Northeast Stinger
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We should have reconsidered our ice cream choices.
GT Hoops General Topics
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KeystoneJacket
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There has been aa lot "talk" on the Swarm about the future of Damon Stoudamire at GT. I want bring up some facts (and opinion).
Before the season, Damon told everyone who would listen that Baye and Nait needed to step up and play at a higher level in their sophomore season. Neither has played badly, but both are just about where they were the previous year.
We all knew Baye needed to play well at the 4 if he was ever going to be drafted. Well, there is no argument that Baye has thrived at the 4. He has made 4 3-point shots. His rebounding when playing the 4 is almost completely absent. It's tough to measure his play as a 4 because injuries and personal decisions by others and performance of others has forced him back to the 5 for far too many minutes. His lack of a true basketball IQ is showing up as he tries to switch back and forth. We saw some of this in the NBA camp last year when Baye seemed lost on the court as a 4.
Nait is not shooting as well this year as he did last season. He is playing more minutes so his points and assists are up. Like Baye, he is turning the ball over far too many times. Is he trying to force his game and simply lacks the talent beat people 1 on 1?
Kowacie was supposed bring his 10 ppg and steady defense for close to 30 mpg. He has played in only 6 games and is now probably lost for the season if Damon thinks he can get Kowacie a waiver to play next year, perhaps he can one more season at GT. And, assuming he wants to return.
Luke was supposed to give us 20 mpg and he is also likely lost for the season.
Duncan has been a pleasant surprise, especial as his minutes have increased, but he is not a good shooter and the 4 needs to be better than 30% from beyond the 3-point arc.
McCollum and Terry have been exactly what we expected. Same with Ryan.
Mustaf is also what we expected and will be a lot better with more experience.
Then there is the absence of DO. Will he ever play again for GT?
Yesterday GT had six healthy players.
None of this is the fault of Damon or his staff. The team, as it plays game to game, has simply not been as good as expected. Or as it was constructed.
In spite of the on court failures and bad luck, recruiting is going gonzo. Either Damon is a helluva snake oil salesman or others see the job he doing as something to be proud of.
Before the season, Damon told everyone who would listen that Baye and Nait needed to step up and play at a higher level in their sophomore season. Neither has played badly, but both are just about where they were the previous year.
We all knew Baye needed to play well at the 4 if he was ever going to be drafted. Well, there is no argument that Baye has thrived at the 4. He has made 4 3-point shots. His rebounding when playing the 4 is almost completely absent. It's tough to measure his play as a 4 because injuries and personal decisions by others and performance of others has forced him back to the 5 for far too many minutes. His lack of a true basketball IQ is showing up as he tries to switch back and forth. We saw some of this in the NBA camp last year when Baye seemed lost on the court as a 4.
Nait is not shooting as well this year as he did last season. He is playing more minutes so his points and assists are up. Like Baye, he is turning the ball over far too many times. Is he trying to force his game and simply lacks the talent beat people 1 on 1?
Kowacie was supposed bring his 10 ppg and steady defense for close to 30 mpg. He has played in only 6 games and is now probably lost for the season if Damon thinks he can get Kowacie a waiver to play next year, perhaps he can one more season at GT. And, assuming he wants to return.
Luke was supposed to give us 20 mpg and he is also likely lost for the season.
Duncan has been a pleasant surprise, especial as his minutes have increased, but he is not a good shooter and the 4 needs to be better than 30% from beyond the 3-point arc.
McCollum and Terry have been exactly what we expected. Same with Ryan.
Mustaf is also what we expected and will be a lot better with more experience.
Then there is the absence of DO. Will he ever play again for GT?
Yesterday GT had six healthy players.
None of this is the fault of Damon or his staff. The team, as it plays game to game, has simply not been as good as expected. Or as it was constructed.
