January 1, 2024 Mid-Season Evaluation

[SecretAgentBuzz]

Happy New Year, GTSwarm! Since we have hit a bit of a new year lull in the season, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the numbers and see how the team is doing so far. Feel free to add your analysis to my amatuer take as well.

Record: 8-4 (1-0)
-This is probably around where we thought we would be. The UMass-Lowell loss was balanced out by the Duke win.
Rankings: 110 (NET), 109 (SRS), 41 (RPI), 112 (KenPom).
-Obviously, the RPI is an interesting outlier, but all of the other rankings put us outside the top 100. Many of these ratings include preseason polls and expectations, so there is still a possibility of a lot of movement here.
Projected Record: 15-16 (8-12)--according to Team Rankings.
-Clearly, we haven't shown enough to get a very positive ACC schedule prediction, but if we've shown anything...its been volatility and inconsistency! If we play like we did against Miss St. and Duke, we could end up much better. My prediction is more like 18-13 (11-9) which would be a good start to CDS career at GT and would give us some positive momentum moving forward.

Strengths: #1: Rebounding. This is somewhat surprising since we aren't a huge team, but between Claude and Ndongo as well as Kelly's newfound hunger for rebounds, we are doing quite well on the boards. We are 15th in the country in ORBS and 19th in total rebounds per game. (You could argue that the ORB opportunities are vast because of our weaknesses...) #2: 3-point defense. Believe it or not, we are holding opponents to 28.3% from outside the arc and that is good for 27th in the country.
Weaknesses: #1: 3-point shooting. We are a miserable 332nd in the country (out of 362) with 28.5%. Whether it is out-of-rhythm shooting, bad looks, or the wrong people taking the shots, I really can't say. Obviously, Kelly has been in a poor shooting slump, but as a team, this has been our biggest weakness. #2: Free-throw shooting. We've been up-and-down here, but overall, a 67.5% from the charity stripe is not very good (287th in the country).

MVP so far: Baye Ndongo. He has really impressed me on both offense and defense. Not only is he athletic, but he has great touch around the basket, great feel for positioning and rebounding, and he passes pretty well for a big guy, too. He blocks and alters a lot of shots, sets a lot of screens on offense, and is always good for a few putbacks per game. He has taken on some really good big men on other teams and not only held his own, but outplayed them. He does not look like a freshman. He has the highest box plus/minus for the team at 8.0 (which, for context, would be the highest BP/M for any GT player since Alvarado's 8.1 in 2020.
LVP so far: Amaree Abram. Man, he's had a tough season. His current Box plus/minus is -7.8. Absolutely no part of his game has looked good this season, and it makes me wonder if he has off-the-court issues that might be bothering him. We know he is a better player than this, and we are hopeful that CDS can pull it out of him, but so far, it hasn't been pretty.

So, what say you? Are we where you thought we would be? Ahead? Behind? And what's your prediction for the rest of the season?

Go Jackets!

 

[spdrama]

Happy New Year, GTSwarm! Since we have hit a bit of a new year lull in the season, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the numbers and see how the team is doing so far. Feel free to add your analysis to my amatuer take as well.

Record: 8-4 (1-0)
-This is probably around where we thought we would be. The UMass-Lowell loss was balanced out by the Duke win.
Rankings: 110 (NET), 109 (SRS), 41 (RPI), 112 (KenPom).
-Obviously, the RPI is an interesting outlier, but all of the other rankings put us outside the top 100. Many of these ratings include preseason polls and expectations, so there is still a possibility of a lot of movement here.
Projected Record: 15-16 (8-12)--according to Team Rankings.
-Clearly, we haven't shown enough to get a very positive ACC schedule prediction, but if we've shown anything...its been volatility and inconsistency! If we play like we did against Miss St. and Duke, we could end up much better. My prediction is more like 18-13 (11-9) which would be a good start to CDS career at GT and would give us some positive momentum moving forward.

