Article Men's Basketball: Lamar Cardinals Preview

Men's Basketball: Lamar Cardinals Preview

Sophomore PG Jose Alvarado returns healthy to start the year.

Coach Pastner and the Jackets kick of year three with a home opener against Lamar this week. Here is what you can expect.

The Georgia Tech men’s basketball team opens the season on Friday, November 9th at home against Lamar. The Jackets come into the 2018-19 with a lot of question marks that will be answered soon enough. Let’s just take it one game at a time. First, let’s take a look at Lamar.

The Lamar Cardinals are a Southland Conference program. For those of you who are not familiar with that conference, it’s the one that Stephen F. Austin blows through each season. They are led by sixth year head coach Tic Price who has coached New Orleans, Memphis and McNeese State as well. He has a career record of 232-189. Last season he led Lamar to a 19-14 record overall, 11-7 in conference play.

Similar to Georgia Tech, Lamar has a lot of question marks this season. They lost 5 of their top 7 scorers from and 58% of their offensive production. Nick Garth and Josh Nzeakor both return however. Garth, a 5’11 guard, who averaged 13.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game last season. He shot 37.8% from deep and has made 238 triples in his career. Nzeakor is an undersized front court player, standing 6’6 and 207 pounds, but averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 17-18.

The Cardinals welcome a quartet of JUCO transfers this season, the best of which seems to be Edwin Jeudy. Jeudy is a  6’7 forward who averaged a double double at Gillette last season logging 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Christian Barrett, another undersized JUCO forward, averaged 10.6 and 9.1 at Jacksonville. He is 6’6 and effective on the offensive glass, but I am not sure that will translate at the NCAA level. Vince Holmes is another incoming JUCO who has good size at the guard spot, but isn’t much of a shooter. Brandon Battle is a physical specimen at 6’7 playing the three, but doesn’t provide much floor stretching ability.

All in all, this is a favorable match-up for the Yellow Jackets. This should provide the guys an opportunity to get off to a good start on the season as they should physically and athletically dominate this Lamar team. This is the type of game where you could see Moses Wright be dominant as he often was against lesser opponents last season.

What I am really interested to see here is how freshman Michael Devoe plays after sitting out most of the preseason with a toe injury. Other interests include how Jose Alvarado and Curtis Haywood III are recovering from injuries.

I would also like to see senior AD Gueye impose his will on offense. I wouldn’t mind seeing him be a black hole in this game. That move over the left shoulder was automatic at one point last season and he should go back to that well early and often this year. He needs to establish himself as an offensive threat early this season.

As we learned in 2017-18, no victory is guaranteed, but the Jackets should be able to outclass the Cardinals in this contest. Anything other than a convincing victory may raise questions about Coach Josh Pastner’s effectiveness, especially after the departure of Coach Tavaras Hardy in the offseason.

 

[GTHomer]

Why was the game thread locked?

Probably to drive people to the Swarm Chat

 

[slugboy]

BTW, This team is nowhere close to a finished product yet. At least, it didn’t look that way to me. The main players are young.
Hopefully they gel as the season comes along and learn to play this year’s new scheme. I don’t think it’s natural yet.


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[MWBATL]

Thinking the game @UT will be a real learning experience for many on this team......

 

[LibertyTurns]

Thinking the game @UT will be a real learning experience for many on this team......

The kind where your Dad took his belt off and your butt hurt for a week and you learned never to do that again or the GT calculus test humiliation when you realize the your best is never going to be good enough?

 

[alagold]

Looking at the stats-- things that jump out
we shot 40% for 3s, got a lot of assists, nice to see--- Alston shot out of his mind (although 1 for 4 FTs), maybe we can get a different guy each nite to do that,--- no reason that we flattened out 2nd half with 11 guys playing
the bad--they killed us on their Off glass ,16 Off rebs --AD and Og BOTH fouled out--there will be BIG glass problem all season probably ---we had 24! fouls vs Lamar (that Offensive monster), luckily they shot 54% FTs,--- they had 11 steals on us, sloppy--again weak FT,57%
we need badly a 6-7, 230 rebounder with experience that won't foul out --nice to have gotten a SR grad transfer like this, we have too many guard-like guys to be a balanced team it seems

 

[slugboy]

Have I said I like Reveno?
@CoachReveno: It is what you do when no one is watching that really makes all the difference in the world. @GTMBB


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[jacketup]

AD fouled out playing 12 min against Lamar.

Ves fouled out playing 23 min.

Both did really good things when in.

I think we let down with the big lead, but we've got guys who can hit 3s. Evan Cole only played 16 min, but he's an important piece for us (though he's not coached by ratface and should get a T for some of those flops at the end).

The officiating was very inconsistent. Not surprising with Teddy V on the floor. It's amazing that 2 of those refs have been Final 4 refs.

