Ramble1885
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What a win that was. Gives us a lot of momentum. But… can we capitalize on it? Y’all remember the Miami win last year and the losing streak that followed.
So… we won. Will it be a turning point or a blip on the radar?
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Bogey
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I would like to believe we have turned the final corner and have picked up speed for our final push to the finish line. But before I truly believe it, I would like to see some consistency which has been lacking all season.
MonroeJacket
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Based on previous trends, it’s a blip. Not being negative. I wish it weren’t. It’s just who we are this year. A very young, very new, but talented team who’s learning how to play together and who can beat anybody if we show up.
I’ll be honest, it’s infuriating. Kind of the same with football.
Question for the board: Would you trade two wins against Duke and UNC for four wins against ND, Pitt, Nevada, and BC?
I just hope everyone stays who’s eligible and we build off of this.
I’ll be honest, it’s infuriating. Kind of the same with football.
Question for the board: Would you trade two wins against Duke and UNC for four wins against ND, Pitt, Nevada, and BC?
I just hope everyone stays who’s eligible and we build off of this.
MtnWasp
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Sturdivant and Claude are trending up. We need to get Kelly and Reeves off the roller coaster. And we hope Ndongo doesn't miss too much time.
Gapare is a wild card. He wasn't steady but he actually tried to do more things in the paint and on defense than I have seen him try to do to help the team win against Carolina. He's not polished, but if he can stick his nose in the paint action on defense, that could give the team a lift.
Gapare is a wild card. He wasn't steady but he actually tried to do more things in the paint and on defense than I have seen him try to do to help the team win against Carolina. He's not polished, but if he can stick his nose in the paint action on defense, that could give the team a lift.
Northeast Stinger
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So much to like about this team.
But inconsistency, I’m afraid, is the rule for this year. Digging a little deeper, some of our better players, in my opinion, are really role players and will only match up well under the right circumstances. Other players are young and show tremendous promise. Just the right combination of factors seem to come into play with each win.
This team seems to play its best against top teams. It’s as if they know they will be in for it if they don’t pay extra special attention to the preparation Stoudamire is giving them. They always seem more focused in these games.
The only caveat is the scoring droughts they go through in almost every game. That’s when I wish they had a super star player who could single handedly carry them through those moments. When this team lets down, it’s everybody letting down.
But inconsistency, I’m afraid, is the rule for this year. Digging a little deeper, some of our better players, in my opinion, are really role players and will only match up well under the right circumstances. Other players are young and show tremendous promise. Just the right combination of factors seem to come into play with each win.
This team seems to play its best against top teams. It’s as if they know they will be in for it if they don’t pay extra special attention to the preparation Stoudamire is giving them. They always seem more focused in these games.
The only caveat is the scoring droughts they go through in almost every game. That’s when I wish they had a super star player who could single handedly carry them through those moments. When this team lets down, it’s everybody letting down.
jojatk
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I wish I could say I saw this as indicative of a turnaround at this moment. Let me say I am still excited about our head coach and what I think he brings to Georgia Tech and I do see good things on the horizon. And that game last night was as much of a team win as I've seen in a while where nearly every person wearing a GT uniform contributed something positive to the outcome. Everybody worked! Nobody took possessions off. They made UNC work for every point. Perhaps later in the season we can look back and point to this game as one where it finally clicked in the heads of every player that if they work hard on every possession that they can win games.
This was the first time I've seen this team in person, though I've watched some of the games on TV, and I came away with a few thoughts about our personnel (and many others have said most of these things so there aren't any revelations):
- Nait George has ice water running through his veins. There's no moment too big for him. He has talent and I think he wants to be the leader on the floor. Watching him mature as a player right in front of our eyes at this level is such a pleasure. Crunch time against the #3 team in the country and coach puts the ball in his hands and he delivers. Two possessions in a row to end the game it was pretty clear we wanted the ball in his hands to create something. He missed the shot in the first possession but does that deter him? Does it make him timid? Not even a little bit. Last offensive possession and coach puts the ball right back in his hands and he shows that he learned something from the previous possession and hits the runner off the backboard with his left hand. If you are a GT fan and you're not enjoying Nait George you're not really a GT fan (I'm sure that everyone here IS a GT fan and IS enjoying watching Nait so I'm very much preaching to the choir!!!)
- Miles Kelly is such an enigma. Single-handedly he starts off punching UNC in the face with 7 points in the opening minutes of the game, finishes the first half with 15, and then disappears on the offensive end. I think he only took 4 shots in the second half. That could absolutely be by design so please don't take what I'm saying as being down on Miles. What I'm saying is he CLEARLY has the ability to play good basketball at this level. He's also not a leader on the court and most people aren't so again, that's not a criticism, just a recognition that he's a guy we just need to play to his abilities more consistently in order to win.
- Our bigs, other than Ndongo, are really not very skilled around the offensive basket. If someone can teach Ty in the next few games not to put the ball on the floor every time he gets it in the paint that would be great, though I suspect that as a senior that habit is probably ingrained by now. I say that partially with tongue in cheek because Ty was a HUMONGOUS part of that win last night on both ends of the court. Nine huge points and still came up big on the defensive end with 3 fouls. With Ndongo out he did not shy away from the work. I absolutely agree with Wasp on every word of his description of Gapare. The dude played his tail off and we needed every one of those 6 points. Duwuona's contribution to the game doesn't really show up in any of the stats and he got in a bit of foul trouble but he absolutely made the defensive play of the game at the end switching off the pick to stay right on RJ Davis and make that a VERY tough shot. Did he foul RJ? Meh. The last few possessions the officials seemed to let most of the contact go.