Strengths: #1: Rebounding. This is somewhat surprising since we aren't a huge team, but between Claude and Ndongo as well as Kelly's newfound hunger for rebounds, we are doing quite well on the boards. We are 15th in the country in ORBS and 19th in total rebounds per game. (You could argue that the ORB opportunities are vast because of our weaknesses...) #2: 3-point defense. Believe it or not, we are holding opponents to 28.3% from outside the arc and that is good for 27th in the country.
Weaknesses: #1: 3-point shooting. We are a miserable 332nd in the country (out of 362) with 28.5%. Whether it is out-of-rhythm shooting, bad looks, or the wrong people taking the shots, I really can't say. Obviously, Kelly has been in a poor shooting slump, but as a team, this has been our biggest weakness. #2: Free-throw shooting. We've been up-and-down here, but overall, a 67.5% from the charity stripe is not very good (287th in the country).

MVP so far: Baye Ndongo. He has really impressed me on both offense and defense. Not only is he athletic, but he has great touch around the basket, great feel for positioning and rebounding, and he passes pretty well for a big guy, too. He blocks and alters a lot of shots, sets a lot of screens on offense, and is always good for a few putbacks per game. He has taken on some really good big men on other teams and not only held his own, but outplayed them. He does not look like a freshman. He has the highest box plus/minus for the team at 8.0 (which, for context, would be the highest BP/M for any GT player since Alvarado's 8.1 in 2020.
LVP so far: Amaree Abram. Man, he's had a tough season. His current Box plus/minus is -7.8. Absolutely no part of his game has looked good this season, and it makes me wonder if he has off-the-court issues that might be bothering him. We know he is a better player than this, and we are hopeful that CDS can pull it out of him, but so far, it hasn't been pretty.

So, what say you? Are we where you thought we would be? Ahead? Behind? And what's your prediction for the rest of the season?

Go Jackets!

I would add Kowacie Reeves, Jr. to GT’s strengths. He has played very well and mostly consistent game to game. Turnovers, ball handling, addressing the press, and inbounding were early weaknesses. Team has improved significantly in those areas over the last 2 games and will hopefully continue that improvement as Freshman Nait George gains more game experience at this level. He appears to be a quick learner.

Kowacie Reeves Jr 2023-24

GP	MIN	FG%	3P%	FT%	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
12	31.2	44.3	37.8	85.3	4.8	0.8	0.8	0.5	1.2	1.5	11.7

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Everything that has happened is prequel. Now we will see what this team is really about.

Most ACC teams will start to settle into who they are now. Finals, holidays, cross country trips, learning new teammates, and other distractions are now behind most teams.

This is where Stoudamire’s insistence on toughness will come into play. In the conference grind we will frequently be overmatched. But any opponent that underestimates Stoudamire’s emphasis on toughness will have its head ripped off and handed to it.

 

[57jacket]

Happy New Year, GTSwarm! Since we have hit a bit of a new year lull in the season, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the numbers and see how the team is doing so far. Feel free to add your analysis to my amatuer take as well.

Record: 8-4 (1-0)
-This is probably around where we thought we would be. The UMass-Lowell loss was balanced out by the Duke win.
Rankings: 110 (NET), 109 (SRS), 41 (RPI), 112 (KenPom).
-Obviously, the RPI is an interesting outlier, but all of the other rankings put us outside the top 100. Many of these ratings include preseason polls and expectations, so there is still a possibility of a lot of movement here.
Projected Record: 15-16 (8-12)--according to Team Rankings.
-Clearly, we haven't shown enough to get a very positive ACC schedule prediction, but if we've shown anything...its been volatility and inconsistency! If we play like we did against Miss St. and Duke, we could end up much better. My prediction is more like 18-13 (11-9) which would be a good start to CDS career at GT and would give us some positive momentum moving forward.

