Gotta admit it...

Rzunz

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
155
I wanted to and should have asked about Brandon. He warmed up with the team and looked fine but I was a bit gun shy.
Something’s up there it appears. Do you think it’s just coincidence that his disappearance came after the ‘Cuse game in which(iirc) he did not play in the 2nd half?
 

gtpi

Helluva Engineer
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1,642
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i think we a good shot against unc @ home. this game SHOULD be a confidence builder. i like devoe as pg w/jose as the off guard. i also like cole in the rotation.
 

MWBATL

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,589
Something’s up there it appears. Do you think it’s just coincidence that his disappearance came after the ‘Cuse game in which(iirc) he did not play in the 2nd half?
We certainly could have used our best 3 point shooter the last few games....
 

gtstinger776

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
565
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by our acc play this year. Aside from the UL when our best player was out, we’ve been fairly competitive. Some of those non conference losses to GW were frustrating. But some of that comes with having such a young / inexperienced team.

Pastner is a good basketball coach. A bad basketball coach wouldn’t have won 3 acc games with this crew.

Going forward, we need to figure out a recruiting strategy: do we go the Tennessee route and go after high 3s and low 4 * prospects that will stay for 3-4 years? Or do we push for high-end talent? We’re in everybody’s top 3, but we never close. Gotta think through the strategy
 

dtm1997

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Featured Member
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15,724
Pure theory on my part regarding Alston, but his dad passed away this time last year. Could be he's going through some struggles this time of year and it really is that simple and not nefarious. EVERY indication is that he's a great kid.

Regarding Pastner's question answering, listen to his radio show. It's about 80% of the canned stuff driving everyone nuts, but the nuggets fall through the cracks when Andy gets him talking about the prior week's games.
 

Peacone36

Helluva Engineer
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Maine
Pure theory on my part regarding Alston, but his dad passed away this time last year. Could be he's going through some struggles this time of year and it really is that simple and not nefarious. EVERY indication is that he's a great kid.

Regarding Pastner's question answering, listen to his radio show. It's about 80% of the canned stuff driving everyone nuts, but the nuggets fall through the cracks when Andy gets him talking about the prior week's games.

Agreed it’s nothing nefarious. He was out there yesterday, warming up, practicing and being involved if also at the same time being off on his own. He’s going through something bigger than basketball.
 

Fatmike91

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SW Florida
This team is worth watching. We're a flawed basketball team, but the defense has been really good. I said in December that this team's defense was ahead of any prior CJP defense and we're really seeing it now in league play.

We need to keep working on our offensive identity, but we're making some progress.

As a team, we're getting better. I really believe if we replayed the season starting now our record would be better than it currently is. We obviously can't replay those games, but we are setting ourselves up to compete in the back half of the season.

/
 

dtm1997

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
15,724
This team is worth watching. We're a flawed basketball team, but the defense has been really good. I said in December that this team's defense was ahead of any prior CJP defense and we're really seeing it now in league play.

We need to keep working on our offensive identity, but we're making some progress.

As a team, we're getting better. I really believe if we replayed the season starting now our record would be better than it currently is. We obviously can't replay those games, but we are setting ourselves up to compete in the back half of the season.

/

Which is important because we need to finish at least 13th in the league if we want a B1G game next season
 

YlJacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,272
Could you imagine Zion if he didn't eat so many burgers? His leaping ability would be insane down 20-30 lbs

the way he plays in college those 20 lbs are really helpful. He can bully anyone in college and seal anyone who he can get on his hip. He already has enough hops to go over most anyone anyway. The question for him is how does he want to present himself for the NBA? He won't be able to bully ball a lot of the NBA players - especially when he gets to the better teams in the playoffs. So does he lose 20 lbs to try to get quicker to play a 3 or does he stay big to play a Barkley type PF role. That will be interesting to watch. Until then he is going to run the break spectacularly, play bully ball in the half court and shoot 3s when you leave him alone and beg him to do so.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,047
the way he plays in college those 20 lbs are really helpful. He can bully anyone in college and seal anyone who he can get on his hip. He already has enough hops to go over most anyone anyway. The question for him is how does he want to present himself for the NBA? He won't be able to bully ball a lot of the NBA players - especially when he gets to the better teams in the playoffs. So does he lose 20 lbs to try to get quicker to play a 3 or does he stay big to play a Barkley type PF role. That will be interesting to watch. Until then he is going to run the break spectacularly, play bully ball in the half court and shoot 3s when you leave him alone and beg him to do so.
I saw him in person yesterday. What surprised me was how quick his hands are. He really can jump for such a big guy. Good free throw shooter as well. He is almost unstoppable when he gets the ball down low and who would want to take a charge from that guy. He is an amazing athlete. Glad only will see him one year but fun to watch.
 

gtstinger776

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
565
This team is worth watching. We're a flawed basketball team, but the defense has been really good. I said in December that this team's defense was ahead of any prior CJP defense and we're really seeing it now in league play.

