The Big Picture

Ok - I will break this thing down in detail, but before I do, let's keep this thing in perspective.

1. Georgia Tech just finished a season where they played for the National Championship game after losing two ACC ROY's, one being a 1st round pick, and where we were picked to finish 7th in the ACC.
2. We return the core of our team and bring in one of the top 20 recruiting classes in the nation.
3. Our talented PG J.Jack will be returning for his junior season.

Ladies and gents, our team will be just fine next season. I am fine with people expressing disappointment, but not personal attacks on Morris or his family. I also won't put up with UK fans talking smack on the board - they will be killed quickly. As the old saying goes - "You cannot lose something you never had".

Now having said that let's look at some things surrounding Morris's announcement

HOW MUCH DID LOCATION MATTER?
Obviously it was not the deciding factor. Maybe the mystique of Lexington appealed more than a known quantity. "The grass is always greener...". From our standpoint, location was important, because Morris was a kid in our backyard and we lost him. In what could arguably be considered the most talented high school crop in ATL every, we got shutout. Of course the NBA got 2 of them. Add to that the loss of junior Louis Williams to UGAg and our in-state record has been a bit weak lately.

Having said that, let's remember that we took top players out of SC, NC and TX. This post on one of the boards from a South Carolina fan says it all - "I am from South Carolina and have been keeping up with Morris. I hate to see him pick Kentucky,because now we have to play him two times a year. If yall feel bad on here think how we feel. You came into South Carolina, and took our two best players. What comes around go's around lol. Dickey will be bigtime for yall,and he will be around longer then Morris. When Morris is gone Dickey will be putting in 15 a game and 10 boards."

I couldn't have said it better myself. So now Coach Hewitt needs to strengthen his game in the state of GA, which is tough, because lots of coaches are in our yard these days.

HOW MUCH DID FAMILY MATTER?
Well, mom wanted Randolph to stay close to home. Dad's comments hinted a bit towards UK, but were not clear. Typically moms win the close battles but not in this case. Older brother is a manager on GT's hoops team and obviously that didn't matter. In fact, that may have worked against us. First off, Randolph probably knew a lot more about the inside of the GT program than the average recruit would know because of bro's connections. Not that there is anything bad to know, but "access" to info probably gives him a better idea of both the pro's and cons of GT.

WHAT ABOUT THE STYLE OF OFFENSE?
Honestly, I think this played a role. We can talk about Luke's performance, but the offense did not run through Luke. All the talk about GT hoops was about a transition team, a run-and-gun team, one that was weak in the half-court set. UK on the other hand, focuses on an inside-out game - inside first. Stronger half-court sets. I really think this played a role in his thinking. Could be wrong but who knows.

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH ACADEMICS?
Well RM himself said - "I would not be comfortable being a student athlete at Georgia Tech".

Here's another quote - "Kentucky, it's not as rigorous as it is at Georgia Tech," Morris said. "I get good academics with a support system, and I think I can be successful."

Another quote "Georgia Tech is a good institution, but I would not feel comfortable being a student-athlete. At the University of Kentucky, I think I would feel comfortable with the academic schemes....."

That speaks directly to the difficult academic environment at GT. Or does it actually speak just as much to the academic environment at UK? In some ways you have to give RM credit for being so honest about this. He seemed to have misgivings about his ability to handle the load and was honest about it. Now THIS is where his older brother at GT probably hurt the most. Anyone who has gone to GT knows about the difficultly of the weedout process. Well, older bro' could speak first hand about the difficulty. In fact, some of the UK radio guys were commenting on rumors that Morris's brother might actually transfer to UK as well. Randolph seems like a smart kid and could probably handle it but he was more comfortable with the academics at UK. Don't forget something else - RM says college is important, but he was asked about how many years he sees himself at UK. His answer "A college degree is important, and we'll just have to see how things work out. If my draft status improves a lot after a year, we will have to look at the situation". Let's face it - he sees himself in the NBA and wants to improve his stock. Why have to bust your hump too much with the books when you might only be there one year? (that's me talking - not RM).