Strengths: #1: Rebounding. This is somewhat surprising since we aren't a huge team, but between Claude and Ndongo as well as Kelly's newfound hunger for rebounds, we are doing quite well on the boards. We are 15th in the country in ORBS and 19th in total rebounds per game. (You could argue that the ORB opportunities are vast because of our weaknesses...) #2: 3-point defense. Believe it or not, we are holding opponents to 28.3% from outside the arc and that is good for 27th in the country.
Weaknesses: #1: 3-point shooting. We are a miserable 332nd in the country (out of 362) with 28.5%. Whether it is out-of-rhythm shooting, bad looks, or the wrong people taking the shots, I really can't say. Obviously, Kelly has been in a poor shooting slump, but as a team, this has been our biggest weakness. #2: Free-throw shooting. We've been up-and-down here, but overall, a 67.5% from the charity stripe is not very good (287th in the country).

MVP so far: Baye Ndongo. He has really impressed me on both offense and defense. Not only is he athletic, but he has great touch around the basket, great feel for positioning and rebounding, and he passes pretty well for a big guy, too. He blocks and alters a lot of shots, sets a lot of screens on offense, and is always good for a few putbacks per game. He has taken on some really good big men on other teams and not only held his own, but outplayed them. He does not look like a freshman. He has the highest box plus/minus for the team at 8.0 (which, for context, would be the highest BP/M for any GT player since Alvarado's 8.1 in 2020.
LVP so far: Amaree Abram. Man, he's had a tough season. His current Box plus/minus is -7.8. Absolutely no part of his game has looked good this season, and it makes me wonder if he has off-the-court issues that might be bothering him. We know he is a better player than this, and we are hopeful that CDS can pull it out of him, but so far, it hasn't been pretty.

So, what say you? Are we where you thought we would be? Ahead? Behind? And what's your prediction for the rest of the season?

Go Jackets!

Good summary Secret...Going forward, it's clear for us to make any noise in the ACC we need to shoot the 3 better. Everything else has been a very pleasant surprise. And we are certainly capable of better 3 pt shooting, Kelly, Coleman, Reeves are fundamentally good 3 pt shooters. There is something about their setup, ; is it too quick ?? or what?? Opponents are pressing the 3 pt line.

 

[bke1984]

I don’t see this team finishing with a losing record, but that’s just my opinion I guess

 

[78pike]

Happy New Year, GTSwarm! Since we have hit a bit of a new year lull in the season, I thought it would be a good time to check in on the numbers and see how the team is doing so far. Feel free to add your analysis to my amatuer take as well.

Record: 8-4 (1-0)
-This is probably around where we thought we would be. The UMass-Lowell loss was balanced out by the Duke win.
Rankings: 110 (NET), 109 (SRS), 41 (RPI), 112 (KenPom).
-Obviously, the RPI is an interesting outlier, but all of the other rankings put us outside the top 100. Many of these ratings include preseason polls and expectations, so there is still a possibility of a lot of movement here.
Projected Record: 15-16 (8-12)--according to Team Rankings.
-Clearly, we haven't shown enough to get a very positive ACC schedule prediction, but if we've shown anything...its been volatility and inconsistency! If we play like we did against Miss St. and Duke, we could end up much better. My prediction is more like 18-13 (11-9) which would be a good start to CDS career at GT and would give us some positive momentum moving forward.

Strengths: #1: Rebounding. This is somewhat surprising since we aren't a huge team, but between Claude and Ndongo as well as Kelly's newfound hunger for rebounds, we are doing quite well on the boards. We are 15th in the country in ORBS and 19th in total rebounds per game. (You could argue that the ORB opportunities are vast because of our weaknesses...) #2: 3-point defense. Believe it or not, we are holding opponents to 28.3% from outside the arc and that is good for 27th in the country.
Weaknesses: #1: 3-point shooting. We are a miserable 332nd in the country (out of 362) with 28.5%. Whether it is out-of-rhythm shooting, bad looks, or the wrong people taking the shots, I really can't say. Obviously, Kelly has been in a poor shooting slump, but as a team, this has been our biggest weakness. #2: Free-throw shooting. We've been up-and-down here, but overall, a 67.5% from the charity stripe is not very good (287th in the country).