In spite of the on court failures and bad luck, recruiting is going gonzo. Either Damon is a helluva snake oil salesman or others see the job he doing as something to be proud of.
gte447f
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Good synopsis, except I don’t think the bolded is accurate, and I’m not just trying to be cute by implying that walk-ons were healthy. However, I believe both Mutumbo and Sutton were available to play. Mutumbo went through a stretch of several games where he played significant minutes and Suaure and Ndongo scored 3 points between them yesterday, so there is no argument for why Mutumbo couldn’t have played. Sutton has played sparingly and granted hasn’t contributed anything of value, but I think he is healthy, unless maybe he is being redshirted. I’m not saying playing either of these guys would have made a difference, but we do have more than 6 healthy players available.
MtnWasp
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What I keep hoping to see emerge is consistency in some aspect of the game that lends itself to a program identity. That we bring something to the table game after game, like rugged man to man defense or running our offense through Baye in the post.
Unfortunately, most of the things we do consistently are bad things, like poor post defense.
But the true identity of the program so far has been inconsistency. We can do something good in one game, like ball movement and then the next game we don't move the ball well at all. Then we can have a game we dig in to defend the perimeter and the next game, like against FSU, our guards are turnstiles. Some games we don't turn the ball over, the next we give up 14 turnovers in one half.
It looks like the staff tries to re-invent the team on a game to game basis. I know different opponents bring something different to the table each game, but I would like to see our team have an identity regardless of the the opponent.
As it is, I don't think we give opposing coaches much to think about. It hasn't been pretty for the most part and the team is not much fun to watch.
Unfortunately, most of the things we do consistently are bad things, like poor post defense.
But the true identity of the program so far has been inconsistency. We can do something good in one game, like ball movement and then the next game we don't move the ball well at all. Then we can have a game we dig in to defend the perimeter and the next game, like against FSU, our guards are turnstiles. Some games we don't turn the ball over, the next we give up 14 turnovers in one half.
It looks like the staff tries to re-invent the team on a game to game basis. I know different opponents bring something different to the table each game, but I would like to see our team have an identity regardless of the the opponent.
As it is, I don't think we give opposing coaches much to think about. It hasn't been pretty for the most part and the team is not much fun to watch.
Rzunz
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Powell is a tweener. Our website says 6’8” but I think he’s 6’6”. He’s at a bit of disadvantage at the 4, but obviously he’s contributing very nicely and hopefully has one more season with us…
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I should have said GT had only 6 rotation players. And, I think Ryan was unavailable. Baye fouled out and Powell and Souare each had four. If Ryan had been available he would have played. I think someone mentioned he had something going on. Damon sat him early in the Clemson game and he never returned to the floor. Was he hurt or ill? I did not see it.
I believe you are correct that Sutton is being redshirted.
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By the current rule Sutton's redshirt is already burned, but the NCAA is expected change it this year to match football. In that case a player would have about 10 games.
Tommy_Taylor_1972
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There is much talk about individual players in this conversation with very little about the concept of "team" and cohesiveness and readiness to contribute to winning. I have several questions maybe someone will venture to answer about the "team".
1. Why, with the limit of 15 players on the team and 15 full scholarships allowed per team, are not all 15 players on full scholarship? Do we have a shortage of scholarship money to provide each player a scholarship, especially since up to 15 head-count full scholarships can be given. An in-state scholarship is valued at $58,000 annually, paid by the GTAA, and out-of-state is around $85,000, the extra $3,500 paid by the university. International students cost an additional 15% on top of out of state students. There were no more "walk-ons" after last year. All players do the same work to prepare for playing and all players count in NCAA academic standards. If the program has the money, why not reward the 15 players with full scholarships. One of the former walk-ons will graduate in a total of 3 years this spring with two more years of eligibility. It won't matter much to him financially, since he is the great grandson of GT tennis All-American and major GTAA donor Bill Moore from the late 1930's. He was a top 50 high school player from California and wanted to play basketball and graduate from Tech. He will have graduated but not played very much basketball. Josh red shirted him his freshman year and he played one game last year and broke his leg in practice. His older brother is a graduate of Tech. Maybe it is just me, but I think every player is a member of the team and be treated as good as possible whenever possible and utilize their talent as much as you can.
