Georgia Tech Basketball: 2010-2011 Preview
The 2009-2010 version of the Yellow Jackets was an up and down team from whom you never knew what to expect.
After a disappointing regular season that put Tech on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Paul Hewitt's team rebounded in the ACC Tournament and advanced to the finals against Duke.
Although they lost in the championship game, their run in the conference tournament turned them into a sure thing in the eyes of the selection committee.
Georgia Tech advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, eventually losing to Evan Turner and Ohio State.
That was then, and this is now. Gone are a couple of NBA draft picks along with a couple of senior leaders. With three of those four players contributing their efforts in the frontcourt, Hewitt and the Yellow Jackets might just have to change their philosophy a bit.
With Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal and Zachery Peacock no longer on the roster, the Jackets will have to rely on a bevy of guards that now dominate the roster. In the frontcourt, Tech hopes that a trio of freshmen will be able to defend in the post and grab some rebounds along the way.
Expectations aren't very high, but with a schedule not terribly daunting and a conference that looks to be down, Hewitt and Georgia Tech have their sights set on a return to the NCAA tournament.
The Starters
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Projected starting lineup
Guard: Iman Shumpert
Guard: Mfon Udofia
Guard: Glen Rice Jr.
Forward: Brian Oliver
Forward: Kammeon Holsey
After the departures of Favors, Lawal and Peacock, expect a more guard-oriented lineup.
Iman Shumpert returns after another inconsistent season but will be the face of the team this season. The junior is a versatile player who has the ability to score and is one of the better defenders in the ACC. He will be the face of the team this season.
Mfon Udofia started the first 25 games last season as a freshman at the point guard position. After starting the year strong, Udofia's play diminished, which put him on the bench. The Georgia native is a left-handed guard with great quickness and an improving shot. He will be an important part of the Georgia Tech team this season.
Glen Rice Jr. showed some potential in his first season in Atlanta. The 6'5" sophomore showed a lot of athleticism and determination on the defensive side. After coming off the bench last season, Rice will see his playing time increase dramatically. He is still developing his offensive game, but he should be an exciting player to watch the next couple of years.
Brian Oliver is another returning sophomore that showed he could be a key contributor going forward. Oliver is a 6'6" sharpshooter that will give Georgia Tech a threat they haven't had in several years. Although he was inconsistent shooting the ball at times last season, Oliver will continue to get better every game.
Kammeon Holsey is expected to be the fifth starter in the post. Holsey is a 6'8" power forward who missed all of last season due to an injury. The redshirt freshman was part of the heralded 2009 recruiting class that included Favors, Udofia, Oliver, Rice Jr. and Daniel Miller. He is long and athletic and will fit in well with Georgia Tech's up-tempo style of play this season.
The Bench
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Maurice Miller came on strong at the end of the year coming off the bench to relieve Iman Shumpert. The 6'2" senior possesses solid ball-handling skills and has the ability to take it to the rack.
Miller's shot has gotten better every year, but he is mainly a facilitator. Look for him to come off the bench once again.
Lance Storrs is another senior guard who will be looked upon to come off the bench and give the Yellow Jackets a spark. Three-point shooting is his strength, and he will fit into Tech's guard-oriented offense.
The senior from Decatur, Georgia has seen his minutes diminish through his career, but he is likely to see his playing time increase this season.
Nick Foreman is a third-year player who started his career as a walk-on. The junior saw time as a freshman when the injury bug hit a few of Tech's key guards in the 2008-2009 season. He is praised for his hard work and hustle on the court, which has paid off. While his playing time decreased last season, Foreman is a role player that will be called upon in defensive situations.
Georgia Tech will likely use two or three freshmen off the bench. They are...
The Newcomers
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Jason Morris is the big commit from the 2010 class and will likely come off the bench to start the year. He is a combo guard that has good enough size and athleticism to be a great player in the tough ACC.
The 6'5" freshman was a 4-star prospect and rated as one of the top players in the country. This kid is talented enough to find his way into the starting lineup by the end of the year.
Along with fellow redshirt freshman Kammeon Holsey, Daniel Miller was a 3-star prospect out of Loganville Christian Academy and was a signee of the highly ranked 2009 recruiting class. The 6'11", 258-lb. center was committed to the University of Georgia before Paul Hewitt came knocking. Miller switched his allegiance and became a Yellow Jacket.
Because of the depth in the frontcourt last season, Miller was able to redshirt in the 2009-2010 season. This year, Georgia Tech is thin in the post and will rely on Miller for some help.
Nate Hicks is another freshman post player that could make a contribution this season. Hicks signed with Tulane in 2009, but a coaching change forced Hicks to reconsider his college options. He decided it was best for him that he took his game to Georgia Tech.
Hicks is 6'10" but only 218 pounds. While it looks like Hicks has a lot of potential, he could be redshirted this year to develop and mature. However, Georgia Tech's depth inside could force Hicks to play this season.
