Tulane

Ramblingon

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
565
Had to look up scoring records and Kenny A. got 50 pts in one game in '90. Josh's 38 ranks way up on the overall history list, though. And it's been a long time since anyone has scored that much. ACC frosh of the week I would hope.
 

dtm1997

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
15,724
Haven't watched this yet, but I bet Coach has a lot of criticism. Ended up being a strong win & Okogie's accomplishment was fantastic, but there were a lot of correctable mistakes, regardless of how talented (or not talented) this squad is.


Also, @McCamish Maniacs may have the dunk highlight.
 

gtdoceulaw

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
106
Went to both the football and basketball games yesterday and wasn't sure which of these wins were more gratifying. Hence I will say they both equally were because I am in a good mood this morning.

Some thoughts about the hoops game:

1. Okogie is a monster. He might hit the wall once ACC play begins but his ability to get to the rim and finish is not to be underestimated.
2. Lammers fills up the stat sheet.
3. If Stephens can be a little more consistent we'd have 3 reliable go to players on offense.
4. Josh Moore is getting significant minutes as a freshman starting at PG and is doing an admirable job.
5. If the above 4 players continue with their consistent play, things could get very interesting later in the season when Coach Pastner introduces his other frosh, Matthews, and his two prized transfers, McCormick and Price into the rotation.

A couple of questions regarding Okogie. What previous GaTech player does he remind you guys of? I'd say Brian Oliver from the Lethal Weapon 3 days. Could he be one-and-done? I find it interesting that we will be recruiting MJ Walker into the spring. Could he be a backup plan if Okogie goes to the NBA?
 

Peacone36

Helluva Engineer
Messages
10,529
Location
Maine
So I'm watching the last 6 minutes now. I missed it last night.

Okogie. What can you say? I knew he would be good but I thought he was going to be David Lighty, Zak Irvin, Chris Douglas Roberts good. A Swiss Army knife of sorts. But he can score in a variety of ways. I was going to blast his FT shooting until I watched this last bit of the game.

Justin Moore. I like watching this kid play. Not sure I've seen him turn it over on a post entry yet. I have seen him dribble twice to his right or left and get the angle before making the pass though. He gets it, and he's getting better. Heath didn't get his expected triple double which was disappointing. Q also had a double double last night with 14-12. Rebounding is a big issue for us and the senior is trying to pick up the slack.

We need to come up with a better name for Ben. The Laminator doesn't do it for me.

We are now on a 3 game stretch that will tell me where we actually are. Tenn. Tech, SHST, Southern, even Tulane really don't give you an adequate gauge of where we are at. We have the 3 most talented kids in all 4 of those games in Lammers Okogie and Jax. We should win those. If we go 2-1 in the next 3 then I may change my prediction on the season. I think we go 1-2 and get the win in Rocky Top. PSU on the road is tougher than people are thinking. Carr/Stevens/Watkins are living up to that "best class ever" talk.
 

Fatmike91

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,298
Location
SW Florida
We must have watched different games.

Or maybe the team is better than the crazy low expectations?

- I saw 18 assists
- I saw Ben continue to play really well against better competition and triple teams
- I saw a freshman break the GT freshman scoring record
- I saw hustle and heart (we won the 50/50 balls 21 to 7)
- I saw basketball that I like to watch

How many of those things would most fans expect to see this year???

Sure, plenty of mistakes but they are fixable (bad free throw shooting, bad 1:1 defense, etc.).

/
 

RamblinRed

Helluva Engineer
Featured Member
Messages
5,901
Still too early to say much about this team as the competition hasn't been very good. Small quiet crowd last night - except when they brought out some of the FB players at halftime with the Governor's Trophy.

Okogie can score alot of points without being a 3-pt shooter. He cuts very hard to the basket and is strong which puts alot of pressure on a defense, Would have had over 40 if he wasn't affected by the FT yips that the whole team had the first 35 min.
Q had a good night. He was the only one that could score for about a 5 min stretch in the first half and why GT went from 6 down to 5 up. He plays hard at both ends. Rebounds well, doesn't make too many bad plays.

You can count on Moore for 1 or 2 impressive offensive plays each game. He has serious athleticism. Unfortunately he also has no real shot outside of 10 ft or so which is going to limit his effectiveness as we play better teams.

Heath was just ok in his first game. Took care of the ball, hit 1 three, missed all his floaters.

Lammers was Lammers. A couple of Tulane guys behind me remarked how well he moved for a big guy. How nimble he was. Good observation.

TJ unfortunately was trash in this game. 1 amazing dunk does not make up for what was otherwise a complete clunker of the game. Alot of poor decisions. Bad passes, poor shots.

We need TJ and Josh combined to avg probably 35-38 ppg to be competitive, but we don't need it all coming from one player.

Pastner did a nice job getting Lammers a breather - using AD on the backline in the zone. Actually kept Lammers out a couple min longer than i expected.

Alot more movement in the offense than we are use to seeing in at least 10 yrs. Even when they are cold (most of the first half was tough - was shooting about 25% from the field and under 30% FT for a good stretch) it's easier to watch.

FT shooting got in their heads in the first half.
 

Peacone36

Helluva Engineer
Messages
10,529
Location
Maine
Or maybe the team is better than the crazy low expectations?

- I saw 18 assists
- I saw Ben continue to play really well against better competition and triple teams
- I saw a freshman break the GT freshman scoring record
- I saw hustle and heart (we won the 50/50 balls 21 to 7)
- I saw basketball that I like to watch

How many of those things would most fans expect to see this year???

Sure, plenty of mistakes but they are fixable (bad free throw shooting, bad 1:1 defense, etc.).

/

I'd agree some things may have been overstated before the season. Jax had been a large disappointment his first two seasons. I think we expected an uptick but he has exceeded expectations so far.

Justin Moore has been a pleasant surprise.
Lammers has made big strides specifically with his assertiveness on the offensive end. He NEVER looked to shoot his first two years.
Okogies offense appears to be ahead of our expectations.

I think we can handle BC without question. Having seen a lot of other teams play so far, I don't know if our win total changes, but we may not be quite the dumpster fire that was expected.
 

YlJacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
3,273
We will live and die on our shooting. ACC level teams are not going to let Lammers and Okogie beat them around the basket. We are going to have some ability to shoot from the perimeter especially from 3.

Like pea, we are better than I thought but the margin for error in the ACC is going to be zero. All pieces will have to be clicking - especially shooting for us to compete going forward
 
Top