In the first half I thought there were bad/questionable calls against Lamar. In the second half I thought the bad/questionable calls went against Tech. As a case in point, Lamar shot 5 FT in the first half and 28 in the second half. Tech shot 16 FT in the first half and 5 in the second half. It seemed to depend on which goal you were shooting at, which obviously changed at half time. It would be interesting to check out which ref was making those calls. The money is on Teddy V, but I wasn't paying close attention.

I do know that all 5 of Ves's fouls were in the second half. I want to say that 2 or 3 of AD's were in the second half.

Both of those players have really improved offensively, but they need to work on controlled defense. However, the officiating was a factor. Officiating is the biggest negative in college basketball.

 

[New Old Guy]

The officiating was very inconsistent. Not surprising with Teddy V on the floor. It's amazing that 2 of those refs have been Final 4 refs.

In the first half I thought there were bad/questionable calls against Lamar. In the second half I thought the bad/questionable calls went against Tech. As a case in point, Lamar shot 5 FT in the first half and 28 in the second half. Tech shot 16 FT in the first half and 5 in the second half. It seemed to depend on which goal you were shooting at, which obviously changed at half time. It would be interesting to check out which ref was making those calls. The money is on Teddy V, but I wasn't paying close attention.

I do know that all 5 of Ves's fouls were in the second half. I want to say that 2 or 3 of AD's were in the second half.

Both of those players have really improved offensively, but they need to work on controlled defense. However, the officiating was a factor. Officiating is the biggest negative in college basketball.

I never thought I would say this, but TV Teddy was the best official on the floor last night. I’m hoping that one game with Teddy AND Jamie Luckie is all we will have to suffer this season.

 

[GTHomer]

I went back to look at the box score from the game against Lamar. I noticed that every player had at least one assist. With everyone looking to share the ball, this could result in an overall higher team shooting percentage. Unselfish play can be critical to any offensive successes we have.

We've got a young team and will have ups and downs. I'm optimistic about this upcoming season.

GT-Lamar box score from ESPN:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401082895

 

[lv20gt]

My thoughts.

Jose played well. Would like to see him take control of the offense a little more.
CGB and Devoe both have such nice strokes. Both played okay but I think well need them to be more of a factor on offense against better teams.
Phillips played great. 10 points on solid shooting, 4 rebs, 4 assists, and tremendous defense. This is exactly why we brought him in. IMO he played the best game out of everyone.
Alston played well mostly. 4-5 on 3s is big. If he can become a more reliable 3 point shooter, (not just % buut also volume) that would be big. Problem is 0 rebs, that Haywood also had. We must get some rebounding out of them.
Gueye played great when he was in there but fouls were huge. I think he was pressing a little bit on defense which led to 5 blocks and some other alters but also led to 5 fouls in 12 minutes.
Ogbonda I thought was a huge plus from this game. 9 rebs, some nice post moves, and great passing. I'm also not as worried about his fouls as AD's because they felt more ticky tack, and he played 23 minutes vs 12 and I doubt he'll be asked to play even that much.
Cole was solid, having a couple nice moments, but overall I still think he's too passive.
Moses had a good game. His length was an issue for them, and he played under control. One inadvisable 3 pointer and one towards the end of the clock. Would like to see him use his length to disrupt even more and go after the D boards a little bit harder.

Overall I think you saw the things that we can build around. The three point shooting and using length on defense to make like miserable for teams, but the inconsistencies of a young team are going to hurt. I think the biggest question right now is how good is Devoe going to be. Can he give us another ball handler that can run things when Jose sits. He was solid, but can he be great. If he is great then we have some opportunities. If not, if he's just solid to good this year, then I think we'll have too many holes to try and cover up.

 

[KeystoneJacket]

Anywhere to find condensed highlights?

 

[AE 87]

Anywhere to find condensed highlights?

YouTube is always a good place to look

 

[YlJacket]

Any time your two bigs foul out - especially against Lamar - it is not good
Any time a team like Lamar outscores you in the second half - it is not good regardless of the reason.

We got outrebounded which isn't good - but this was really on the guards/wings. AD and Ogbondo both had respectable numbers. Though our 4 spot also has some issues here too.

We did not see that our 4 spot has been solidified by either Cole or Wright. I don't think either one of them laid claim to the spot the way we need it.

Overall I wasn't excited by this performance and see a team that still has a long way to go. First game so not jumping off anything high but this is an evolution - there was no revolutionary improvement over the off season.

Having said all that, there are some pieces to work with and some of these pieces give me hope.

The 3 point shooting was good to see. If we can get the right guys shooting and if Alston's performance is not a flash in the pan then this alone will hide a lot of ills. Haywood in particular looked like he was looking for his shot which alone is a big improvement.

Devoe showed flashes of the kind of player we need him to be. The stroke is there for sure. I am hoping he is still working his way back and there is another gear or two to go. But he showed he has a good chance to be the scorer we desperately need him to be this year. Philips as well showed a lot - especially defensive energy. He was fun to watch. I just hope our bigs allow us to play man enough to see Philips make a difference. Can't add anything to what was said about Jose. Looked like he has recovered nicely.

