Geogia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt Says Local Media is Desperate

Greensboro, NC—It's no secret that Paul Hewitt isn't the most popular guy in Atlanta these days.

He often gets booed loudly when announced at the beginning of Georgia Tech's home games, the result of his recent teams failing to live up to the expectations set when Hewitt took the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four in just his fourth year coaching the program.

That disappointment has sparked a lot of discussion about Hewitt's future with Georgia Tech, and mostly the kind that involves him getting fired.

When asked whether or not his team's ACC tournament performance, which has locked up their spot in the NCAAs, would get the attention back on his team, Hewitt took a moment to address his critics.

“I think a lot’s been overblown," Hewitt said. "It’s only one person trying to create a lot of attention, and that’s fine. If that person has an axe to grind with me, I don't know why that is, but it's fine. We'll move on. I know what the deal is."

After that comment, Hewitt paused as if he was debating whether or not to speak further about the criticism by local media.

Then he said, "I guess they're desperate to sell papers."

By "they," Hewitt is referring to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. By "that person," he is almost certainly referring to Mark Bradley, the AJC's sports columnist, and a steady critic of Hewitt's coaching performance.

Bradley has been all over Hewitt this season—dogging on Tech's disappointing season prior to the ACC tournament, and frequently discussing Hewitt's much talked about $7 million dollar buyout in the event that he is ever fired.

That $7 million dollar buyout probably makes Hewitt a lot less desperate to win games (at least as far as his job security goes) than the newspapers are to sell papers.

By taking his No. 7 seeded Yellow Jackets to the ACC tournament finals and, consequently, to their third NCAA tournament appearance since 2004, some of the Hewitt hate will likely die down—at least for now.

But Georgia Tech needs to have a good run in the tournament for the harsh criticism toward Hewitt to take an extended break.

With two likely lottery picks in Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors, this is arguably the most talented group Tech has had in years.

It's also the most talented group they'll have for a good time to come.

After this season, Tech will lose three of its top four scorers in Lawal, Favors, and Zachery Peacock. They will lose two of the top three rebounders in the ACC.

As a result, they will probably lose a lot of games next year.

Buyouts aside, Hewitt needs this team to make it to at least the Sweet 16 if he hopes to start winning back the Yellow Jackets' fan base (he tried doing that through Twitter earlier this year, without much avail).

He may not be desperate to keep his job. No one with a $7 million dollar severance package is truly desperate.

The AJC might not be desperate to sell papers. My wife buys a double-paper from them every Sunday morning (coupons), so at least they've got that going for them.

Tech fans, however, are probably desperate to see their team live up to the high expectations and restore their faith in the top-notch program Hewitt seemed to be building a few years ago.

For Hewitt, that should be motivation enough.