2. Why, especially when so short of healthy players, and not the all the bench not playing in more games. One non-scholarship has played two games this and one last year, and the non-scholarship has played in one game this year. I have seen both play and their energy from the bench. They made positive contributions every of the 4 minutes they played. FSU played all players in a third of their games this year. Auburn and Georgia played all their players in at least half their games this year.
3. Why so many injuries this year? Every position on the court should have at least two subs ready in case of an injury. That is why there are 15 players on the team, all should be ready to play if not redshirted. There should be less injury in a spread offense system where the center stands under the basket on the baseline and screens high for the guard dribbler, with the three other players standing outside the 3-point circle. I know that when 4 or more players are in the same small area with eight feet moving, ankles can be turned more frequently. I also know that when a player drives to the basket, drawing in even more players feet on him, ankles are in jeopardy when taking off and landing, as well as for rebounding in the paint. Most ankle sprains come from stepping or landing on another's foot. On defense, I know that the defensive feet slide technique is safer and allows more lateral agility in guarding the man with the ball. Stepping instead of sliding creates opportunity for foot injury. As well, I know that fatigued players are more likely to have more injuries due being a bit slowed and out of offensive or defensive positions. with five coaches, a professional trainer and a strength coach, Tech should make injury a highest priority henceforth.
1. Why, with the limit of 15 players on the team and 15 full scholarships allowed per team, are not all 15 players on full scholarship? Do we have a shortage of scholarship money to provide each player a scholarship, especially since up to 15 head-count full scholarships can be given. An in-state scholarship is valued at $58,000 annually, paid by the GTAA, and out-of-state is around $85,000, the extra $3,500 paid by the university. International students cost an additional 15% on top of out of state students. There were no more "walk-ons" after last year. All players do the same work to prepare for playing and all players count in NCAA academic standards. If the program has the money, why not reward the 15 players with full scholarships. One of the former walk-ons will graduate in a total of 3 years this spring with two more years of eligibility. It won't matter much to him financially, since he is the great grandson of GT tennis All-American and major GTAA donor Bill Moore from the late 1930's. He was a top 50 high school player from California and wanted to play basketball and graduate from Tech. He will have graduated but not played very much basketball. Josh red shirted him his freshman year and he played one game last year and broke his leg in practice. His older brother is a graduate of Tech. Maybe it is just me, but I think every player is a member of the team and be treated as good as possible whenever possible and utilize their talent as much as you can.
2. Why, especially when so short of healthy players, and not the all the bench not playing in more games. One non-scholarship has played two games this and one last year, and the non-scholarship has played in one game this year. I have seen both play and their energy from the bench. They made positive contributions every of the 4 minutes they played. FSU played all players in a third of their games this year. Auburn and Georgia played all their players in at least half their games this year.
3. Why so many injuries this year? Every position on the court should have at least two subs ready in case of an injury. That is why there are 15 players on the team, all should be ready to play if not redshirted. There should be less injury in a spread offense system where the center stands under the basket on the baseline and screens high for the guard dribbler, with the three other players standing outside the 3-point circle. I know that when 4 or more players are in the same small area with eight feet moving, ankles can be turned more frequently. I also know that when a player drives to the basket, drawing in even more players feet on him, ankles are in jeopardy when taking off and landing, as well as for rebounding in the paint. Most ankle sprains come from stepping or landing on another's foot. On defense, I know that the defensive feet slide technique is safer and allows more lateral agility in guarding the man with the ball. Stepping instead of sliding creates opportunity for foot injury. As well, I know that fatigued players are more likely to have more injuries due being a bit slowed and out of offensive or defensive positions. with five coaches, a professional trainer and a strength coach, Tech should make injury a highest priority henceforth.
