Jackets Heating Up
The first 14 games of the Brian Gregory era at Georgia Tech did not go swimmingly. The Yellow Jackets mixed and matched unimpressive wins with painstakingly bad losses. Prior to Saturday’s ACC opener with Duke, Tech’s past three games consisted of losses to Mercer, Fordham, and a 25-point blowout to Alabama.
Suddenly, the outlook in Atlanta is not quite so bleak. The Yellow Jackets went into the RBC Center Wednesday night and snapped NC State’s six-game win streak, and they did so convincingly. They ended the first half on a 19-3 run to take an 11-point lead into the locker room, and brushed aside a trying Wolfpack comeback attempt.
In Saturday’s game against the Blue Devils, the 12-point home underdogs gave third-ranked Duke a much sterner test than expected, falling 81-74.
So, how does a team that seemed destined for the doldrums of the conference standings suddenly become competitive?
In their first 14 games, the Yellow Jackets shot a putrid 29 percent from three-point range. On average, they attempted 15.6 three’s while making just 4.6 of them. Against Duke and NC State, a reversal of fortunes has taken place in emphatic fashion. They shot 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) against the Blue Devils and an incredible 9-of-15 (60 percent) against the Wolfpack.
Collectively, the Yellow Jackets have taken few three’s than usual in their last two games which astronomically better results. Much of the turnaround this week will be attributed to Glen Rice, Jr., and rightfully so. The junior forward whose DNA requires he have a sweet stroke and unlimited range has scored 50 points in the last two games. Prior to the Duke game, Rice had made multiple three’s just once in a game since November 23. He’s made 7-of-12 treys in the last two contests.
The law of averages along with only a few minutes of film study from any of Tech’s first 14 games is enough evidence to say the Jackets won’t continue to look quite as strong over the final 14 games. They certainly won’t shoot 60 percent from beyond the arc many more times, if ever again. But Brian Gregory did pick up his first conference win at Tech and it came on the road, which is all the more impressive. Home teams are 7-3 in ACC match-ups so far.
Gregory likes the direction his team is headed, but what Wednesday night’s game proved more than anything was the simple re-affirmation of the fact that after North Carolina, and realistically Duke, spots 3 through 12 are entirely up for grabs in the ACC.
LINKS
Duke hosts Virginia tonight in a pivotal contest not only for the conference standings, but as a chance for the Cavaliers to pick up the unequivocally biggest win in Tony Bennett’s three-year tenure. Here’s a good preview between opposing bloggers at Streaking the Lawn. Duke Hoop Blog offers up its scouting report of the Wahoos, and also looks at the match-up by the numbers.
As some of you know, and many of you don’t, my work also appears at HoopSpeakU, part of ESPN’s TrueHoop Blog Network. There are plenty of contributors to the site who do spectacular work, and James Liu is no exception. His latest blog compares Duke freshman Austin Rivers to Utah Jazz point guard Devin Harris.
An 11-3 start had things looking up in Blacksburg, but after two straight losses to open conference play, the Hokies are reeling. Tech Hoop Blog looks at what’s gone wrong and how to fix it.
For those of you who have not heard of JP Tokoto, you will soon enough. How about right now? He’s part of North Carolina’s highly touted recruiting class for next season, and Roy Williams has already made some loose comparisons of Tokoto to former Tar Heel Vince Carter. Tokoto and Aquille Carr were some of the stars at last weekend’s Brandon Jennings Invitational in Milwaukee. Carr is an explosive but diminutive guard who recently committed to Seton Hall. Here’s some of their highlights from the weekend:
TWEET TO REMEMBER
