GT fan day info

[AUFC]

A couple of folks have shared their experiences of having given up Callaway Club seats for seats in other lower level sideline sections due to their perceived value received or, lack there of, for the premium price of Callaway Club. Thanks for sharing y’all’s feedback. I have toyed with the idea of upgrading to Callaway Club but haven’t for several reasons:

• It wouldn’t be a smart financial move for me right now, because I can’t really afford it.
• I’m not sure I would enjoy the lower key atmosphere as much as what I have in my current seats closer to the court and closer to the loudest sections in the arena (the student sections).
• The cost of the ticket upgrade would pale in comparison to the cost of my kids developing diabetes and needing dental implants from all the free candy

Like I said, splurge on one game there this season. You can usually get tickets day of from StubHub for $75-$100 after fees. If you're the type to spend $35 on 2 beers, a hot dog, and pretzel in the normie sections, you'll find it a valuable experience to do every once in a while.

 

[Connell62]

Great event today, especially for the fans. All the players and coaches were very accessible.

Great group of young men representing GT, and they really pass the eyeball test. All appear to be in excellent shape. Cyril (pronounced Qyril) is a mammoth dude. Put some weight on him and he’s gonna be a problem.

I talked to BJ Elder for a while at the Fan Day event, and we had a great conversation. Below are a few of the highlights:

• He said that we looked good against Tulane, but he thought we did a lot of good things in both of the scrimmages.
  
  
• While we are shooting and scoring it well, we do still have some things to work on (got the impression he was referring to D).
  
  
• I asked what the staff thought about being picked last by the writers in the preseason, and he said that’s been the case since Josh got here, but that we will surprise some teams this year.
  
  
• When I asked him (and a few of the players) who they thought played at a high level in the scrimmages, they all said Deivon is playing at a really high level. Sounds like he is store to have a great season.
  
  
• BJ also gloated over Lance Terry (who I didn’t see there). BJ said he’s the type of player that every coach wants on their team. He does all the little things well, can shoot it from deep, finish in traffic, and that he was super steady. When I asked if he was going to be a big part of the rotation, he said absolutely.
  
  
• He said point-blank, this is the best shooting team since Josh has been at GT, and that we have guys that can fill it up.

I’m even more excited to get the season started after today. Can’t wait to watch these guys play and see how much they’ve developed over the season.

 

[g0lftime]

Live by the jump shot, die by the jump shot. Need to have an inside game as well and play defense. Create turnovers and get the break going to complement the shooters.

 

[William S. Baker]

We have an inside presence with Jalon, Ja’von, Rodney, Cyril, Freds, and Meka. This potentially will one of best all around teams we have had in while.

 

[Ramble1885]

Great event today, especially for the fans. All the players and coaches were very accessible.

Great group of young men representing GT, and they really pass the eyeball test. All appear to be in excellent shape. Cyril (pronounced Qyril) is a mammoth dude. Put some weight on him and he’s gonna be a problem.

I talked to BJ Elder for a while at the Fan Day event, and we had a great conversation. Below are a few of the highlights:

• He said that we looked good against Tulane, but he thought we did a lot of good things in both of the scrimmages.
  
  
• While we are shooting and scoring it well, we do still have some things to work on (got the impression he was referring to D).
  
  
• I asked what the staff thought about being picked last by the writers in the preseason, and he said that’s been the case since Josh got here, but that we will surprise some teams this year.
  
  
• When I asked him (and a few of the players) who they thought played at a high level in the scrimmages, they all said Deivon is playing at a really high level. Sounds like he is store to have a great season.
  
  
• BJ also gloated over Lance Terry (who I didn’t see there). BJ said he’s the type of player that every coach wants on their team. He does all the little things well, can shoot it from deep, finish in traffic, and that he was super steady. When I asked if he was going to be a big part of the rotation, he said absolutely.
  
  
• He said point-blank, this is the best shooting team since Josh has been at GT, and that we have guys that can fill it up.

I’m even more excited to get the season started after today. Can’t wait to watch these guys play and see how much they’ve developed over the season.