- Last night Kyle Sturdivant reminded me of that guy you sometimes see who is a terrific 6th man and you wonder "why isn't he starting" and then he gets a few starts and you go "oh, that's why he's not starting" and when he comes off the bench again he's terrific again. He's not "instant offense" so I'm not comparing him to The Microwave (OK let's see who is old enough and remembers enough NBA history to get that reference - I suspect there will be quite a few people here who know immediately who I'm talking about). He's not perfect and he's not as sure-handed as you'd like in a ball-handler. But he's another guy that doesn't seem to shy away from having the ball in big moments. He doesn't always deliver and he makes some really frustrating turnovers but when he's shooting well he's so dangerous.
Root4GT
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Turning Point - not likely. Pe gave played 10+ very close games. Won a few and lost more then we have won. WE really only have had 3 or 4 really bad games where we were non competitive. I would expect several more close games with us winning a bit less than 50% of the close games. We may struggle away in a few games.
This was a great team win.
This was a great team win.
leatherneckjacket
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The only way this becomes a turning point is if CDS uses it in the offseason to drive the necessary effort and toughness to become a consistently winning team. This year's team is lost. We will continue to lose to many teams but also beat at least one more exceptional one.
spdrama
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Let’s not sound like the whiney NC fans chatting up a storm about a bad shooting night. Tech was on top of them all game, relentlessly & no matter what personnel was on the floor. Our great defense caused their worst offense performance of the season.
And for the NC whiners screaming “foul”, I watched that final shot a dozen times. RJ never attempted to drive to the hoop as he could not get around Ebe. Both players moving parallel in same direction when RJ encroaches into Ebe, bounces off. Great no call.
And for the NC whiners screaming “foul”, I watched that final shot a dozen times. RJ never attempted to drive to the hoop as he could not get around Ebe. Both players moving parallel in same direction when RJ encroaches into Ebe, bounces off. Great no call.
leatherneckjacket
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RJ initiated contact and then bounced off. Ebe is allowed to be there. It was a good no call.
lv20gt
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The upsets of high rankings teams are more memorable but I think it's better for long term good of the program to play constantly to the level they are capable of and then try to improve that level as opposed to playing to the opponents level and have some great upsets but also consistently lose very winnable games. So far that I would.
alagold
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Wow, this game was too big a variance from the season to say its a big turn.When we shoot well and they shoot BAD (esp at line), you know its an outlier. Talk about over-confidence on their part.!
BUT, it sure is sweet for now --plus it had to impress the recruits.
BUT, it sure is sweet for now --plus it had to impress the recruits.
apatriot1776
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Had we beat those four we'd still be 12-9 and we'd still have no shot of making the tournament. It's year one and our team is incredibly young. I'd rather our program show flashes of greatness now than win all the games we should and none of the games we could, if neither choice puts us in the postseason.
Now, if our guys get another year or two of experience and are still dropping those games? Sure, I'd start to worry if it's sustainable or about program direction... but I have confidence that we can get going in the right direction by then.
cpf2001
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I wouldn’t, they wouldn’t put the team in tournament position and so in a transition year I’d rather see a high ceiling to let me have optimism for the future.
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well said and agree 100%
lv20gt
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To each his own. The upsets are more fun for sure and if it was just in isolation I would take them.
IMO for long term success consistency in play far more important than showing flashes of greatness, and in basketball where you have to win at least 3 games in a row for a conference championship and 6 for a national one, true greatness usually also requires the consistency.
Also, while we rely quite a bit on Ndongo and George, I wouldn't really say we are extremely young overall. About 2/3rds of our minutes this year are going to juniors or seniors. Hard to find numbers for a national comparison. The year that immediately came to mind to me as a comparison was 18-19 (after Lammers and Jackson graduated and Okogie went pro) and the amount of jr/sr minutes that year was about 35%. I'd say it's more that we are reliant on young players for some key positions moreso than really being a young team.
Root4GT
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George and Ndongo are 2 of the core players and probably the most critical. Kelly, Reeves and Sturdivant are the other 3 key players. The last 3 are all experienced. The team collectively is a new group this year in a new system.
We are actually very consistent. Here are the margins for our wins and losses.
Margin of victory in our Wins (not counting GSOU and AA&M): 3, 2, 8, 4, 1, 3, 5, 3, 1
Margin of defeat in our Losses: 3, 35, 14, 8, 11, 8, 7, 5, 9, 8, 25
Biggest win 8 points. Two huge losses. Mostly close games!
MWBATL
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Just a random comment. Everyone keeps saying we’re such a young team…but we lose Kelly and Sturdivant next year, who led us in scoring (along with the fresh PG) last night. There will be some shoes that need filling next year. I know we’ve got 2 good recruits coming in, but building from where we’ve been without massive NIL $ will take some time. I expect us to get better next year, but still not sure we’ll be tournament ready then.