Bill Sanders for the AJC
Tired, schmired. Good teams win when tired. And while Georgia might not yet be considered a good team, it took a step in that direction Saturday.
.On the heels of an exhausting battle less than 48 hours earlier in Nashville, Georgia withstood a furious Florida rally Saturday, winning 78-76 and showing that it was more tired of losing than anything else.
“It was important for us to pick ourselves off the mat and come beat Florida,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “Getting close is not what we came here to do, and I think our guys are starting to expect to win, and they’re beginning to believe that they are a pretty solid little team.”
Georgia improved to 13-14 and 5-9 in the SEC and play Kentucky on Wednesday night in Athens. Florida fell to 20-9 and 9-5 in the SEC.
After a 96-94 loss at Vanderbilt on Thursday night, Fox told his bench -- a group that he has maligned at times -- to be ready to play Saturday, and be ready to play well.
Ebuka Anyaorah, Vincent Williams and Demario Mayfield, not household names even in Bulldogs homes -- all contributed minutes, points and defensive stands.
In the end, Fox chose those three to address the media, rather than the starters.
“Our bench has been criticized, by me for one, but I really thought they helped us tonight,” he said. “Mayfield has waited for his turn all year, and he got it. Ebuka gave us some big minutes, too. I told them we were going to play a lot of people today.”
The box score won’t do the bench justice, unless you go to the very last stat -- minutes played. Anyaorah: 14; Williams: 15; Mayfield: 4.
Jeremy Price, who has been Georgia’s biggest bench player for most of the season, was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, scoring 13 points in 22 minutes.
“We knew with the Thursday-Saturday schedule, our starters were worn out,” Anyaorah said. “We tried to make an impact, and I think the whole bench brought a lot of energy. I’m here to help however Coach needs me. If I’m needed to sit on the bench, that’s fine.”
Florida unraveled a bit early, as Georgia went on a 14-0 run midway through the first half. Florida coach Billy Donovan was hit with a technical foul for arguing, and 13 minutes into the game, the Gators had only one basket from inside the 3-point line.
Georgia then ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 15-point lead to the locker room.
Georgia maintained the double-digit lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half. But then, as has happened many times before, the lead dwindled, this time until it was almost gone.
“We were fortunate the clock ran out,” Fox said. “We didn’t guard well in the second half. We looked sluggish and heavy-legged.”
Leading 78-76 with 1:16 to play, Trey Thompkins missed a 15-footer, giving Florida the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.
The Gators did neither, as Erving Walker’s running jumper bounced out and into Thompkins’ hands. But Georgia, milking the clock, failed to get off a shot before the shot clock expired.
Florida called timeout and had 13.3 seconds to try to tie or take the lead. They were unable to get off a shot either, as Thompkins batted away a pass from Dan Werner with less than one second to play.
Thompkins led Georgia with 20 points. Chandler Parsons had 29 for Florida.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Hewitt doing little with talent
Tech drops out of the Top 25…and more you didn’t already know
by Carroll Rogers AJC.com
Well, you knew it was coming. After Saturday’s loss at Wake Forest, Tech’s third in four games, the Yellow Jackets dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 today.
They’ve been hovering around No. 20 since early January. Now it’s Wake Forest’s turn, which entered the poll at No. 23, having won five in a row since that 21-point loss at Tech.
Since that game, when Tech seemed to have everything going, the Yellow Jackets have lost three out of four. As a result, Tech (17-8, 5-6) is in the “also receiving votes” category of the AP poll, actually also receiving vote – singular. Now Tech is in dire need of a win against North Carolina Tuesday night to stop the bleeding.
Lineup watch
So what to expect Tuesday after the Yellow Jackets went all topsy-turvy and got 40 points from their bench against Wake Forest and only 24 points from their starters? A change in the lineup perhaps.
(Tech got 12 points each from Moe Miller and Brian Oliver off the bench Saturday and 14 points from Glen Rice Jr.)
“We’re going to look maybe at a change, but we’ll see,” Tech coach Paul Hewitt said Monday before practice. “I’ve got a couple different possibilities in mind. I want to go through practice today and see how everybody looks.”
Hewitt was thinking about a change heading into Saturday’s game, replacing Mfon Udofia in the starting lineup, but changed his mind after Mfon had a strong practice.
Udofia needed another one today, if he wants to start against UNC.