This is a reality of recruiting into GT - everyone needs to remember that when we complain that we cannot beat the FSU's in football and compete in the top 10. Well, we ARE competing in hoops, but it takes special effort to recruit the type of kids that will make it here. That goes for all sports. This can never be underestimated!!! You have to recruit kids that want to be here and can and will do the work!!! Coach Gailey seems to be doing a good job in this area as well.

HOW MUCH DOES CHEMISTRY MATTER??
In this case it was critical. RM said he had a real chemistry with Rondo / Crawford, the other 2 McDonalds AA's. Rondo was even his roomate as we now know. He liked those guys, and enjoyed playing with them at that game. He developed a rapport. That could not happen with our four recruits because they did not play the same all-star game circuits. So chemistry with the incoming recruits was key. He just got to know those guys better. Heck, look at our recruits - Ra'Sean Dickey and Buck Fredrick are AAU teammates and talked a lot about being a package deal, which is what ended up happening. So chemistry matters.

WHAT ABOUT PLAYING TIME AND COMPETITION WITH LUKE?
Well, RM said that Luke's solid junior campaign didn't influence his decision. However, I would submit that playing time and a starting job were probably some level of importance to him. And at GT he would have to start the season on the bench and earn his minutes against a standout center taller than him. At UK, he probably starts from day 1, as the two 7+ footers continue to languish on the bench. If we want to really find out how good Tubby Smith is at developing bigmen, let's follow those other two 7 footers through the junior / senior seasons.

WHY DIDN'T HE NOTIFY COACH HEWITT?
The only thing that really upsets me about RM's comments is that he made up his mind about a month ago after the McDonald's AA game, but never called Coach Hewitt to inform him of the decision. Said the people at the press conference were the first to know. This bothers me. I know RM is only 18 years old and has a right to handle this anyway he wants. However, RM has been involved with GT since 9th grade and on a basic level, at least Coach Hewitt deserves the respect of a phone call - even if it is one hour prior to the press conference. But nothing.

The secondary impact of this is that we lose out of some other recruits that may have signed had he announced earlier. The most noteworthy was Aaron Pettway, who wanted to visit GT, but was put off pending a TM decision. He ended up signing with OSU. I am not upset that he waited until May 6 to announce. I am upset that he says he made a decision a month ago and did not at least notify GT coaches, so they could make other plans. Had he truly not known what he wanted to do until this week and still picked UK I could accept that. But knowing for a month and handling it like this doesn't sit well with me.

Maybe it hurt us in recruiting, maybe it didn't - but bottom line - not calling Coach Hewitt show a lack of respect in my opinion. That is not bashing RM, but it is just common courtesy in my book.

CONCLUSION
So in the end we lost. We went head-to-head with the of the most storied programs of all-time and we didn't win this battle. There have been many battles in the past and there are many more to come. But just battling to the finish and being one of two options left for him should be considered an important sign. If our program is truly on the rise, then it means our battles for top talent will now consistently be the Arizona's, UK's, Duke's, UNC's, UConn's, Syracuse, etc, etc. To be the best you have to beat the best. And for one more cliche - you can't win them all.

Randolph Morris, we wish you success in your future. We are disappointed but hope this works out for you. We hope to be cutting down the nets next season but don't 2nd guess yourself. However, if your freshman year at UK is a poor one - and you find next off-season that UK is recruiting a new stud 7-footer for the team, and they need to make room with a 'ship - keep us in mind. Because if you don't produce and UK doesn't win, you're days as a favorite son are over - just ask the guys who are transferring, the recruit who is going to prep school because in his words - they need you more than they need him - or ask the two 7-footers on the bench. What you did in high school don't mean squat any longer. Not sour grapes - that's reality.

Work hard and play hard - we wish you the best.

ON TO OUR REAL RECRUITS
To Jeremis Smith, Zam "Buck" Fredrick, Ra'Sean Dickey and Anthony Morrow - we could NOT be more excited about next season with you guys coming in. We are all excited about the team and what you can accomplish. You will be learning the ropes from some guys who have been to the NCAA finals. Work hard in the summer - bust your humps - when they say it makes a difference - they are speaking from facts.

Thanks for committing to the Jackets. You made the right choice. We look forward to you building on the legacy and taking it to an even higher level - GO JACKETS!!!!!!!