Our B-ball Program

[Peacone36]

Who are the 8?

As of a month ago i had:

INPO....

Jeff Boals- Oh St
Kenny Payne UK
Chris Mack
Michael White
Ben Howland
Craig Neal (although im shaky)
Gregg Marshall - unlikely
Shaka Smart- highly unlikely
Eric Musselman

im also interested in what happens with Brad Stevens. Assume hes safe but ya never know.

 

[4NatlChmps]

I agree with most posts. As good of a guy and GT face that BG is, my jury is back in that he can't recruit, can't draw up an offense, can't teach free throw shooting and he's a tough post game interview. Gotta go. I'm not sure he could get a gig at Kennesaw state who almost beat USC Upstate that soundly beat GT (at home). Gonna be a long rebuild but it's time. What a shame.

 

[dtm1997]

Why spend money on a good coach that no one wants to watch coach.

That makes no sense, you're contradicting yourself and you're unable to present any facts outside of attendance sucks. You definitely didn't answer the question I posed to you.

Almost every single person that is complaining about BG is doing so on the basis that they're itching to get behind GT hoops again once he's gone. That's why you spend on a good coach. Because, unless they've lost interest in college hoops on the whole, GT fans are waiting to rush back in on the basis of renewed hope.

Basically, you're perpetuating my previously unsaid point that this entire thread is pointless.

The games will be played and BG will be judged on results. His results are currently on an unfavorable trajectory, so the likelihood of change at season's end is increasing.

If people want to criticize BG's game to game performance, have at it. It's proven severely lacking recently, mediocre in general, and ok/good at best, despite our players continuing to pour their hearts in to it. That said, "BG has to go" is about as played out a storyline as there is. This is what it sounds like on this board and worse on another board...

The most hilarious part is that a lot of it comes from people who haven't expressed an interest in hoops all season or further back than that.

 

[Tech93]

As of a month ago i had:

INPO....

Jeff Boals- Oh St
Kenny Payne UK
Chris Mack
Michael White
Ben Howland
Craig Neal (although im shaky)
Gregg Marshall - unlikely
Shaka Smart- highly unlikely
Eric Musselman

im also interested in what happens with Brad Stevens. Assume hes safe but ya never know.

Would love to be able to get Brad Stevens if he were to leave Celtics. Read a recent article on the team and between the lines it seemed Stevens is dealing with the fact that an NBA player is a different player to coach than a college player.

 

[GT_B]

BG is a great guy. I really wish he could have been successful here. But the truth is...he struggles in recruiting and in game coaching, especially offensively. Which is his eventual doom. If he had one elite scorer who could take over games and get points when he wanted, it would mask his offensive weakness as a coach. He would be able to get by with just defense/rebounding and the one scorer. But he has never recruited an elite scorer and I think he believed Marcus would be that player but just has never panned out. Tadric could be a scorer if he stopped shooting 3s and used a mid range jumper and took it to the basket with authority. But instead he wants to shoot 3s that he's awful at and is passive around the rim.

 

[Peacone36]

I wana like Ben Jacobson out of N. Iowa as well but im not quite sure. He is only 44 though which is intriguing. Not quite sure about him though.

 

[Fatmike91]

What's interesting to me is that we are a couple of (made) 3 point shots away from being undefeated and talking about our seeding in the big dance.

/

 

[AE 87]

Does anybody else struggle to watch our games with optimism and excitement? Even when it's close, I find myself waiting for the collapse rather than the surge. For me, it's worse than watching our football D and the opposite of watching our football O. Anybody else?

For a longer conversation:
Okay, full disclosure for me. I have been skeptical about the BG hire from the beginning. I saw a coach who had team which was middle of the pack in its conference much more regularly than the top. I don't think we need to get a coach who's regularly competing with the big boys with a mid-major team, but I was skeptical of a coach who wasn't even regularly at the top of his own conference.

At the same time, I've been a big fan of CPJ and have had little patience with those of the fan base that opposed him, apparently only looking narrowly at overall W-L. So, I've tried to be patient, not always successfully, and listen for people to give me reason to be more optimistic.

For example, with CPJ in football, I could point to the evidence of his success at winning championships at GS and turning the Navy program around to show he knows how to be a head coach. With his time at GT, I pointed to both statistics showing how well our offense had been performing, even 2011-2013, and evidence that CPJ was not satisfied with low-performing defense. In addition, I would point to conference record which was never a losing record and a winning record in all but one season, a significant improvement over the previous coach. Please don't take these points as an invitation to discuss CPJ in this forum since I raise them only as examples of the kinds of data I was looking for to be optimistic and continue to support CBG.

Still, I think @Fatmike91 makes a good point. However, we are currently #350 of 351 in 3pt completion %, but that's only because we've padded our stats in out-of-conference games. Over the last 3 games, we've made less than 18% of our 3 pt shots. In other words, to make his point in another way, if we were just bad at 3pt shooting instead of God-awful, we could very well be undefeated in conference play. While we are currently #35 in 3pt D overall, we are #141 over the last 3 games.

The last few games do have me thinking about horseshoes and hand grenades ... (as I'm thinking about what to throw at my TV/computer) ... so we're really not that far from turning things around. If Jorgenson can get more minutes, and if Mitchell can stay out of foul trouble, who knows?

I would still like someone to make the case for me to be optimistic, but maybe I've just got to find a way to be satisfied with "close."