“We’ll look at Glen,” Hewitt said. “We’ll look at Brian. Maybe even Moe. We’ll look at it. Could be Mfon.”
Shumpert slump
Iman Shumpert scored a career-high 30 points against North Carolina in Tech’s win at the Dean Dome on Jan. 16. But now, coming into the rematch, he’s just been shut out at Wake Forest.
Shumpert went 0-for-7 from the floor, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range. He did not go to the foul line. He had one assist and three turnovers and played 21 minutes, six fewer than Moe Miller, the backup, backup point guard who ended up running the team for long stretches.
Hewitt said today that Wake Forest point guard Ish Smith was the difference down the stretch. It looked that way, both by Smith’s example, and the lack of point guard play from Tech over the last few minutes.
I just filed a story about Shumpert’s recent struggles (be on the lookout), but I’ll summarize – both he and Hewitt said today, more troubling than the lack of offensive production lately is how inactive he’s been on defense.
“He had two deflections in 21 minutes (vs. Wake); that’s not him,” Hewitt said. “I talked to him yesterday. He said he’s feeling fine. He feels like he’s just not in it defensively. He said he finds himself standing around and watching, which is something he never does. But he’ll work out of it. It’s just a little bit of a rut.”
Tired late vs. Wake
I asked Hewitt about how easily Wake looked to be breaking down Tech on the drive late in the game Saturday, and he said he thought that might have been a reflection of fatigue and maybe that was on him.
“I’ve been second-guessing myself about how much we may have practiced last week because we looked a little tired in the last four minutes,” Hewitt said. “I was going back and forth whether we should have practiced last Thursday. I decided after how we ended the game against Miami there were some things we had to go over, so I decided to have practice.”
Carolina injuries
North Carolina is down its third big man, and probably its best. Ed Davis broke his wrist falling to the floor last Wednesday against Duke. UNC announced Friday he’ll be out for six weeks. He joins Tyler Zeller, who’s been out since right before Tech played at North Carolina on Jan. 16, and Travis Wear, who has a sprained ankle, on the shelf.
Roy Williams said today on the ACC coaches teleconference that Zeller was supposed to practice today, but it’s the first time he will have done more in practice than a play or two here and there.
“I really do not see him playing tomorrow,” Williams said.
Wear still isn’t practicing at all, so don’t expect him.
Davis was Carolina’s second-leading scorer behind Deon Thompson with 13.4 points per game and their leading rebounder with 9.6 rebounds. The Tar Heels had talented freshman John Henson in his spot Saturday against N.C. State and he did well: nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the win.
The guy Georgia Tech has to watch out for is Will Graves, who burned the Yellow Jackets for 24 points, including 5-for-8 3-pointers on Jan. 16 in Chapel Hill.
by Carroll Rogers AJC.com
Well, you knew it was coming. After Saturday’s loss at Wake Forest, Tech’s third in four games, the Yellow Jackets dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 today.
They’ve been hovering around No. 20 since early January. Now it’s Wake Forest’s turn, which entered the poll at No. 23, having won five in a row since that 21-point loss at Tech.
Since that game, when Tech seemed to have everything going, the Yellow Jackets have lost three out of four. As a result, Tech (17-8, 5-6) is in the “also receiving votes” category of the AP poll, actually also receiving vote – singular. Now Tech is in dire need of a win against North Carolina Tuesday night to stop the bleeding.
Lineup watch
So what to expect Tuesday after the Yellow Jackets went all topsy-turvy and got 40 points from their bench against Wake Forest and only 24 points from their starters? A change in the lineup perhaps.
(Tech got 12 points each from Moe Miller and Brian Oliver off the bench Saturday and 14 points from Glen Rice Jr.)
“We’re going to look maybe at a change, but we’ll see,” Tech coach Paul Hewitt said Monday before practice. “I’ve got a couple different possibilities in mind. I want to go through practice today and see how everybody looks.”
Hewitt was thinking about a change heading into Saturday’s game, replacing Mfon Udofia in the starting lineup, but changed his mind after Mfon had a strong practice.
Udofia needed another one today, if he wants to start against UNC.
“We’ll look at Glen,” Hewitt said. “We’ll look at Brian. Maybe even Moe. We’ll look at it. Could be Mfon.”
Shumpert slump
Iman Shumpert scored a career-high 30 points against North Carolina in Tech’s win at the Dean Dome on Jan. 16. But now, coming into the rematch, he’s just been shut out at Wake Forest.