I wasn't as high as others on the way we ran the offense. Too much standing and we got away with a lot of stuff because it was Lamars. We will have to be better to get the same shots we got Friday. But it was the first game so that is to be expected. We got a lot of shots off of the press which won't happen in the ACC.

All in all it was a good first game. We won and won reasonably easily. When I peel the onion I see some things that are good - potentially really good like the 3 point shooting. But also you don't have to look hard to see the issues with our defense and our 4 and 5 spot that will likely limit our ceiling this year. We are not "old" yet and it shows.

 

[slugboy]

We did not see that our 4 spot has been solidified by either Cole or Wright. I don't think either one of them laid claim to the spot the way we need it.

I know we’re talking “get old, stay old”. We don’t have many redshirts, and if we were already in a Notre Dame mold, we would have redshirted Cole or Wright or both last year, and possibly Sjolund this year. We don’t have the depth to do that yet, I guess.
Cole and Wright are sophomores, and while we need some players to claim that forward spot, it’d be a lot easier to see a junior or a redshirt junior owning that spot. Or you have to get a one and done type. In my mind, I see either Cole or Wright having to play like Harpring used to in order to really claim that spot. Just playing all out and giving it more energy than you would think could last for a game. Or like Lammers did, but at the four spot. Maybe players aren’t going to play that way against Lamar (but I think Harpring would have).
Looking around the league, I see some guard heavy starting fives, us included. I’d like to see Wright and Cole play so well both are on the court at the same time, but I think that’ll happen more often when AD or Ves foul out.
I wish we’d recruited a post player for this upcoming year, though.



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[YlJacket]

We have Banks for next year so at least hope at the 5

This should be / has to be last transition year to getting old

 

[RamblinRed]

I think the summaries above are pretty good. I'll add a few more of my own

For a first game i'm pretty happy, You can see where the program is headed - even if there are going to be alot of bumps along the way.

We are becoming a much more modern, perimeter driven team.

Not horribly concerned about the loss of the huge lead. First game, young players, lack of focus. Part of the lumps you have to take.

To have a game that was never in doubt after halftime when both AD and Jose were awfully quiet on offense is a good thing.
FWIW that is the most points a GT team has scored under Pastner against a Div 1 opponent. I believe it was also highs in three point attempts and makes.

Haywood was really crucial in the first half. Was sort of quiet the first 12 min, but after that break he got quite aggressive and was actively calling for the ball before he took that first three. Those 3 threes in about 2 min basically put the game out of reach for Lamar.

AD has to find a way to channel his emotions positively. He came awfully close to getting a T when he got called for a third foul. You could hear the ref telling him to cut it out as he was being demonstrative on the court. Pastner was furious with him when he pulled him out - really chewed him out on the sideline.

It's also really interesting to watch Devoe shoot vs say Haywood or Sjolund, The latter 2 have these beautiful high arching jump shots.
Devoe's is more of a line drive shot, but watching him in half time warmups he only missed one shot despite his arc given him less room for error. He's just really consistent with the accuracy.

Right now i am completely comfortable with Jose, Curtis, Phillips, Alston, Devoe and Sjolund shooting open threes any time they have one - I don't think I have ever said that about a GT basketball team before. And before they are through at GT I might get there with Moore and Cole. Don't think I am ever going to get there with Moses - his shot is not pretty and is hard.

This team is likely going to get smoked by TN but that is ok, just keeping working and improving. Pastner's interview in the paper suggests he understands this is a transition year and one that might not be super pretty but he was quite upbeat about the next couple of years after this one.

I saw someone mention elsewhere about it would be nice if Banks was eligible so he might do better this year and not be on a hot seat next year. First off, all you have to do is look at his contract -specifically his buyout to understand Pastner is safe for 5 yrs, but after his 5th season it changes radically. Also, looking at this team, I think GT is better off in the long run if Banks has 2 yrs starting next year as this current group of FR and SO looks like a really nice base.

 

[MtnWasp]

Without Lammers, both offensive and defensive schemes have changed. The roster is mostly composed of young or inexperienced guys. Phillips is experienced but new to the rotation. Lots of newness to start the season. I think it will take some time, but as the season progresses I think the team will be really good defensively especially on the perimeter.
The saving grace early is the ability to shoot from 3.
The goal should be to survive early until we let the new mixtures gel.

Ogbonda played more minutes in the Lamar game than he played all last season. In previous seasons, he couldn't be on the court because he was overwhelmed by the speed of the game. The Lamar was the first game I have seen Ogbonda play where he didn't look overwhelmed. Because Gueye has not shown to be fundamentally sound on the defensive end so as to be foul prone, Ogbonda actually turns out to be an important player. Ogbonda played half the game with a =/- of +13.

All three freshmen were shaky on the defensive end, which is not a surprise. The team will be better if they (especially Devoe) adapt to the speed of the game on the defensive end sooner than later. Cole had a poor showing in game one and Can't be invisible for entire halves if he wants to keep a starting spot.

I think we are playing Tennessee too early to show there.