Southern

[dtm1997]

Overall, a really fun two games to open the season. It's clear that we're gonna have some nights that are an absolute mess. It's also clear that we've got 3 players in Okogie, Tadric, & Lammers to showcase style of play immediately to recruits, as well as some developmental players in Moore & C-Matt. Heyward has been fun to watch so far in the early season. Q is limited in a number of ways, but he's still making some solid contributions and showing leadership.

We've fully prepared ourselves for low expectations this season. If we keep it that way, it'll be easier to enjoy the ride.

Finally, I'll be a broken record this season, but get out to every game you can. Even the losses in this style of play should still be pretty fun games for us and it'll make a difference in landing all those prospects we're hungry to see on the Flats.

 

[ChasonBaller]

Lammers - 23 points, 15 boards, 9 blocks - what a night! We haven't seen too many triple doubles at Tech over the years.

CJP said he was pleased with the pace tonight. He mentioned if we hit our FTs we would have been close to 90 points and that's where he wants us to be. He did say we have zero margin of error with this club. Doesn't CPJ say the same thing????

CJP also praised Ohio - said it will be one of our toughest non-conference foes and he said that their point guard is ACC caliber.

So as good as Corey heyward?

 

[Peacone36]

Pros for me-
Pace
Okogie does it all (18-4-4-2-1)
Lammers so far looks like the anchor I always expected him to be
Jax jumper, while still has that little hitch, is going in.
I am also a huge fan of the high post action we run. It actually looks like an offense.

Cons
We still cannot shoot. 30.8 from 3/54.8 from the line
Our rebounding, especially defensively, needs work
They outscored us in the 2nd half
Our seniors (Q, Truck) make the same foolish decisions (shots and post entry passes) as our frosh PG.

I have not changed my mind about the overall expectation. But I do think we boat race BC now. I also think we may be able to beat Wake. Lammers will dominate Moore. Jax and Okogie should be able to D up Crawford enough.

 

[orientalnc]

Pros for me-
Pace
Okogie does it all (18-4-4-2-1)
Lammers so far looks like the anchor I always expected him to be
Jax jumper, while still has that little hitch, is going in.
I am also a huge fan of the high post action we run. It actually looks like an offense.

Cons
We still cannot shoot. 30.8 from 3/54.8 from the line
Our rebounding, especially defensively, needs work
They outscored us in the 2nd half
Our seniors (Q, Truck) make the same foolish decisions (shots and post entry passes) as our frosh PG.

I have not changed my mind about the overall expectation. But I do think we boat race BC now. I also think we may be able to beat Wake. Lammers will dominate Moore. Jax and Okogie should be able to D up Crawford enough.

Agree. Almost completely. It must be this cool NC weather we having this Fall.

Your fifth "pro" has opened up the floor and allows Okogie and TJ to attack the basket without crashing through a tangle of bodies in the paint. I also love the ball movement and the readiness/willingness to get our butts down the floor in transition.

All the cons will be fixed by recruiting. Eventually.

I cringe at times (turnovers and missed shots), but this is a lot more fun to watch.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Wasn't it Southern that ran us out of the gym in the 1st round of the NCAAs with Bobby Cremins?

Yep!

 

[Peacone36]

Agree. Almost completely. It must be this cool NC weather we having this Fall.

Your fifth "pro" has opened up the floor and allows Okogie and TJ to attack the basket without crashing through a tangle of bodies in the paint. I also love the ball movement and the readiness/willingness to get our butts down the floor in transition.

All the cons will be fixed by recruiting. Eventually.

I cringe at times (turnovers and missed shots), but this is a lot more fun to watch.

Ahhhh
You reminded me.....
Transition D. Holy moly. There is no excuse for getting beat down the floor on a made basket. That happened about 3x in first half. If we do that against good teams it will be a long night. Those big finishes will sway Ol' Mo in a hurry.

 

[YlJacket]

Ahhhh
You reminded me.....
Transition D. Holy moly. There is no excuse for getting beat down the floor on a made basket. That happened about 3x in first half. If we do that against good teams it will be a long night. Those big finishes will sway Ol' Mo in a hurry.

In my Debbie Downer mode, this is going to kill us when we play ACC teams - most of which are going to be much more athletic than we are. Uptempo is great for recruiting and I understand that but there are going to be some nights where we get the ball run down our throat as we can't keep up with the other teams's speed. We are likely going to give up 100 to several teams this year.