MVP so far: Baye Ndongo. He has really impressed me on both offense and defense. Not only is he athletic, but he has great touch around the basket, great feel for positioning and rebounding, and he passes pretty well for a big guy, too. He blocks and alters a lot of shots, sets a lot of screens on offense, and is always good for a few putbacks per game. He has taken on some really good big men on other teams and not only held his own, but outplayed them. He does not look like a freshman. He has the highest box plus/minus for the team at 8.0 (which, for context, would be the highest BP/M for any GT player since Alvarado's 8.1 in 2020.
LVP so far: Amaree Abram. Man, he's had a tough season. His current Box plus/minus is -7.8. Absolutely no part of his game has looked good this season, and it makes me wonder if he has off-the-court issues that might be bothering him. We know he is a better player than this, and we are hopeful that CDS can pull it out of him, but so far, it hasn't been pretty.

So, what say you? Are we where you thought we would be? Ahead? Behind? And what's your prediction for the rest of the season?

Go Jackets!

For me this team has exceeded my expectations. With a new coach and so many new players I really expected we would maybe be around a game or two over .500. I didn't expect us to already have wins against two ranked teams and I never expected us to beat Duke so early in the year.

I didn't expect our recruiting to be going as well as it is this early. Having two top players committed to us and a few more top players with Tech in their final teams really has me excited about the future of the program.

I also didn't expect us to dominate on the boards as much as we have. I didn't expect us to have two freshmen leading our team in George and Ndongo.

On the other hand, I didn't expect Kelly to be shooting as poorly as he has and I didn't expect us to get little to no production from Abram and Terry (for different reasons). If you had told me before the season that we would not have Terry and Abram would be riding the pine while Kelly misses open shot after open shot I would never have thought we would be 8-4. 4-8 would have been more like it given that scenario.

I am pleased to be where we are right now and excited to see what we can do the remainder of the season. I feel like we have the capability to play anyone close.....both good teams and bad teams. I'm happy to see the energy surrounding the team and the fans starting to fill up the coliseum again.

 

[MtnWasp]

For me, the season to date has been one of starts and stutters, with some thrillingly good play and then bad shooting and stagnant offensive play.

There have been so many surprises that it is hard to know what to expect moving forward. But the core of the team is beginning to be established:

Ndongo, George and Reeves are the heart of the team. These players are playing winning basketball.

Sturdivant and Coleman are fairly reliable complimentary pieces. Claude and Dowuona are players that we know what they can give, limited though it may be.

Kelly, Gapare, Abram and to a lesser extent, Sacko (because of his lack of experience and rawness) have been the wild-cards. There is plenty of talent in this group to help the team win but overall the results have been below their capabilities. This group is the Key-Stone to the entire season. We need more consistent production from the group as a whole, and if we get it, the team will win, and if we don't get it, the team will not win.

All eyes are on Kelly because he was billed as the star of the team. He is hitting the boards and playing better defense than ever, but he is stacking bad shooting nights. But the other guys on the list, should they be able to break out on a semi-consistent basis, the team could be dangerous. Gapare (and to a lesser extent, Sacko) is actually a key guy because we need some front court production to take some pressure off of Ndongo.

 

[gte447f]

I don’t understand all of the seeming angst over Abram. I have watched every game this season, and, to my eye, he has shown next to nothing. I don’t know why folks are shocked by his lack of production, because he hasn’t shown any promise since the beginning of the season. He did have one early game (I can’t remember which one) where he made 4 threes in a row I think. That’s it. He’s done nothing else. I don’t know what he did at miss state or ole miss or wherever he transferred from, so maybe he played well there and that is the source of all the hype, but if he really did anything of note, then why did he transfer? To say that we need production from him to have a good season seems silly at this point, because he seems to be on a path to becoming an afterthought. Luckily, I think the team can do fine without any production from him.

