Article Georgia Tech vs Miami

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Georgia Tech vs Miami

Georgia Tech, 0-1 in ACC play, is coming off a hard-fought effort that fell just short on the road against Notre Dame. Luckily the Yellow Jackets are able to turn their focus over to the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday in a home tilt. The U is 12-1 on the season and was one of the five undefeated teams remaining before being knocked off against New Mexico State two days before Christmas. Some can say that their record is a little skewed due to the opponents they have played, with the best win coming on the road against Minnesota, 86-81. According to CBSSports.com Miami’s strength of schedule is 90th in the country.

The man leading the way for Miami is Jim Larrañaga. He is in his seventh year at the U, with two trips to the Sweet 16 along with ACC Coach of the Year in 2013. Before coming to Miami, he had long stops at George Mason and Bowling Green. Coach Larrañaga has been the National Coach of the Year according to AP & Naismith and is known as one of the top coaches in college hoops and has the hardware to prove it.

Jim Larrañaga has another nice squad this year with multiple pieces to work with, the main man being 6’5” sophomore guard #11, Bruce Brown Jr. Brown flirted with the NBA last year but decided to return to school to increase his stock. So far it is paying dividends as Brown is currently projected to go 20th to the Indiana Pacers on NBADraft.net. He is a beast when he drives to the hoop and attacks the rim. His outside game and shot is still a work in progress, which is one of the reasons why he came back to school, but don’t be fooled…he can still knock down the open shot, and force his way to the paint to get buckets.

Along with Bruce Brown Jr. is the 6’5” McDonald’s All-American and true freshman #4, Lonnie Walker IV. Walker was considered one of the top players in the 2017 class and was a huge get for the Hurricanes, not only for his unique Elfrid Payton style hair, but also his crazy athleticism. He is widely considered to be a 1-and-done and is projected to be the 14th overall pick to the New York Knicks according to NBADraft.net. His potential leaves me a little confused with the way he is being used so far this season, as he has yet to have constant minutes nor find a solid place in the rotation. His season high for minutes was 29 against Pittsburgh, but before that it was 28 minutes against Boston University (where he scored 26 points in that time). It might be that Coach Larrañaga was waiting for ACC play to unleash him, but you would think that you would want to utilize a talent such as Lonnie Walker IV as much as possible.

Running the show for the Hurricanes is 6’3 senior #0, Ja’Quan Newton. He attacks the paint hard like Brown Jr. and has the combination of speed and strength to be successful. He is as sound as it gets on defense and plays tough in your face D all game. One of the few downfalls for the steady upperclassmen is he sometimes coughs the ball up. When you make him go left on the drive he can get out of control, which can be beneficial if Georgia Tech takes advantage of this.

The other guard is 6’3” sophomore out of Melbourne, Australia #1, Dejan “Can I Buy A Vowel” Vasiljevic. At first glance with Vasilievic, you’d think “who let this guy from the Rec League put on a uniform?” But then he starts shooting. Swish, swish, swish. He is a pure shooter who can also take you off the dribble. It might be on purpose, but he has a floater that is highly similar to fellow Aussie and NBA player Matthew Dellavedova. He will hit you with a pump fake after nailing two threes, then complete a nice floater to keep you from closing out on him the next time down.

On the wing for Miami is 6’7” junior #3, Anthony Lawrence II. He is the nice solid player that every team needs. Lawrence is good on defense, can set up his teammates, hits the boards, and can knock down the three. It is hard to find a weak spot in his game. He is that reliable upperclassman that can be trusted in ACC play and the tournament to make the right play.

Down on the block is 6’11” sophomore #20, Dewan Huell. He is long and physical with a filled-out body for such a young player. He hits the boards aggressively along with nicely set screens. He has nice touch around the paint and is starting to hit the mid-range jumpers. He is the type of player that Ben Lammers tends to have a challenging time against as he’s relentless and active.

Prediction: Jose Alvarado and company will have the opportunity to get some turnovers. It just comes down to if they take advantage of them. I want to see better free throw shooting and continued tough defense. I expect a big game from Tadric Jackson with Vasilievic guarding him and most of the points coming from Tad. But after playing it out, it is hard to imagine a scenario where Tech can get it done. Anything can happen in the ACC but Miami by 9.

 
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AE 87

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Go buy a lottery ticket tonight.

That suggests I was just lucky.

In truth, I am an expert in watching the flow of the game and noting the slow pace meant we didn't need depth.

Also, ... who am I? Techster? Cuse? Peacone? Of course, I was just shouting optimistic chowder. Glad we won.
 

kg01

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Something tells me that UM PG no Lykes Alvarado.

UM looks ultra talented but under coached which was surprising.

Eta: I'm sure they'll blame the refs for this loss but the fact is they allowed an immensely less talented team out execute them down the stretch.
 

Ramblingon

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Great win, Jackets! Alvarado made a bunch of freshman mistakes. Then he rights the ship by making some really nice plays. And a major tip of the hat to JO. What a game.
 

AE 87

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Something tells me that UM PG no Lykes Alvarado.

UM looks ultra talented but under coached which was surprising.

Eta: I'm sure they'll blame the refs for this loss but the fact is they allowed an immensely less talented team out execute them down the stretch.

Wow. I don't think even Cheese would make that pun.
 

FightWinDrink

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Something tells me that UM PG no Lykes Alvarado.

UM looks ultra talented but under coached which was surprising.