Growing pains will be ummm painful

 

[orientalnc]

In my Debbie Downer mode, this is going to kill us when we play ACC teams - most of which are going to be much more athletic than we are. Uptempo is great for recruiting and I understand that but there are going to be some nights where we get the ball run down our throat as we can't keep up with the other teams's speed. We are likely going to give up 100 to several teams this year.

Growing pains will be ummm painful

I agree that we may have 100 scored on us more than once this year, but 100-85 is really no different than 70-55. Except, it is a lot more fun to watch and to play.

On your other point, I disagree. Team speed is not our issue as much as talent. It's not that we cannot get down the floor as fast, but we are not as good as we need to be in recognizing opponents' transition opportunities and having proper positioning on the floor. Duke and UNC and Louisville will run on us and we will get burned badly at times. They are far more talented and there is not much we can do to overcome that.

I encourage all of us to look for progress and not focus too much on wins or the margin in losses. We will be at a big disadvantage in some ACC games this year. Accept that and enjoy the game as a basketball fan.

 

[YlJacket]

There is no argument our biggest issue is talent overall. We only have a few players that could sniff an upper echelon ACC roster.
My point was only about tempo and while it looks good now against lower talent/speed players it is going to exacerbate the score differrentials down the road. We have a couple of kids that can run with a team like UNC but 2 or 3 that simply cannot run with UNC - and that is before you start talking about overall talent.

I understand why he is doing it - recruiting and the style he wants to play going forward. No issue there. Just means there are going to be some really ugly games. Off with the DDowner cloak now.

 

[J-Rye]

Lammers would start for UofL. I like his game

 

[GTRX7]

Lammers - 23 points, 15 boards, 9 blocks - what a night! We haven't seen too many triple doubles at Tech over the years.

This bears repeating. I think we have only had 4 triple-doubles in the history of Tech, and Lammers almost had one last night. Just one more block!

 

[ChasonBaller]

lol

 

[ChasonBaller]

Lammers would be a beast on FanDuel

 

[dtm1997]

This bears repeating. I think we have only had 4 triple-doubles in the history of Tech, and Lammers almost had one last night. Just one more block!

Post game interview with Demetra said the last one was by Shump and the one before that was by Kenny Anderson. Lammers' 9 blocks makes him the 2nd person in GT history to pull that off after Alvin Jones.

 

[RamblinRed]

didn't get to see last night's game as i had other commitments but should be there Friday.
Lammers would probably start for at least half the teams in the ACC. Combining a big time defensive presence with an efficient offense is a combo almost every coach would like. He wouldn't be the bets player on any team (except maybe BC) but he would be a valued starter on alot of them.

To me Lammers, Jackson and Okogie are the three that are closest to being ACC starting level talents. i think Lammers is one, i think Jackson has the talent to be one but will have to show consistency over this year to prove it and Okogie looks like a FR who is a future ACC high level starter, but I would temper enthusiasm a little as he starts to play guys that can match his athleticism and physicality he is going to learn some lessons and have some bad games.

I think Pastner's system better suits TJ's game. But he needs to make sure to bring it every night. i think that is what the staff is really trying to instill in him. A consistency of effort. I'm actually not sure if the system is a great fit for Q, at least how they are using him - but he is putting forth the effort to try.

Q and Heath are probably both ACC level backups.
I like Matthews as sort of a poor man's Scott Wood eventually.
but there is no doubt that recruiting higher level talent is priority #1.

Friday will be a good early test. Ohio currently sits 2 spots higher on KenPom than GT. Good mid major program. They are shooting lights out so far (49% threes). Their starting SG is 7-15 from 3 (9-20 overall) and one of the starting forwards is 9-13 from 3 (11-21 overall). They have alot more size than we have seen so far. i expect Friday's game to be a 1-2 possession type game.

 

[gt69hjcollins]

This is still a work in progress. We are not a good FT shooting team, but this was bad tonight. Okogie, Lammers, and TJ are solid.

Ohio will be more of a challenge, so steady improvement is absolutely necessary.

One thing I noticed was that Tadric's free throw shooting form looks much better this year. He did not shoot that well last night, but his form indicates he will with more reaps.