Same thing. I was skeptical about our squad. With Ush and Devoe gone I had no clue what to expect. Now I have a good idea of what we will see. Similar to last year, a guard heavy team but with a faster tempo and better shooting. The good thing is that we FINALLY have actual depth with bigs. I don't expect anything really big, but I think we will be better than last season. All I want is progress, and then we can build on that next year and REALLY contend.

 

[AUFC]

We have an inside presence with Jalon, Ja’von, Rodney, Cyril, Freds, and Meka. This potentially will one of best all around teams we have had in while.

Not to be a downer, I think there’s potential here, but we only know one of these guys is a serviceable ACC F/C. Pastner has indicated that FPB and Cyril are a little ways away but I’m hopeful for Meka, Jalon Moore, and Franklin. Jalon especially put in some good minutes when he saw the court last year.

 

[lv20gt]

We have an inside presence with Jalon, Ja’von, Rodney, Cyril, Freds, and Meka. This potentially will one of best all around teams we have had in while.

From a roster construction standpoint, I do think this is the best balanced roster we've had. If we look at the following

PG - Sturdy - Smith
SG - Kelly - Terry
SF - Coleman - maxwell/Moore
PF - Franklin - Meka
C - Howard - Martynov
Then after that is guys like Freds and Hill.

This team lacks the proven players but the balance by positions and class is really good. We also have good flexibility as we can realistically go 4 out with something like Sturdy, Maxwell, Kelly, Coleman, Howard and put a lot of scoring on the court if the other team can't punish us for going smaller, and still have subs that we can put in to keep the dynamic (Terry and Moore). We obviously need players to step up, both in terms of being all conference type players (Thinking Coleman and Kelly in particular) but also role players such as Sturdy, Howard, and whoever is at the 4 to provide enough of an offensive threat to keep teams honest. A lot of moving parts but I really like the roster that has been put together, especially for the near future when considering the eligibility situation.

 

[Root4GT]

From a roster construction standpoint, I do think this is the best balanced roster we've had. If we look at the following

PG - Sturdy - Smith
SG - Kelly - Terry
SF - Coleman - maxwell/Moore
PF - Franklin - Meka
C - Howard - Martynov
Then after that is guys like Freds and Hill.

This team lacks the proven players but the balance by positions and class is really good. We also have good flexibility as we can realistically go 4 out with something like Sturdy, Maxwell, Kelly, Coleman, Howard and put a lot of scoring on the court if the other team can't punish us for going smaller, and still have subs that we can put in to keep the dynamic (Terry and Moore). We obviously need players to step up, both in terms of being all conference type players (Thinking Coleman and Kelly in particular) but also role players such as Sturdy, Howard, and whoever is at the 4 to provide enough of an offensive threat to keep teams honest. A lot of moving parts but I really like the roster that has been put together, especially for the near future when considering the eligibility situation.

Clearly CJP’s deepest team. The ACC Champion team was a very well balanced team but not deep at all. The starting five fit together very well.

 

[MtnWasp]

This is not meant to be a prediction, but in my experience high achieving teams that return everyone tend to disappoint. For one thing, expectations are very high. Second, veteran players tend not to improve as much as young players, so other teams tend to catch up with these teams. Third, there is the "hunger" factor. These teams tend to lose their edge.

I tend to think the Carolina will not win the ACC this season.

 

[Jacketman99]

This will be Pastners most talented team from top to bottom. Success this season will depend on how fast guys can get acclimated to new roles and how we can integrate the transfers. I am hoping our offense clicks because I think it is going to take a little time for the defense to get up to speed. We may not always get the results we want but this should be a fun team to watch. We should get better as the season progresses.

 

[Connell62]

This will be Pastners most talented team from top to bottom. Success this season will depend on how fast guys can get acclimated to new roles and how we can integrate the transfers. I am hoping our offense clicks because I think it is going to take a little time for the defense to get up to speed. We may not always get the results we want but this should be a fun team to watch. We should get better as the season progresses.

Wasp hit the nail on the head in one of his post IMO. Our success this year will depend on the hustle board stats. Two biggest being 50/50 balls and “Kills” (three consecutive stops on D), with our ability to rebound being third.

If we have a gritty, scrappy identity, this team will exceed expectations and be a lot of fun to watch. I expect good movement and good shooting on the offensive end, so it really comes down to our desire to fight.