Eta: I'm sure they'll blame the refs for this loss but the fact is they allowed an immensely less talented team out execute them down the stretch.
the only Miami basketball fan on all of reddit is blaming the coach actually
 

Fatmike91

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We look healthy for the first time all season. I expect to see us play more games like this. Need CGB back and we'll be a 7 loss team that absolutely nobody wants to play.

/
 

kg01

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Wow. I don't think even Cheese would make that pun.

Why? He not brave enough?

the only Miami basketball fan on all of reddit is blaming the coach actually

I was thinking more of what the players/coaches would say.

I agree with that lone U fan. They have IIUC 2 guys expected to be drafted in rnd 1, 1 supposedly lottery level. Plus 1 other fringe draftable prospect again IIUC. They played down to our level.

Not taking credit from us but we didn't even play that well and beat them going away.

Eta: It was great to see Oko totally out play their supposed prospects.
 

YlJacket

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Wow - I would have lost money tonight if I had bet this game. Glad I didn't.

Laranaga never adjusted to the zone and his team did way too much standing around the perimeter. We left the big guy alone at the foul line and he never tried to hurt us and they never put anyone else there that could/would hurt us. We stayed on their shooters. And most importantly the guards rebounded. Ended up even for the game even playing the 4 guard lineup most or at least a lot of the game. We won this game on defense - looked a lot like last year.

Interesting experiment to put Ben at the 4 and play AD at the 5 on offense. It helped AD but not sure it did much for Ben. Of course any issues can be covered up when JO goes for 30.
 

forensicbuzz

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I love that we won. I love that they played stout defense (most of the time). I am a huge fan of JO, but, like last year, he's still not finishing at the rim like he should be. Way too many points left at the end of dribble drives. I fully expect him to be back next year if he can't figure that out. Hell of a game!! Love the win.
 

Peacone36

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Miami continues to play down to their opponents. I fell asleep in the second half (these 9pm tips are killing me) this is the first season I have ever seen a Miami team look poorly coached. Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown do not play well together and J’Quan Newton is not a point guard. I still can’t beleive they beat Minnesota in Minnesota.
 

RamblinRed

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I'll take an ugly win over a pretty loss every day.

Our offense is fairly ugly, largely due to Lammers not being 100%. They don't actually run the offense through nearly as much this season as last year.
He still looks to me like his lateral movement is not back to 100%.

Jose had some bad TO's but he is a competitive SOB and made some great defensive plays to help make up for them. Twice he turned the ball over only to make a play at the defensive end to prevent Miami from scoring.

AD was actually pretty solid when he wasn't fouling. He had a beautiful hook. Would love to see that 2-3 times per game. He also had another move in the paint waived off.

One thing i've noticed off the court. Curtis and Shembari seem to have a really good relationship on the bench. They sit next to each other, and really seem to talk alot and get along well. Something to think about for next season. During the Coppin St game when GT was down it was Curtis coming over to the huddle with the 5 players and trying to encourage them on.
Last Thursday was the first time Ben practiced in 4 weeks. It shows as this team is just out of sync on offense as guys haven't been able to practice together.

Losing Haywood right when JO came back really was unfortunate. He was playing well and JO and Tad's ability to penetrate would complement Haywood's outside shot and vice versa. Hope he is able to come back soon. We can use the depth and Curtis will need a few games to get back into the flow.

Basically a 6 man rotation last night, with Wright getting 2 min. 15 min of small ball. I could see that number going up if CH gets back healthy soon.

Thought Alston played relatively well last night. He should be a guy that plays 10-15 mpg but is having to play more due to the injuries and lack of depth. Actually made a couple of tough baskets.

Been a tough year, but that is part of the reason why I bought tickets for this season - I sort of expected it to be tough (though i wasn't expecting the rash of injuries and suspensions) and wanted to support the team.
 

GTbball2016

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Miami continues to play down to their opponents. I fell asleep in the second half (these 9pm tips are killing me) this is the first season I have ever seen a Miami team look poorly coached. Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown do not play well together and J’Quan Newton is not a point guard. I still can’t beleive they beat Minnesota in Minnesota.

Not a big fan of Pitino as a coach. Watched Minnesota almost blow a huge lead to Illinois last night and let's not forget his coaching clinic against Alabama.
 

ramblinwreck1378

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Some of Jose's turnovers were just maddening, but like Red mentioned, he followed it up with hustle plays at the other end. Taking care of the ball is something you can teach - hustle, more often than not, is something you can't.

Alston looks uncomfortable on the offensive end at times, especially when putting the ball on the floor. He lost the handle at least a couple of times last night, which makes me nervous when he's put in a position where he is the primary ball handler. But he gives his all and made a big pair of FTs.

Seems like Okogie is starting to get more comfortable again after the injury and suspension (no duh). Just such a great job of him driving to the hole, drawing contact, and at time forcing the issue. When we're struggling to score like we were after we went up 12 in the second half, that's almost what we need he and Tadric to do.

I thought the defensive effort was so much better last night than we saw earlier in the season - the communication on the wings was the key in my opinion. Very few open looks from 3 in the second half. We got caught with our pants down a couple times (oop to Walker, a couple backdoor cuts on Gueye), but overall the effort was solid. A couple of Gueye's fouls could be attributed to him not seeing zone and ball and being out of position.

Very encouraged by what I saw last night, especially defensively - now's a perfect time in our schedule to reel off a few in a row and start to feel good about ourselves again.
 
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