 

[MtnWasp]

Abram was a 4* recruit and was projected to be scoring threat this season for GT. His crash 'n' Burn and subsequent disappearance this year is a big story.

I think his fate has already been sealed, that he failed to buy-in and that the recent offers to two 2024 PGs is an indication that he won't be on the team next year. But that is only a guess.

If he is still on the team and they are still working for him to turn a corner, then he certainly has the talent to be productive.

 

[techgrad]

I think Reeves is a solid player that is on the verge of becoming a great player. He has all the talents to be a star but might still be regaining his confidence (from his experience in Florida). He should look for his shots more.

 

[Root4GT]

To me it appears we know what we have now. Pleasant surprises in George an Ndongo. CDS talked up Ndongo a lot. He has exceeded that talk. Kyle and Debo are badically the same players they have been at GT. Good players off the bench r. Not starters.

Gapare is as expected. High potential and highly inconsistent. That is likely who he is as a player. I don’t expect much change this year.

Sacko will have limited minutes in specific games. Don’t count on him to be more than a spot contributor.

Abrams looks locked to the bench. If that changes it could be a real plus. Hard to count on it.

It will be interesting.

 

[Tech93]

I think Reeves is a solid player that is on the verge of becoming a great player. He has all the talents to be a star but might still be regaining his confidence (from his experience in Florida). He should look for his shots more.

I’d rather see Reeves throwing up 3s than Kelly.

 

[78pike]

I think Reeves is a solid player that is on the verge of becoming a great player. He has all the talents to be a star but might still be regaining his confidence (from his experience in Florida). He should look for his shots more.

What I like about Reeves is his diversity. He shoots the three well but also does a good job of faking the three and driving to the basket. He also has shown to be very capable of pulling up and hitting the midrange jumper. On defense he hits the boards hard and isn't afraid to get in the face of the player he is defending. He moves his feet so well it's easy to forget he is 6'7" tall. Not sure what happened to him at Florida but CDS has been able to get him to produce like the 4* recruit he was.

 

[SecretAgentBuzz]

Everything that has happened is prequel. Now we will see what this team is really about.

Most ACC teams will start to settle into who they are now. Finals, holidays, cross country trips, learning new teammates, and other distractions are now behind most teams.

This is where Stoudamire’s insistence on toughness will come into play. In the conference grind we will frequently be overmatched. But any opponent that underestimates Stoudamire’s emphasis on toughness will have its head ripped off and handed to it.

You are correct--this next stretch of games will tell us much about the team. And the optimism you have about CDS' emphasis on toughness and the veteran nature of the team is what leads me to predict a winning record in the ACC. It probably won't be enough to make the Big Dance, but it would be a good step in the right direction. We shall see...

 

[GTRambler]

It’s a free-lance jamboree! Wildly oscillates from extremely low, pitiful performances to extremely high, awe-inspiring gangbuster games!

I’m enjoying the roller coaster spectating. Lol

 

[alagold]

I figured this team would struggle with cohesiveness and really YOUTH. ---TOs and erratic shooting. Done better overall than I would thought esp with our rebounding which is our trump card.Also -I Thought would to be better in 2nd half esp away games.

 

[Techster]

I'll just say this: This has to be one of the most head scratching teams we've had in a while. Both in a good way and a bad way.

I literally don't know what to expect. Just when I think we're playing well, we'll lose to teams we shouldn't. When I think we've hit a low, we go out and beat teams we shouldn't (at least on paper).

There's two guys I think we can count on to be consistent (for the most part): Reeves and Ndongo. Everyone else it's kind of a crap shoot what you'll get with them from game to game. We're all waiting on Kelly to play like we know he can. That can be said about several players.

There's talent to win a lot of games, especially with how down the ACC seems this early. I think the expectations that this team will be inconsistent with a bunch of new players and a new coaching staff is correct. However, when you beat teams like Duke/UMass/Miss St, there's a false confidence that we should be better.