Shumpert went 0-for-7 from the floor, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range. He did not go to the foul line. He had one assist and three turnovers and played 21 minutes, six fewer than Moe Miller, the backup, backup point guard who ended up running the team for long stretches.
Hewitt said today that Wake Forest point guard Ish Smith was the difference down the stretch. It looked that way, both by Smith’s example, and the lack of point guard play from Tech over the last few minutes.
I just filed a story about Shumpert’s recent struggles (be on the lookout), but I’ll summarize – both he and Hewitt said today, more troubling than the lack of offensive production lately is how inactive he’s been on defense.
“He had two deflections in 21 minutes (vs. Wake); that’s not him,” Hewitt said. “I talked to him yesterday. He said he’s feeling fine. He feels like he’s just not in it defensively. He said he finds himself standing around and watching, which is something he never does. But he’ll work out of it. It’s just a little bit of a rut.”
Tired late vs. Wake
I asked Hewitt about how easily Wake looked to be breaking down Tech on the drive late in the game Saturday, and he said he thought that might have been a reflection of fatigue and maybe that was on him.
“I’ve been second-guessing myself about how much we may have practiced last week because we looked a little tired in the last four minutes,” Hewitt said. “I was going back and forth whether we should have practiced last Thursday. I decided after how we ended the game against Miami there were some things we had to go over, so I decided to have practice.”
Carolina injuries
North Carolina is down its third big man, and probably its best. Ed Davis broke his wrist falling to the floor last Wednesday against Duke. UNC announced Friday he’ll be out for six weeks. He joins Tyler Zeller, who’s been out since right before Tech played at North Carolina on Jan. 16, and Travis Wear, who has a sprained ankle, on the shelf.
Roy Williams said today on the ACC coaches teleconference that Zeller was supposed to practice today, but it’s the first time he will have done more in practice than a play or two here and there.
“I really do not see him playing tomorrow,” Williams said.
Wear still isn’t practicing at all, so don’t expect him.
Davis was Carolina’s second-leading scorer behind Deon Thompson with 13.4 points per game and their leading rebounder with 9.6 rebounds. The Tar Heels had talented freshman John Henson in his spot Saturday against N.C. State and he did well: nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the win.
The guy Georgia Tech has to watch out for is Will Graves, who burned the Yellow Jackets for 24 points, including 5-for-8 3-pointers on Jan. 16 in Chapel Hill.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Midseason recap and preview
Courtesy of the Sports Xchange
SEASON RECAP
Georgia is a game below .500 for the season (10-11) and only 2-6 in SEC play after beating Vanderbilt, but the Bulldogs have been out of only one game in the conference, a 16-point loss at Florida. Their other five losses were by a total of only 20 points, or an average of 4.0 a game.
PLAYER ROTATION
Usual starters -- F Trey Thompkins, F Travis Leslie, C Albert Jackson, G Ricky McPhee, G Dustin Ware. Key subs -- F Chris Barnes, F Jeremy Price, F Drazen Zlovaric, G Vincent Williams, G DeMario Mayfield.
GAME REVIEW
South Carolina 78, Georgia 77
Arkansas 72, Georgia 68
Georgia 72, Vanderbilt 58
GAME PREVIEW
at Auburn, Wednesday, Feb. 10
vs. South Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 13
at Tennessee, Wednesday, Feb. 17
vs. Alabama, Saturday, Feb. 20
at Vanderbilt, Thursday, Feb. 25
IN FOCUS
Perimeter defense will be the key for the Bulldogs at Auburn. They figure to have the advantage inside with Thompkins and Jackson and can match Auburn's athleticism on the perimeter.
ROSTER REPORT
--G Dustin Ware started and played 26 minutes against Vandy despite having flu-like symptoms earlier in the week. He scored 10 points and was 3-of-4 from the field. Freshman Vincent Williams had seven points and four assists in relief of Ware.
--Senior G Ricky McPhee had a career-high five assists against Vanderbilt after being blanked in the category in the previous game.
--F Trey Thompkins was 7-of-12 from the field against Vanderbilt, the third time in the last five games he has made more than half his field goal attempts in a game. He is 41-of-74 (55.4 percent) from the field over that span
SEASON RECAP
Georgia is a game below .500 for the season (10-11) and only 2-6 in SEC play after beating Vanderbilt, but the Bulldogs have been out of only one game in the conference, a 16-point loss at Florida. Their other five losses were by a total of only 20 points, or an average of 4.0 a game.
