Ahhh, revenge is sweet

There is nothing like an old-fashion beatdown, especially when it is your arch-rival. After last year's debacle, tonight was sweet. The Jackets dominate in really every phase of the game and beat UGAg 87-49. Did you really think it was stupid to have the poll (on the right column) have a choice of 35 or more points? That's the way I voted.


Here are some points from the game:


DEFENSE: Once again, the Jackets were just too much. Now, UGA was actually shooting 50% from 3pt range at the half, but you just knew it couldn't continue. It didn't. UGAg ended the game shooting 34% overall and 23% from 3pt range. So you know how bad a 2nd half they had. Now, UGAg actually did a nice job protecting the ball, ending with only 12 to's. But the Jacket defense is world-class, and if they can keep up this level of intensity, the sky's the limit.


REBOUNDING: Wow. The Jackets outrebound UGAg 41-24. No doubt UGAg was an undermanned team, but be that as it may - they still controlled the glass. Luke was the MAN with 14, and the rest were spread out amongst the team. But this is one of the key reasons we jacked our lead up in the 2nd half. Remember, this time last season we were complaining about our inability to rebound as we routinely lost the battle of the boards.


OFFENSE: A solid effort overall. Jackets shoot 54% overall, and 37% from 3pt. Great transition offense as usual. Our weakness continues to be our ability to breakdown the zone defense. We just have a hard time feeding the ball into the post. That is one of the hardest passes to make, particularly in a zone. And when Tarver was in there, I don't think we tried to get it to him at all. Well, then we just end up passing it our the perimeter, until someone decides to just breakdown the zone one-on-one. Certainly an area of weakness that needs work, but hard to be too critical on a night when we win by 38 points.


FREE THROWS: Jackets finish 20-30 - ok, but not good enough. Like I said, it's going to cost us a game or two.


1. Jarrett Jack was CLEARLY the man tonight. Not necessarily dishing out assists, but tonight he needed to score and he did. He finished with 18 points, on 7-7 from the field, including 3-3 from 3pt range. He also had 4 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 to's. He clearly set the tone defensively.


2. Luke Schenscher was dominant in the paint. Luke gets his first double/double, ending with 12 points (4-6), 14 boards, 2 blocks. What was most impressive was his ability to block or alter a shot and grab the ball with authority. I was proud of Luke's performance tonight.


3. BJ Elder. BJ is finding his stroke more consistently the last few games. Tonight he scores 19 points (8-14), and goes 2-6 from 3pt. He also grabbed 2 boards, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 to's, and had a nice dunk on an alley-oop from Isma'il if you can believe that.


4. Isma'il Muhammad. It's funny. In thinking back on the game, I didn't get the impression that Isma'il was playing all that well. However, he ended with 12 pts (5-9), 7 boards (4 off), 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 to's. He didn't get his patented dunk tonight although it looked like he might.


5. Ra'Sean Dickey. I have to give some special props to this freshman tonight. And the crowd did also, giving him a nice standing O after a series of nice plays defensively and on the boards. Dickey had his coming out party tonight, playing only in the 2nd half, but finishing with 12 pts (3-3), and going 6-7 from the line, 6 boards (4 off), 3 blocks, 1 to. Just a quality effort for Ra'Sean.


Coach Hewitt in the post-game interview said that Dickey had been losing weight, and while he was initially concerned it might be too much, he is definitely quicker off his feet and that he is getting better and better. Coach was happy to see all the young guys contribute.


6. Buck Fredrick. Buck did a VERY nice job tonight. He ends with 6 pts (2-7), 2-3 from 3pt, 1 board, 1 assist, and 0 to's. In the post game interview with Coach Hewitt, Wes asked him how hard it has been for Buck to sit. Coach said - Zam has a lot of pride and he wants to play. It's hard for him to watch these older guys, but he respects the heck out of them. He had probably his best practice this week of the season and I told him to be ready tonight. He have us a real lift in the 1st half when some guys got into foul trouble.


Wes actually interviewed Buck, who said he is just trying to take advantage of his minutes when he gets them. He said he tries to do what he does best - score, break down the defense, get guys the ball. He said that he has really started to practice harder and wants to contribute more........ He also said that he and Dickey have been close for 5 years now - AAU, etc. He said they really play well together and he likes getting Ra'Sean his touches because he is really talented too.


Buck was very well spoken and even showed a sense of humor. When he said he was practicing harder, he also told Wes that he hasn't shown everything he's got to his teammates.


Everyone got minutes tonight. In fact nobody went over 30 minutes. Aside from Mario West, who had 7 minutes, everyone got at least 10. So a great game for experience. An outstanding effort in the destruction of the Dawgs.


Oh yeah, as for the ACC / SEC Challenge, forget about it: 6-0 ACC - DOMINATION!!

Friday
Virginia beats Auburn 98-87 (@ UVA)


Saturday
FSU beat Mississippi 69-64 (@Miss)
Miami beats #19 Flordia 72-65 (@ Florida)
#9 North Carolina beats #8 Kentucky 91-78 (@ UNC)
Clemson beats South Carolina 63-62 in OT (@SC)


Sunday
Georgia Tech beats Georgia 87-49