We need to keep working on our offensive identity, but we're making some progress.

As a team, we're getting better. I really believe if we replayed the season starting now our record would be better than it currently is. We obviously can't replay those games, but we are setting ourselves up to compete in the back half of the season.

/
100% agreed. This team has improved through the season. That’s just part of being a young team. Banks, Alvarado, and Devoe are all good players. I think we’re a couple of reliable players short of being a legit tournament team. But, I think the future is bright.

I’m encouraged by what folks on this board are saying. I’ve been concerned that pastner would lose favor with the fan base because he’s not living up to Cremins standards. But the reality is, GT b-ball has been such a mess for the last 10 years, that nobody except Coach K or Calipari would be able to quickly fix it. We have to be patient with Pastner, and believe he’s the right guy. It’s kind of similar to how I view CGC in football.
 

mstranahan

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1,561
Pure theory on my part regarding Alston, but his dad passed away this time last year. Could be he's going through some struggles this time of year and it really is that simple and not nefarious. EVERY indication is that he's a great kid.

A lot of times, fans lose sight of the fact the players are teenagers / early 20s. They have lives off the court and they sometimes face the same things many of us do. Last year Alston lost his dad. I don't know what's going on now, but I assume CJP is keeping him off the court for good reasons. Most of all, I hope Alston is ok and has solid support system.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
Messages
6,047
Seems that Pastner has decided we need inside scoring and AD has really improved his offense. Wish he would go stronger to the basket. Banks was doubled by duke and for the most part taken out of the game. I think our length on the zone gave duke problems in the first half. They missed a lot shots they normally make. In the second half we were tired and bigs in foul trouble. They got inside the zone near the foul line and we had trouble defending that. We may have been too tired to rotate or got screened . Not sure it was happening at other end of the floor from me and very fast. I think they picked it up on D in the second half and gave us trouble scoring. Lots of turnovers but we got some on them as well. Great effort by our guys. Devoe ran the point a lot with Jose in the game. Not sure why unless he wanted to neutralize Tre Jones defense on the point. Devoe can be an excellent PG but had trouble with his dribble a few times but didn't get picked as far as I remember.
 

GT11

GT Athlete
Messages
346
A lot of times, fans lose sight of the fact the players are teenagers / early 20s. They have lives off the court and they sometimes face the same things many of us do. Last year Alston lost his dad. I don't know what's going on now, but I assume CJP is keeping him off the court for good reasons. Most of all, I hope Alston is ok and has solid support system.
Fans too often let their own egos get in the way
 

Deleted member 2897

Guest
I would still consider this season a bust if we don't atleast get a 6 seed in the NIT. While #1 and maybe even #2 NIT seeds means they could've made it to the dance, the rest below that, does not.. imo.

We’ll be lucky to qualify by finishing at 0.500. And that’s even if we keep getting better.
 

GTRX7

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Atlanta
I said at the beginning of the year that Pastner's teams are really easy to pull for. They give their all, play good D, and seem to improve as the year goes on. Despite losing by double digits, I was pleased with Saturday's result.

That said, at some point, just being a scrappy underdog team that is easy to root for is not going to be enough. I had hoped years 3 and 4 would show large upticks in talent, but that is not really the case. We are not really any more talented now than we were in year 1 with Okogie and Lammers. Pastner won't last past year 5 if he cant recruit. And, unlike football, Tech really doesn't have the same excuses. We should be getting one to two 4*s a year and probably a 5* every other year. Cremins and Hewitt were both recruiting at that level, and the ACC is really pretty mediocre right now apart from Duke, UNC, and UVA.

Firing LaBarrie instead of suspending him for 10 games or something was a HUGE mistake.
 
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