 

[Connell62]

Friday will be a good early test. Ohio currently sits 2 spots higher on KenPom than GT. Good mid major program. They are shooting lights out so far (49% threes). Their starting SG is 7-15 from 3 (9-20 overall) and one of the starting forwards is 9-13 from 3 (11-21 overall). They have alot more size than we have seen so far. i expect Friday's game to be a 1-2 possession type game.

Looking forward to attending.. Hopefully the crowd shows up for what will be an important game. This is the type of game where a home court advantage should come into play.. I know, I realize what I just said, but I hope to see some excitement.

Ohio has a good team, but it is a game that we should win if we can keep playing hard on defense and if we do a better job of rebounding the ball. Here's to a good performance and starting the season 3-0!

 

[gt69hjcollins]

Overall, a really fun two games to open the season. It's clear that we're gonna have some nights that are an absolute mess. It's also clear that we've got 3 players in Okogie, Tadric, & Lammers to showcase style of play immediately to recruits, as well as some developmental players in Moore & C-Matt. Heyward has been fun to watch so far in the early season. Q is limited in a number of ways, but he's still making some solid contributions and showing leadership.

We've fully prepared ourselves for low expectations this season. If we keep it that way, it'll be easier to enjoy the ride.

Finally, I'll be a broken record this season, but get out to every game you can. Even the losses in this style of play should still be pretty fun games for us and it'll make a difference in landing all those prospects we're hungry to see on the Flats.

I agree 100%. We have hard working student athletes and a hard working coaching staff. They are fun to watch and will get better each game. "Thriller Dome" !!!!!!

 

[gt69hjcollins]

I am looking forward to attending also. Go Jackets!!

 

[glandon1960]

I have been to all three games - seen improvement and effort which is all I think we can hope for this year- but this team still is going to end up with a minimum 10 to at most 13 wins given the talent and experience level (and how tough the ACC is this year).

Offensive style - so much more fun to watch than Gregory's system it's not funny. And it will attract recruits over time ... movement/pace/structure has gotten better each game.
Rebounding - not the focus is was under Gregory. Last night was better than against Tennessee Tech - but a real weakness vs previous teams that will hurt some games.
Shooting - jury still out, but this is not a great shooting team. Only Okogie (primarily on the drive) and Tadric can create their own shot. Ball and player movement to get open shots is key.
Depth - not much (that is ready to play at this level). The two grad xfers are role players at best, Matthews has potential but not ready for ACC at this time.
-- One thing that will change is Heath being able to play. We really need steady play at point - Moore is too inconsistent at this time and Heyward has limited skills (he did nice job last night).
----- Too hard to say how good this team will be until Heath is back, and Tadric at full speed.
----- CJP really shortened the bench (expect that in ACC play ... but not against SWAC teams) ... but he has to else things get too inconsistent.
Defense - at times each game I thought we were Syracuse with all the zone - which is something I think this team needs to do a lot of ... protect more from foul trouble, lack of depth, etc. Like most GT teams last decade or so, this one has trouble stopping dribble penetration when man-to-man .. and can not afford for Lammers to be on the bench in foul trouble.

Lammers - improvement and confidence is so much higher than last year. Solid ACC center - middle of the pack (in ACC). We really have no one close to his level to back him up .
Okogie - should be high level ACC player in a year ... easily best of the freshman. Shooting is a little suspect, but does a lot of good things. Love his 'motor' - non stop effort.
Tadric - I agree this system fits him a lot better. He is the best scorer and one that will have the ball in close games down the stretch. Should end up leading team in scoring.
Heath - need to see him out there, but if just as good as last year we need him out there to compete ... the other PG's are too inconsistent
.... those would play on any team in the ACC

Q - we need his shooting and steady play to win ... but he's really an ACC level role player that is having to play starter minutes
Gueye - started last two - really effective on defense - much improved of offense - will be interesting to see how he develops - does some good and some bad (mainly dumb TO) right now.
Ogbondo could be good, but that's a year or two away. Way to 'raw' right now. Does play hard.
Moore - potential, but way too many mistakes... this team has nearly no margin for error to beat a top 50-60 team .... expect he will improve - but right now a roller coaster when he has the ball
Matthews - potential, would not play on high level ACC teams right now, but could develop ... does both good and bad things right now
Hayward - we've seen him for 3 seasons, plays within himself - did make two nice open three's last night.
McCormick/Price - have not impressed in their limited minutes.