MtnWasp
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Tommy, some guesses:
1. The new 15 player limit is so new, general managers might be trying to balance out how to use this number of players, with program budget and minutes available to play being the two key considerations.
2. In the last two seasons, guys who were sitting by the second half of the season was an indication of an upcoming transfer: Maxwell, Howard, Deivon Smith all sat in Pastner's last season and they all transferred. Abram and Sacko sat late. Both transferred. I wonder if they made it known they were leaving to the coach and the coaches didn't want to use them?
3. The prevailing thoughts on injuries is that it's pure luck. Maybe some of that is belief in the progress of "sports science" and that science is uniform and can't steer us wrong. But as guy who has done science for a living, I know for a fact that there is such a thing as bad science and bad scientists. Running a statistical platform doesn't make anybody Yoda.
I haven't assembled any data, but my impression is that if one did a survey of injuries among sports teams, that some of those programs are significantly over-represented on the games missed due to injury on a year to year basis. In other words, there is a systemic problem there. My suspicion is bad science is at play.
What I've noticed about our injuries is that a lot of them seem to happen in practice. Maybe just a false impression.
1. The new 15 player limit is so new, general managers might be trying to balance out how to use this number of players, with program budget and minutes available to play being the two key considerations.
2. In the last two seasons, guys who were sitting by the second half of the season was an indication of an upcoming transfer: Maxwell, Howard, Deivon Smith all sat in Pastner's last season and they all transferred. Abram and Sacko sat late. Both transferred. I wonder if they made it known they were leaving to the coach and the coaches didn't want to use them?
3. The prevailing thoughts on injuries is that it's pure luck. Maybe some of that is belief in the progress of "sports science" and that science is uniform and can't steer us wrong. But as guy who has done science for a living, I know for a fact that there is such a thing as bad science and bad scientists. Running a statistical platform doesn't make anybody Yoda.
I haven't assembled any data, but my impression is that if one did a survey of injuries among sports teams, that some of those programs are significantly over-represented on the games missed due to injury on a year to year basis. In other words, there is a systemic problem there. My suspicion is bad science is at play.
What I've noticed about our injuries is that a lot of them seem to happen in practice. Maybe just a false impression.
spdrama
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Damon’s post-Clemson press conference. Apparently he didn’t shape up by the FSU game. If you are missing seeing Darien you can follow him on Instagram and get daily alerts. My guess is he is gone after this year. Two badly short-handed games and he doesn’t even get a couple of minutes to help the winded guys get a blow. Watched him a bit last year in OTE games when he played for RWE and was teammate of Somto & Daquan Davis. He follows Somto at UGA, cheering him on. Thought he would contribute some this year. CDS’ doghouse not a place to be.
57jacket
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Good book, uh, article, uh post. LOL
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The scholarship limit is still set at 13. It increases to 15 for the 2025-2026 season.
Tommy_Taylor_1972
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Thanks for the correction. I thought it was this year. It will be interesting next year when there are up to 15 scholarships among 15 players, with some being partial scholarships, no longer head count scholarships 1 full scholarship per player.
Northeast Stinger
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…and sometimes it’s hard to tell that from an explanation.
If you have eyes and know anything about basketball you don't need an explanation.
I don't remember many injuries last season when we were three games from a special season with 14 victories. If only we could get players like a scoring wing from the best team in the country, maybe a Gapare that is giving the same production at Maryland with a 24% reduction in minutes or a role player that shoots 53% from deep in conference play like they have at UCF.
I don't need a rationalization or explanation for that either. Fairly simple formula P+NC-DS=^PER
BeeRBee
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I would quibble a bit about this being a definitive conclusion. First, none of us can judge to what extent the needed improvement from Baye and Nait could have been better with better (or just different) coaching. Second, it seems to me that a large part of college coaching is roster building, and part of that is understanding whether or not the players being recruited are compatible with the preferred play style as well as coaching style. Not everything is predictable or knowable, and I think 2 years is too small a sample size, but I’m worried that this is not a strength of this staff.