Georgia Tech, Your 2021 ACC Champions

RamblinRed

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I've been gone for awhile - been a tough winter (and then decided I would not post until either GT was in the NCAA Tourney or the season was over) but I am so happy for the players, the coaches and the staff (as well as the fans). Fantastic job by all of them. This has been sorely missed and really needed for the GT fanbase.

Nice article from Duke Basketball Report on GT providing the ACC with a very satisfying championship (with the typical Dukie arrogance still in there though)

www.dukebasketballreport.com

Georgia Tech Gives Us A Deeply Satisfying ACC Championship

What a brilliant night by the Yellow Jackets
www.dukebasketballreport.com www.dukebasketballreport.com

Leaving Duke out of it, since we know most of you would be vastly more satisfied with a Duke championship, but ask yourself this: have you ever witnessed a more satisfying championship than the one Georgia Tech just won?

And we should add: it’s not just that they won it....it’s that they won it. It’s a different shade of meaning. They took it, they seized it, they valiantly overcame a more talented opponent in Florida State.

And they did it the hard way, by playing gut wrenching defense.

The Yellow Jackets forced 25 turnovers. Twenty-five! Against the #2 seed in the ACC - and one that was relatively fresh, too.

And consider this: they forced eight against MJ Walker, Leonard Hamilton’s senior point guard and six against Scottie Barnes, who is widely seen as a brilliant talent and a certain lottery pick.

That’s just incredible.

And then there’s the very great pleasure of watching Jose Alvarado and Moses Wright, both guys who were seen as average prospects at best. Wright, remember, was a 6-9 kid who had barely played basketball when he signed with Georgia Tech as a thin but talented forward, sort of the ultimate project.

Look at what he’s accomplished - ACC Player Of The Year and ACC Champion.

And consider Alvarado, who came to Tech as a four-star point guard, true, but with plenty of doubters.

On Saturday, Georgia Tech showed immense heart and character, much of it driven by Alvarado, and we couldn’t be happier for him, his teammates and Pastner, who has answered so many questions.

They earned this and they deserve this title now: ACC Champions.


I also want to add I think this comment from Pastner in his post-game PC was his best response of the night

He was posed a question about where he thought Tech should be seeded.

Pastner had no problem with moving up to 8 or 9.

“If we’re fortunate enough to win that game, then we’re playing the 1 seed, great,” he said. “Let’s go play ‘em and beat ‘em. Let the opponents have to worry about us. I like our chances. Whomever we play against, I love our team, wherever they seed us, we’ll be ready to play.”
 
SecretAgentBuzz

SecretAgentBuzz

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Deleted member 2897

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bwelbo said:
What an idiot. We played Florida State 3 times, winning twice. We played Virginia twice, Clemson twice, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Duke, Louisville, etc.
Click to expand...

Or said a different way, here are the only teams in the 15-team ACC we didn’t beat:
1) NC State (did not play)
2) Virginia (missed a shot at the buzzer to win)
3) Louisville (on the road on 1 day rest when they had the whole week off)

Everyone else we beat.
 
bobongo

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RamblinRed said:
I've been gone for awhile - been a tough winter (and then decided I would not post until either GT was in the NCAA Tourney or the season was over) but I am so happy for the players, the coaches and the staff (as well as the fans). Fantastic job by all of them. This has been sorely missed and really needed for the GT fanbase.

Nice article from Duke Basketball Report on GT providing the ACC with a very satisfying championship (with the typical Dukie arrogance still in there though)

www.dukebasketballreport.com

Georgia Tech Gives Us A Deeply Satisfying ACC Championship

What a brilliant night by the Yellow Jackets
www.dukebasketballreport.com www.dukebasketballreport.com

Leaving Duke out of it, since we know most of you would be vastly more satisfied with a Duke championship, but ask yourself this: have you ever witnessed a more satisfying championship than the one Georgia Tech just won?

And we should add: it’s not just that they won it....it’s that they won it. It’s a different shade of meaning. They took it, they seized it, they valiantly overcame a more talented opponent in Florida State.

And they did it the hard way, by playing gut wrenching defense.