 

[GTJake]

I also was thinking of this over the weekend, reminiscing the Bobby Cremins years. IMO, Paul Hewitt is ultimately to blame, along with Dave Braine who gave him the roll-over contract.
That said, again IMO, there is no reason why GT basketball can't recruit or get back to where it was.
Gregory is a defensive coach, we need to get an offensive minded coach whose teams like to run the court and can shoot and are fun to watch.

 

[orientalnc]

A lot of us have taken shots at our team this year for poor shooting. With justification. That said, shooting is just one part off an offense. Most of our layups/dunks are created by offensive rebounding. A put-back in those situations will almost always be contested at some point. Point: We made less than 40% of our layups against Syracuse! Maybe I missed a shot or two, but my shot chart is generally pretty good. As a bench sitting freshman I did this for my college team. We are not creating many easy shots.

 

[AE 87]

@orientalnc, do you mean that we're not converting easy shots?

 

[4NatlChmps]

@orientalnc, do you mean that we're not converting easy shots?

I think he means our shooting sucks cause it does. Free throws, 3 point shots, runners in the lane, lay ups as noted and EVEN 3 MISSED DUNKS in Syracuse game. Pitiful! Done!

 

[megatron]

I was a Freshman at GT in the 2003-2004 season (the one we made to the finals) and I remember having to camp out for some games and show up a few hours early for most. There is a fanbase here but we're just fed up with the results.

We need a coach who can recruit and develop these players.

Sadly, I have lost faith in the GT basketball program. I want to care again. I really do.

It's not the lack of shooting or how we look totally lost sometimes on offense. It's definitely not a lack of hustle. What's gotten me is the amount of boneheaded low-IQ plays that our players make that shows basic basketball decision making is not coached to them at an adequate level.

 

[AE 87]

I was a Freshman at GT in the 2003-2004 season (the one we made to the finals) and I remember having to camp out for some games and show up a few hours early for most. There is a fanbase here but we're just fed up with the results.

We need a coach who can recruit and develop these players.

Sadly, I have lost faith in the GT basketball program. I want to care again. I really do.

It's not the lack of shooting or how we look totally lost sometimes on offense. It's definitely not a lack of hustle. What's gotten me is the amount of boneheaded low-IQ plays that our players make that shows basic basketball decision making is not coached to them at an adequate level.

I think that's part of it, but it's also how we use our players--who's on the court with whom for how long.

 

[orientalnc]

@orientalnc, do you mean that we're not converting easy shots?

For most games I keep a shot chart. Maybe I missed a shot or two that did not fall, but I think the percentage of layups/dunks/tips is no better than I stated. My point is that inside shots that come from the offense will always be better shots than serendipitous shots from rebounding. The point I am trying to make is that our shooting percentage is not helped by our rebounding advantage.

 

[Tech93]

I feel all the different combo of players that he continually subs in and out does not build basketball chemistry or flow between the players.

 

[orientalnc]

I feel all the different combo of players that he continually subs in and out does not build basketball chemistry or flow between the players.

When you only have eight or nine guys who can play, you have to use different combos. This is not a valid criticism of his game management.

 

[Tech93]

When you only have eight or nine guys who can play, you have to use different combos. This is not a valid criticism of his game management.

Sorry, but you don't have to sub in and out every 2 minutes. You should stick with a starting 5 and work as deep into the first 8 mins of the game as you can go. This allows your best 5 to develop continuity and confidence on offense. We all have our differing opinions. It also brings cold shooters off the bench and creates look over your shoulder starters. In basketball, you also need to develop at least 2 go to shooters and you can't do that by continually pulling guys in and out.

 

[SteamWhistle]

That makes no sense, you're contradicting yourself and you're unable to present any facts outside of attendance sucks. You definitely didn't answer the question I posed to you.

Almost every single person that is complaining about BG is doing so on the basis that they're itching to get behind GT hoops again once he's gone. That's why you spend on a good coach. Because, unless they've lost interest in college hoops on the whole, GT fans are waiting to rush back in on the basis of renewed hope.

Basically, you're perpetuating my previously unsaid point that this entire thread is pointless.

The games will be played and BG will be judged on results. His results are currently on an unfavorable trajectory, so the likelihood of change at season's end is increasing.

If people want to criticize BG's game to game performance, have at it. It's proven severely lacking recently, mediocre in general, and ok/good at best, despite our players continuing to pour their hearts in to it. That said, "BG has to go" is about as played out a storyline as there is. This is what it sounds like on this board and worse on another board...

The most hilarious part is that a lot of it comes from people who haven't expressed an interest in hoops all season or further back than that.

So your saying I have to post on GTSwarm to show interest in our B-Ball program. Ridiculous, I've been a GT Hoops fan since 06' and your trying to tell me my fan-hood is evaluated on how often I post on the internet.

 

[dtm1997]

So your saying I have to post on GTSwarm to show interest in our B-Ball program. Ridiculous, I've been a GT Hoops fan since 06' and your trying to tell me my fan-hood is evaluated on how often I post on the internet.

Nah, but it's laughable that people have nothing to say until it's time to complain. Note how I used th plural form of "person" for a second time, as I wasn't singling you out in that sentence. There are plenty of people who have come out of the woodwork all of a sudden. Didn't have a thing to say, good or bad, when we were 9-3.

What's ridiculous is that you try to find a weakness in one of my posts while running away from my critiques of yours contradicting themselves & being uneducated on the business of Georgia Tech athletics.

Post or don't, if you're supporting the kids wearing the name on the chest, which you appear to be, then fine by me.