can get so frustrated by “amateur” basketball. This is one of the most maddening loses because I had hope for March. As in Shawshank Redemption and with GT Basketball, hope can be a dangerous thing. But I have hope because:
*This is the most unusual season ever.
*Some creep entraps this seasons two highest scorers ( I believe they’ll be that).
*Players get suspended.
*Coach and program dealing with cloud of investigation.
*Best player breaks/dislocates finger, then finger gets infected, adding more away time.
*A third player gets suspended.
*A key assistant coach gets suspended.
*Our main defensive player, and key to our offense is playing injured, at 50% of capability.
*We tip in a shot into the other team’s basket to had away a victory.
*Our best player still hasn’t returned.
*We’ve lost our two games by a total of 4 points.

Crazy, maybe, but I still have hope.
 

Buzzzard

Georgia Tech Fan
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I woke up this morning thinking it had been a bad dream; like Charlie Brown and the football.

Reality crept back in.
 

Peacone36

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Jax frustrates the hell out of me. Those two lazy threes he took at the top of the key were infuriating. The ball sometimes dies with him as if he has forgotten the “go to player is the open man” philosophy. But then he hits a huge three or a game winner and all is forgotten. I don’t understand why he is a poor FT shooter. He has a very nice stroke from the line, at this point it has to be mostly mental.

Alvarado is a straight killer, I said it after the RBVG or whatever game, for the first 35 mins I don’t have a lot of confidence in his shooting, in the last 5 I’m confident he’s going to make everything. We were the victim of a good Lebron James flop but we had zero business winning the game to begin with. When they pushed it to 14 you could see out guys were looking around like wtf?

Ben has to be able to play that high post triple option for us to be successful while Josh is out. I dred Sunday right now.
 

SecretAgentBuzz

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We played horribly. Gross. Then we played awesome to get back in it and snatch it away. Then we inexplicably found a new way to lose—the own goal!
The end was actually set-up just like the NW game, 7 seconds, down by 1. We made the last one, we missed this one. The really frustrating part is that this one never should have come to that.
Really disappointed, but I know our team will keep grinding. It’s still early. I’m keeping the faith...but the season just lost some of its luster. Nothing will surprise me against UT—we might win, we might get blown out! Injuries, suspensions, and relying on Freshman means...expect the unexpected! Go Jackets!
 

BigDaddyBuzz

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Scares the heck out of me when Pastner spends the whole presser talking about how everything runs through Ben both offense and defense. A 50% Ben is better than what we got. What the hell are we going to do next year and the year after. We have yet to land a decent big man recruit.
 

D-man44

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It is tough to win against anyone when your top 2 options 1 is on the bench and the other goes 1-7. Tech doesn't have the depth right now for players to have off nights like Ben did as we are forced to run 50% of the offense through him, however I do see us bringing in several nice players in 2018 that will help improve our talent level. Right now we are playing with possibly the least talent in the ACC. Not excusing tonight but still think CJP has things on the right track.
 

ramblinwreck1378

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Scares the heck out of me when Pastner spends the whole presser talking about how everything runs through Ben both offense and defense. A 50% Ben is better than what we got. What the hell are we going to do next year and the year after. We have yet to land a decent big man recruit.

You play to your strengths - Ben is very one of our strengths right now, so we run the offense through him. Next year that strength will be the backcourt, so I would expect to see a more perimeter-focused approach. I️ think Pastner has a good enough mind to make those offseason adjustments.

As for Sunday, I️ would expect to see a different team. Finals don’t start until Thursday, so I️ would still expect to see a good student turnout - and there’s no excuse for the alumni not showing up. The boys will be ready to play - we can band-aid this loss starting with a win on Sunday.
 

Peacone36

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Scares the heck out of me when Pastner spends the whole presser talking about how everything runs through Ben both offense and defense. A 50% Ben is better than what we got. What the hell are we going to do next year and the year after. We have yet to land a decent big man recruit.

It shouldnt be so dire next year. Alvarado will be a year wiser, Devoe is a great guard. They should be able to run the show how a typical offense runs.

At least that is my hope.
 

jayparr

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First off. Bad loss. Nothing more to say about that.
Watching the game in person I felt like it was the worst i've seen a GT team play against an inferior opponent since College of Charleston whipped up 26-27 yrs ago. Had the same feeling almost the whole game. (and that CoC team was alot better team than this Grambling ST one).
The fact GT almost stole this one would have been highway robbery as Grambling St was the better team in every phase of the game. Shot better at all three levels, outrebounded GT, defended better.

Ben's ankle was really bad tonight. Before the first timeout i turned to the African American gentlemen sitting next to me and told them he looked like a statue.
Pastner mentioned in the postgame he hasn't practiced since injuring the ankle in the RGV game as that is the only way he can play in the games, but it is affecting his timing and conditioning.
I thought Pastner should have pulled Ben at times and tried some of the other bigs in the middle as he simply wasn't able to do much. His movement was so obviously limited. But frankly none of the bigs looked good tonight at all.