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What They Lost
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Key losses: F Derrick Favors, F Gani Lawal, F Zachery Peacock, G/F D'Andre Bell
Obviously, losing players who are now playing in the NBA does not make your team better. Just ask the Georgia Tech football team.
The Yellow Jackets are now without three big men that carried their team to the NCAA Tournament last season. Tech will also be without another four-year player, and it could prove to be a big blow to a team that finished in the middle of the ACC in the regular season.
Derrick Favors was one of the top freshmen in the country last season, and his efforts earned him the nod as the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft. It took him a little while to get used to playing in big time college basketball, but when he did, he was pretty darn good.
Favors averaged 12 points along with eight boards a game playing next to Gani Lawal. Tech loses a big-time threat inside, offensively and defensively.
Gani Lawal had been a stalwart for the Yellow Jackets for three years. Lawal improved each season and was one of the hardest-working players for Paul Hewitt. He was a force down low, but they will miss the energy and work ethic that he brought to the team.
Zachery Peacock finally found his niche coming off the bench during the 2009-2010 season. Peacock was a big, 6'8" forward that could bang down low along with a decent mid-range shot. He was a quiet kid that had a calming influence on the team. He averaged nine points a game.
After being a starter for most of his first three seasons, Peacock was the first guy off the bench during Tech's NCAA Tournament run. Although he wasn't a starter, his minutes increased from the previous three seasons.
D'Andre Bell was a four-year player that will be missed this season. Bell was a solid contributor for the Jackets but was praised for his defensive prowess. He wasn't much of a scorer, but Bell was a solid defender and could knock down open, mid-range shots.
The Schedule
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Georgia Tech has been known to step out of the conference and face the big boys in recent years. Matchups with powers such as Kansas, UConn and UCLA have been the norm. A schedule with teams like that can be difficult when you add in the regular ACC schedule.
However, this season's slate is a bit different. With no big-time out of conference opponents, Hewitt and Tech should be able to have a solid out of conference record.
While there are no powerhouses on the schedule, the Yellow Jackets will be going up against some solid teams to go along with a couple of dominant mid-major squads.
They will travel to New York to face Siena, a perennial NCAA tournament team, as well as make a trip to Northwestern for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Both teams are going to be solid, but both games are winnable. Georgia Tech will play in the Legends Classic in Atlantic City this year, opening up with UTEP. They will play Michigan or Syracuse in the following game.
Arch-rival Georgia visits Alexander Memorial Coliseum this season, and the home team has been dominant in this series. However, Georgia has higher expectations this season with a couple of studs in Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie.
The ACC schedule is favorable this season. Tech will only have to play North Carolina and Duke once but must travel to Durham. They do get Virginia Tech twice but luckily get Miami and Virginia twice. With a conference that is supposed to be down, Georgia Tech could be a dark horse team.
Hewitt's Seat Is on Fire
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Paul Hewitt isn't exactly the most well-liked guy in Atlanta right now. A majority of the fans were hoping he would leave Georgia Tech to take the St. John's job in the offseason.
It seemed like a perfect fit. Hewitt coached at Siena before coming to Tech, so he knows the New York area. But Hewitt decided to stick it out with the Jackets despite a fanbase that is growing tired of his act.
Constantly booed last season on his home court, Hewitt will try to win back fans with his first consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament since the 2004-2005 season. But how can Hewitt win over the fans again?
Winning games is an obvious answer, but there have been many issues that have been giving fans headaches over the last three to four years. The inability to inbound the ball, turnovers, uncontested three-pointers, overuse of timeouts—all of these things have driven fans crazy and divided the Tech fanbase.
Winning can cure a lot of things, but can it rebuild Paul Hewitt's image in Atlanta?
Prediction
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Most experts are predicting no more than six ACC teams in the Big Dance this year. Duke, Carolina and Virginia Tech are sheer locks, and NC State, Clemson, Florida State and Maryland should all have solid teams.
Can Georgia Tech crack the top half of the conference? If they do, Iman Shumpert will have to have a breakout season and be the leader that everyone thought he would be when he signed with Georgia Tech. Other players like Glen Rice Jr. and Brian Oliver must step up after being role players last season.
After losing three key frontcourt players, the bigs down low don't necessarily have to be Dwight Howard, but they need to be able to play solid defense and rebound the basketball. The guards should be able to do most of the scoring on their own.
My heart wants to believe that this team is very talented and could end up being similar to the team that advanced to the National Championship Game the year after Chris Bosh left. But my head is telling me that we've seen many extremely talented Georgia Tech teams come through this town the last few years but not advance past the second round. Some of those talented teams even failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.
This is a tricky team to predict. But I've seen a trend the last several years, and I'm not so sure this team will break it. Georgia Tech will likely finish in the bottom half of the ACC.
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