Techster
Helluva Engineer
- Messages
- 18,235
Yellow Jacket fans....exhale. For ten years, the GT Basketball nation wandered the desert trying to find our way back to basketball heaven. Well, here we are. After a decade of frustrations, dying on the inside as smaller programs surpassed us, watching elite recruits not give us a second thought, multiple coaching changes, and several missteps...GT basketball is back from the desert. Not only are we back, but we did it in a BIG way: We won the ACC Championship!
Think about what that means, and how hard it was for us to get here. This is not a story of 2 games over a March weekend that led to our ACC Championship, it's a story of a gut wrenching 10 years. It's a story of a proud program with proud fans trying to find its footing among the changing college basketball landscape. GT did not get here the easy way.
This story starts at the heels of one of the most successful chapters of GT basketball (the Paul Hewitt era), goes through a frustrating period (the Brian Gregory era), and finally culminates with 5 up and down seasons of the Josh Pastner era.
The team to take us out of the desert was not built with a band of one year rentals that used GT as a pit stop on their way to the NBA. That would have been the easy...the way most "elite" teams do it. This team was built piece by piece...with players who came to GT imperfect, but together were built into the perfect team for this time in GT basketball history. We had players other schools felt were spare parts but became key players (Usher, Sturdivant), players not highly thought of out of high school but would develop into some of the best players in the country on this level (Wright, Alvarado). We had a talented player that needed to that talent to blossom (Devoe). We also had a player that's probably the smallest in the conference, but would make some of our biggest plays each game (Parham). We also have guys who didn't play outside of themselves and understood their roles and played it well when called upon (Moore, Howard). There were no cutting corners to make this team into what it has become, there was no cheat sheet...just years of hardwork and each player understanding and accepting what they needed to do to make this team what it is today: A championship team. We also had to do it playing the hardest ACC schedule in the conference this year. No team before us even came close to making .500 with that kind of schedule, but we got through it with a 10-6 record. No, the path was not smooth, and there were plenty of bumps and potholes along the way....but we made it. We made it with the ACC POY named Moses...if that's not a sign of divinity.
This is also a story of a fanbase. Some fans will not remember this because you are of the younger generation, but believe me when I say it use to be a big deal when GT did NOT make the NCAA tournament. It's wasn't like it is now when it's a big that GT made it out of the desert and back to the NCAAT. All I knew through middle school, high school, and college was GT making the NCAAT almost every year. I saw GT basketball win recruiting wars with the basketball blue bloods...and take that talent and beat the same blue bloods on the basketball court.
It's different now. GT doesn't win recruiting wars against blue bloods anymore. GT doesn't win very many games against blue bloods on the court. GT doesn't make the NCAAT on regular basis. To be a GT fan these days is not easy. To say you're a GT fan among college sports fans is even harder. To steal a phrase from Cormac McCarthy, it's tough to "carry the fire" for GT sports.
But that's what many on here have done the last 10 years. They have done their part to carry the fire for our proud program. Those that have taken their time to update everyone each day on GT recruiting, those that have updated us day to day on what's happening with the players and the team, those that given their thoughts (whether you agree or disagreed) on the status of our program, those that have broken down the each game after wins and losses, and so many more instance. Everyone of us has helped carry that fire for 10 long years in the desert...this is our story as well.
So thank you for this team, the coaching staff, and Josh Pastner. Also, thank you GT fans. It's been a long time, but WE'RE GOING TO THE BIG DANCE!!!!
Think about what that means, and how hard it was for us to get here. This is not a story of 2 games over a March weekend that led to our ACC Championship, it's a story of a gut wrenching 10 years. It's a story of a proud program with proud fans trying to find its footing among the changing college basketball landscape. GT did not get here the easy way.
This story starts at the heels of one of the most successful chapters of GT basketball (the Paul Hewitt era), goes through a frustrating period (the Brian Gregory era), and finally culminates with 5 up and down seasons of the Josh Pastner era.
The team to take us out of the desert was not built with a band of one year rentals that used GT as a pit stop on their way to the NBA. That would have been the easy...the way most "elite" teams do it. This team was built piece by piece...with players who came to GT imperfect, but together were built into the perfect team for this time in GT basketball history. We had players other schools felt were spare parts but became key players (Usher, Sturdivant), players not highly thought of out of high school but would develop into some of the best players in the country on this level (Wright, Alvarado). We had a talented player that needed to that talent to blossom (Devoe). We also had a player that's probably the smallest in the conference, but would make some of our biggest plays each game (Parham). We also have guys who didn't play outside of themselves and understood their roles and played it well when called upon (Moore, Howard). There were no cutting corners to make this team into what it has become, there was no cheat sheet...just years of hardwork and each player understanding and accepting what they needed to do to make this team what it is today: A championship team. We also had to do it playing the hardest ACC schedule in the conference this year. No team before us even came close to making .500 with that kind of schedule, but we got through it with a 10-6 record. No, the path was not smooth, and there were plenty of bumps and potholes along the way....but we made it. We made it with the ACC POY named Moses...if that's not a sign of divinity.
This is also a story of a fanbase. Some fans will not remember this because you are of the younger generation, but believe me when I say it use to be a big deal when GT did NOT make the NCAA tournament. It's wasn't like it is now when it's a big that GT made it out of the desert and back to the NCAAT. All I knew through middle school, high school, and college was GT making the NCAAT almost every year. I saw GT basketball win recruiting wars with the basketball blue bloods...and take that talent and beat the same blue bloods on the basketball court.
It's different now. GT doesn't win recruiting wars against blue bloods anymore. GT doesn't win very many games against blue bloods on the court. GT doesn't make the NCAAT on regular basis. To be a GT fan these days is not easy. To say you're a GT fan among college sports fans is even harder. To steal a phrase from Cormac McCarthy, it's tough to "carry the fire" for GT sports.
But that's what many on here have done the last 10 years. They have done their part to carry the fire for our proud program. Those that have taken their time to update everyone each day on GT recruiting, those that have updated us day to day on what's happening with the players and the team, those that given their thoughts (whether you agree or disagreed) on the status of our program, those that have broken down the each game after wins and losses, and so many more instance. Everyone of us has helped carry that fire for 10 long years in the desert...this is our story as well.
So thank you for this team, the coaching staff, and Josh Pastner. Also, thank you GT fans. It's been a long time, but WE'RE GOING TO THE BIG DANCE!!!!
