GT vs FSU - 3/2/2024 (GAME THREAD)

[MtnWasp]

I agree Mustaf will help against pressure.

RE: comparison of Mustaf and Dalrymple: Both were/are physically dominant, did/do a lot of their work down low and were/are uninspired scoring from the outside.

Our three primary ball handlers this season are George, Sturdivant and Kelly. We lose Sturdivant for sure and gain (maybe?) Terry. Terry was not a primary ball handler when he played for us. We may lose Kelly. Will probably (?) lose Abram.

Even with Mustaf, he and George alone is not going to be enough.

I think we need match-up help against jitterbug guards and need some perimeter (shooting) firepower. More than that, I think we will need numbers.

 

[orientalnc]

From what I remember, BD was more of a shooting guard, but excellent passer. I’ve watched some Reapers’ games on TV & Mustaph is definitely a combo and used at the point. He will help solve inbound & press issues. Really good ball handler.

Bruce had a nice midrange jumper, but he was not an outside shooter during his time at Tech. His floor game was what made him a really good player. For a guard he was great rebounder and seemed to be the guy who came up with almost every loose ball. Offensive rebounds were not kept as statistical group when he played, but it seemed like he got 2-3 stick backs every game.

 

[Ramble1885]

Highlights

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I am lucky to have a neighbor who spent a good bit of his working life as a corporate lawyer. He is also an avid ACC fan. But I got my JD as a result of reading John Grisham novels. The Ga Bar Association, and now the NC Bar, treated my legal education as somewhat less than staying at the Holiday Inn Express.

You are so modest. The boys in the syndicate said you were every bit on par with the Holiday Inn Express attorneys.

 

[daddee724]

A party pooper has entered the room.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I’m still STILL thinking about the game.

Someone dropping in on that game without background information or context would think that Tech was a far more athletic team than FSU. Far more. By way of eyeball test.

This is a Jekyll and Hyde team for sure.

 

[g0lftime]

Bruce had a nice midrange jumper, but he was not an outside shooter during his time at Tech. His floor game was what made him a really good player. For a guard he was great rebounder and seemed to be the guy who came up with almost every loose ball. Offensive rebounds were not kept as statistical group when he played, but it seemed like he got 2-3 stick backs every game.

That's what I remember. A beast rebounder for his height. I ran into him and Cremmins out jogging on Fowler one evening. I was surprised how big Bruce was up close. BTW. He was called Henry in HS but Bruce at Tech.

 

[YlJacket]

Best thing to me about the FSU game was FSU played pretty much the same way they did the first time. Switch everything and place a lot of pressure on the perimeter. Overplay passing lanes and press to increase the pressure. Last time we backed down and didn't really get past the perimeter pressure. No one won one on one battles on the perimeter.

This time we took the challenge and didn't let them pressure us out of an offense. We won one on one battles to drive the paint. Really nice to see Coleman take the challenge and drive instead of just looking to shoot 3's. Nait and Sturdivant did as well. Plus we played defense with a passion we haven't always seen this year. It was the way CDS has said he wanted to see.

Personally, I still want to see us add some more wrinkles to help our wings get mismatches and advantages but that is my cross to bear. But if we play with the passion and attack mentality we did against FSU this is a fun team to watch - and with an increase in talent next year should be more fun to watch.

 

[awbuzz]

If we win in Winston-Salem and Charlottesville our record will be 15-16. Post season is possible only with a winning record. Given we will lose once in the ACC tournament unless we win it, we have to win three times in DC. Is that possible? Yes, but not likely. For that to happen we will have to win five straight games from here out. That would give us a seven game winning streak and we just won back to back games for the first time since December. So, don't book a flight to DC just yet.

For our seeding chances, here are the games to watch this week. Preferred winner in brackets:

GT@WF Tuesday (GT)
VT@UL Tuesday (UL)
ND@UNC Tuesday (UNC)

BC@MIA Wednesday (MIA)

ND@VT Saturday (VT) We cannot pass VT in the standings
Mia@FSU Saturday (FSU)
BC@UL Saturday (UL)
GT@UVA Saturday (GT)

If all this happens we will be the 11th seed and open the ACCT with BC on Tuesday. If we win, our Wednesday opponent will be one of the teams bunched in the middle right now trying to be #6. While we would be the underdog, any of those teams would be a winnable game for us. I hope it's not Clemson. Next would be the #3 seed. It could be Clemson or UVA, but Cuse could slip in there if the tiebreakers work in their favor.

But, looking at the bracket, #11 is the best possible seed for us to play in the semifinal.

Thank you for doing the gymnastics to figure it all out.
Regardless of what happens in the other games, pulling for GT to go on an 11 or 12 (if in play in games) winning streak.
Gotta dream big.

 

[MWBATL]

Plus we played defense with a passion we haven't always seen this year. It was the way CDS has said he wanted to see.

This is what I see as the biggest difference by far. It has won us each of the last 2 games.

 

[MtnWasp]

This is what I see as the biggest difference by far. It has won us each of the last 2 games.

I wonder if having a week off allowed our guys to get their legs back. George and Ndongo had "return to form" games.

 

[stinger78]

Three of the last 4 since CDS dropped the hammer.

 

[alagold]

From what I remember, BD was more of a shooting guard, but excellent passer. I’ve watched some Reapers’ games on TV & Mustaph is definitely a combo and used at the point. He will help solve inbound & press issues. Really good ball handler.

BD was a scorer but not really a pure shooter.Scored a lot in close.

 

[stinger78]

BD was a scorer but not really a pure shooter.Scored a lot in close.

Bruce was a scrapper. He generated a lot of points in the paint through pure hustle and grit. Great player!

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Bruce was a scrapper. He generated a lot of points in the paint through pure hustle and grit. Great player!

When I was in college we had a (lower division) basketball team with a national ranking. Our two guards were both like Bruce only with even worse outside shots. They threw up bricks, lol. But were two of the best ball handlers I’ve ever seen and opposing teams only tried a full court press once or twice because it usually increased our lead. They were like having 2 extra forwards around the basket and, other than our center, were our top rebounders.

Bruce was like a runway bull when he made his move to the basket.

 

[g0lftime]

Bruce was a tremendous offensive rebounder. A very powerful guy.

 

[senoiajacket]

I didn’t get to watch the game live. Was watching Duke pull away from NCSU last night and got bored and started to watch the replay. I have read a lot on here about how great our defense was in the second half, so I was looking for that. To me, it was more a matter that F$U missed a ton of easy (close in) shots (contested but Malabar) in the first 12 minutes of the second half, Cook cooled way off from 3 point range, and we quit giving up live ball turnovers resulting in fast break baskets like in the first half. The offense seemed solid all the way through. Welcome back, Baye! I really appreciated the effort from Tyzhaun.