PLAYER ROTATION
Usual starters -- F Trey Thompkins, F Travis Leslie, C Albert Jackson, G Ricky McPhee, G Dustin Ware. Key subs -- F Chris Barnes, F Jeremy Price, F Drazen Zlovaric, G Vincent Williams, G DeMario Mayfield.
GAME REVIEW
South Carolina 78, Georgia 77
Arkansas 72, Georgia 68
Georgia 72, Vanderbilt 58
GAME PREVIEW
at Auburn, Wednesday, Feb. 10
vs. South Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 13
at Tennessee, Wednesday, Feb. 17
vs. Alabama, Saturday, Feb. 20
at Vanderbilt, Thursday, Feb. 25
IN FOCUS
Perimeter defense will be the key for the Bulldogs at Auburn. They figure to have the advantage inside with Thompkins and Jackson and can match Auburn's athleticism on the perimeter.
ROSTER REPORT
--G Dustin Ware started and played 26 minutes against Vandy despite having flu-like symptoms earlier in the week. He scored 10 points and was 3-of-4 from the field. Freshman Vincent Williams had seven points and four assists in relief of Ware.
--Senior G Ricky McPhee had a career-high five assists against Vanderbilt after being blanked in the category in the previous game.
--F Trey Thompkins was 7-of-12 from the field against Vanderbilt, the third time in the last five games he has made more than half his field goal attempts in a game. He is 41-of-74 (55.4 percent) from the field over that span
Finishing touches to GT class
CBSsports.com
New defensive coordinator Al Groh helped Paul Johnson finish out another balanced, impressive recruiting class with some late pledges, including four-star cornerback Louis Young from Maryland, who had been committed to Stanford.
The class features plenty of solid defensive talent and is heavy with defensive backs, an area of specific concern for Georgia Tech last season.
The class isn't getting much national attention, in part due to its size—the Jackets have just 18 commitments, due to a lack of available scholarships.
But on paper, the class compares favorably to the best the Jackets pulled in during any signing period in the last decade, including the 2007 class that yielded Jon Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt, among others. It is composed almost entirely of in-state players.
There are no quarterbacks in this class, but there are a couple of athletes—Barry Bostic and Synjyn Days among them—who were talented option quarterbacks in high school. Bostic, for one, is projected as a defensive back, although he's happily offered in the past to do some work on offense if Paul Johnson needs it.
Offensive lineman Morgan Bailey is another highlight, bringing size and athleticism in the kind of package Paul Johnson prefers along his line.
Defensive lineman Denzel McCoy is one to watch as well. He stuck by the Jackets when others, including former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin particularly, came in hard for him last fall.
McCoy has already organized much of the Georgia-based portion of this class into a network of phone calls and texts, and some have even gotten together fairly regularly.
It won't get a lot of love from recruiting services, but this is a solid class for the Jackets that fills a lot of holes, and, if those same services are to be believed, projects a lot of future starters, particularly on defense.
New defensive coordinator Al Groh helped Paul Johnson finish out another balanced, impressive recruiting class with some late pledges, including four-star cornerback Louis Young from Maryland, who had been committed to Stanford.
The class features plenty of solid defensive talent and is heavy with defensive backs, an area of specific concern for Georgia Tech last season.
The class isn't getting much national attention, in part due to its size—the Jackets have just 18 commitments, due to a lack of available scholarships.
But on paper, the class compares favorably to the best the Jackets pulled in during any signing period in the last decade, including the 2007 class that yielded Jon Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt, among others. It is composed almost entirely of in-state players.
There are no quarterbacks in this class, but there are a couple of athletes—Barry Bostic and Synjyn Days among them—who were talented option quarterbacks in high school. Bostic, for one, is projected as a defensive back, although he's happily offered in the past to do some work on offense if Paul Johnson needs it.
Offensive lineman Morgan Bailey is another highlight, bringing size and athleticism in the kind of package Paul Johnson prefers along his line.
Defensive lineman Denzel McCoy is one to watch as well. He stuck by the Jackets when others, including former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin particularly, came in hard for him last fall.
McCoy has already organized much of the Georgia-based portion of this class into a network of phone calls and texts, and some have even gotten together fairly regularly.
It won't get a lot of love from recruiting services, but this is a solid class for the Jackets that fills a lot of holes, and, if those same services are to be believed, projects a lot of future starters, particularly on defense.
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