I am enjoying the games this season a lot more than last season. Still a lot of games to play, and hopefully this team starts to settle into a nice rhythm where everyone is more consistent each game.

 

[Peacone36]

Ups and downs, just like we all expected. Defeating two teams that were ranked when we played them but lose to a UMass-Lowell. While that is just continuation of what we saw in the past two regimes you have to like the fact that Ndongo and George are gems and the second class looks super talented while CDS establishes deep in-roads with OTE (Go figure, more hard truths proven correct). Sacko is raw but his measurables and effort are undeniable.

Moving forward I see eight more wins on the schedule with BC, ND x 2, FSU (H), VPI (A), Pitt (H), Syracuse (H) and Ill take a split with Wake, whose Kenpom number (43) and record quality (53) is somehow inflated despite their SOS of 154.

Of course, if Miles figures it out and plays at a level that we all know he is capable of, then we can possibly add a road victory against Syracuse and a split with Virginia which I think is more likely at this point than a victory in Corral Gables.

The one thing Id like to see in the second half is just some semblance of consistency over the course of the game. Yes we all expected bumps in the road as far as the team gelling and adapting but hey, Texas Tech has a new coach and a new roster, they're 11-2. Ole Miss, 13-0, new coach, new roster. At some point it has to come together. Now, this could be a situation perpetuated by the fact that a player figured to be relied upon heavily cant seem to find his way on to the court. Who knows? I don't.

If i had to pick something else i would LOVE LOVE LOVE TO SEE it has to be road performance. Good god folks, over the last decade this program is 36-85 in true road games, good for 29.8%. Fourth worst in the ACC. We are a far better team than Georgia IMHO. Granted, home court matters more than almost anything in college basketball but that showing was just brutal.

Regardless of how the rest of this season shapes up, if Miles, Reeves, Baye, George, Deebo and Gapare all remain with the program along with our talented incoming class then we are really cooking with oil. Expectations should be high IMHO, that is a tournament team. Hell, this team has the talent of a tournament team but for some reason it just hasn't come together yet.

 

[slugboy]

1. We’re going in a better direction than last year. We’ve improved. I still want to see more consistent improvements
2. Recruiting is trending up. Way up
3. We dig ourselves holes in games. Sometimes, we come out cold in the first half. It’s really hard to win that way
4. We make a ton of mistakes, and they’re often turnovers.
5. Related to making mistakes, Stoudamire is coaching the players to play a more difficult kind of game, like heavy man to man defense. Sometimes, all five players on the court aren’t ready to play that kind of game against a higher level of competition. I’m hoping they develop and grow into it.
6. I view this year as a growth and development year.
7. I’d like to see one or two other players step up their games, at least on occasion. Reeves and Ndongo have been great. Nait is young, but he’s growing into the PG role. Kelly is pushing himself to be NBA ready. There’s more potential on the court than I’ve seen in years. If someone else can have a big game on occasion, then we can overcome some of our dry spells and win more games.

 

[orientalnc]

1. We’re going in a better direction than last year. We’ve improved. I still want to see more consistent improvements
2. Recruiting is trending up. Way up
3. We dig ourselves holes in games. Sometimes, we come out cold in the first half. It’s really hard to win that way
4. We make a ton of mistakes, and they’re often turnovers.
5. Related to making mistakes, Stoudamire is coaching the players to play a more difficult kind of game, like heavy man to man defense. Sometimes, all five players on the court aren’t ready to play that kind of game against a higher level of competition. I’m hoping they develop and grow into it.
6. I view this year as a growth and development year.
7. I’d like to see one or two other players step up their games, at least on occasion. Reeves and Ndongo have been great. Nait is young, but he’s growing into the PG role. Kelly is pushing himself to be NBA ready. There’s more potential on the court than I’ve seen in years. If someone else can have a big game on occasion, then we can overcome some of our dry spells and win more games.

The capability is there, but inconsistency is the bugaboo right now. 19 points in 1st half in Tallahassee was awful. Then we scored 52 in the 2nd half.