The Yellow Jackets forced 25 turnovers. Twenty-five! Against the #2 seed in the ACC - and one that was relatively fresh, too.

And consider this: they forced eight against MJ Walker, Leonard Hamilton’s senior point guard and six against Scottie Barnes, who is widely seen as a brilliant talent and a certain lottery pick.

That’s just incredible.

And then there’s the very great pleasure of watching Jose Alvarado and Moses Wright, both guys who were seen as average prospects at best. Wright, remember, was a 6-9 kid who had barely played basketball when he signed with Georgia Tech as a thin but talented forward, sort of the ultimate project.

Look at what he’s accomplished - ACC Player Of The Year and ACC Champion.

And consider Alvarado, who came to Tech as a four-star point guard, true, but with plenty of doubters.

On Saturday, Georgia Tech showed immense heart and character, much of it driven by Alvarado, and we couldn’t be happier for him, his teammates and Pastner, who has answered so many questions.

They earned this and they deserve this title now: ACC Champions.


I also want to add I think this comment from Pastner in his post-game PC was his best response of the night

He was posed a question about where he thought Tech should be seeded.

Pastner had no problem with moving up to 8 or 9.

“If we’re fortunate enough to win that game, then we’re playing the 1 seed, great,” he said. “Let’s go play ‘em and beat ‘em. Let the opponents have to worry about us. I like our chances. Whomever we play against, I love our team, wherever they seed us, we’ll be ready to play.”
Click to expand...
Great post as always, but only only one quibble - I'm not sure we beat a team that is more talented. FSU is more imposing, and they probably shoot better. FSU is a very good team, but the Jackets are quicker, and handle the ball better. When the Jackets were 9-8, FSU probably was better. But now the Jackets have developed a confidence and a level of belief in their abilities that I don't think they had in the first 2/3 of the season. Whomever we play in the NCAA tournament is going to have to contend with that quickness and ball handling. This team is going to be a handful for whomever it plays in The Show.
 

lv20gt

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JacketRacket said:
How awesome was Sturdivant last night?! He came in and was such a great reliable ball handler in that second half. He created so many shots for Usher, Devoe, and Alvarado. Just played really smart basketball.
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He was really big. With how they were denying Jose it put a lot of pressure on Mike to handle the ball which he did well, but it did seem like it was starting to wear on him. To be able to put in Sturdivant to take on that load was huge. And he wasn't just in there to steal minutes. We put the ball in his hands with the game on the line and he completely justified that decision with his play. I think it's an absolutely great sign for us that the staff has that kind of trust in him, because what he was asked to do was not an easy thing.

Also, Bubba didn't play as much as he has sometimes but he made a huge impact at a key point. In the first half FSU had taken a 4 point lead. We had gotten turnovers, but not been able to shoot. Bubba came in, hit a three, then got a big rebound on his own missed shot for a two. That helped spur a fairly quick 10-0 run right when it looked like FSU was threatening to take control. And the last thing we could afford was to take the pressure off of FSU and allow them to get comfortable.
 
OG-T

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Never TRAILED in the last 10:45 of game. Ability to play in tight game sure to serve well next week and beyond!!! Can’t understate the value of the game time that Howard and Sturdivant have received during the last few weeks. Not were we are without their work. They will be critical.
 

Deleted member 2897

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bobongo said:
Great post as always, but only only one quibble - I'm not sure we beat a team that is more talented. FSU is more imposing, and they probably shoot better. FSU is a very good team, but the Jackets are quicker, and handle the ball better. When the Jackets were 9-8, FSU probably was better. But now the Jackets have developed a confidence and a level of belief in their abilities that I don't think they had in the first 2/3 of the season. Whomever we play in the NCAA tournament is going to have to contend with that quickness and ball handling. This team is going to be a handful for whomever it plays in The Show.
Click to expand...

Same thing as last game. Our game plan was to be super aggressive creating steals and turnovers. With their length and athleticism they’re going to get lots of second and third chances. Our defense is in steals. Their defense is not in steals - they’re not as short and quick - their defense is in making shots difficult to make and not allowing second chances. And they’re very good at that. Our game plan won out yet again.
 
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