Grambling ST had figured out by halftime he couldn't move well and they were unafraid to go in and shoot against him in the paint. They were able to score consistently in there and that hasn't happened much against GT with Ben.
It really hurt GT on offense as well as you would like to have him flash to the middle and force the zone to react to him but he spent almost the whole game in the corner not really moving much, not really involved in the offense.
To get a sense how much it is hurting the offense, since the injury Ben has 3 assist and 9 TO. He looked awful tonight.
Pastner said in his postgame interview that the team's goal is to get him through the next 2 games and then keep him off his feet completely for a week and hope that helps heal up the ankle.

Curtis was way too passive in the first half. He just isn't ready to be a demanding offensive player yet, which is unfortunate because we need him to be one. But right now he is content to defer to others. When he finally got aggressive in the late second half he made 3 threes. He passed up a couple of great looks in the first half. I felt horrible for him about the own goal as he was one of the bright spots tonight. Generally played good defense, had 5 rbs, 5 asts,1 TO, 2 steals. Just unlucky. Wish he had gotten the last shot, he was wide open in the corner. He actually reminds me a little of MGH as a FR. You can sense the talent and wish he would simply be a little more aggressive and selfish, but he is really playing within the offense rather than trying to force things at all and willing to defer to older teammates.

i like how one of my GT friends describes Jose. He's a gamer. He's a kid who might miss everything for 35 min, but the last 5 he will hit everything. He should have passed to Curtis for the last shot, but he played well overall and he and Curtis were the only reason GT really got back in the game late. He is so much fun to watch.

GT did everything wrong for 34 min, then did everything right for 5, then did everything wrong for 1.
Got a 3 pt lead. Fouled on an inbounds. Got 2 FT- missed both, played good defense and ended up with an own goal. Kept the ball for the last shot when the defense collapsed three guys on the shooter.

FT shooting was ultimately the big downfall. Came into the game shooting 75% as a team. Shot 50% tonight with the 2 SR going a combined 5-13.
Make one more you go to OT, 2 more you win a game you had no business winning. Wish i had confidence in Tad taking the FT, but I just kept thinking please make at least one of them. Unfortunately he didn't make either and the first was an ugly looking shot.
in fairness to Tad, in the first half the crowd jumped on him a little when he made an interior pass to Ben that went out of bounds. Ben was the one at fault on that, not Tad. A healthy Ben easily gets that pass and makes a layup. But Ben simply couldn't move fast enough to get to the pass and it went out of bounds. He and alston were the only reason the game was close at Halftime.

I had no real belief in this team making the NCAA and that was before Josh's injury. After Josh's injury my thought was we would at least get to play the FR alot so they can be ready next year. My hope is that the team can scratch and claw enough to get back to the NIT (which frankly was my goal before the season). Now, if the team goes 12-6 in the ACC then this game won't matter. But right now I just want the team to get better.
We need to get a healthy Josh and Ben or it is going to be a long season. The 2 FR bigs both looked lost tonight and AD had one of his worst games of the season. He is trying too hard right now to make moves beyond him, rather than just executing simple things.

Hopefully we come out with alot more energy Sunday as they came out really flat tonight. it was obvious, I think even to the coaches as they pulled most of the starting 5 before the first timeout.

I know its hard to think about the future when you want to win now, but the thought of a perimeter that includes Jose, Curtis, Josh, Devoe and Phillips next year is quite exciting.

i hate that Pastner said this in his pre-game interview, but it ended up being very true - we nearly beat UCLA and nearly lost to B-C. This team can beat any team it plays but it can lose to any team. We have to be focused on each game and worry about winning just that game.
Someone tell Tad to shoot jump shots for his free throws!!! Take no dribble; just shoot the jumper as soon as the ref gives it to him!! No thinking as he gets the ball!! THIS WORKS!!! BELIEVE ME!!!
 

awbuzz

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At least the last 2 games. Maybe 3. Hasn't been practicing at all.
He reinjured ankle against Rio Grande Valley and hasn't been as mobile since. CJP stated, as dtm1997 notes, that Lammers has not practicing the last week due to the injury. [emoji853]

Edit: I should have read further before posting as others mentioned this...
 
Last edited:

awbuzz

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I opted not to read or post anything last night after the game because I was sure I would be to critical.

With Ben being hobbled we are going to have a difficult time no matter who we play.

We lost the game largely due to poor free throw shooting.

If we are a potential post season team, this loss maybe what keeps us out. [emoji52]

Frustrating game... Hopefully we rebound (no pun intended, but it is there) and can pull out a Win against Tennessee tomorrow.
 
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