Friday, January 28, 2005

Stories from the Game

Well, I had a great night sleep. Here are a few more notes from the game and some game re-caps:


1. ESPN Top 10 Plays-of-the-Day - GT had #8 (Bynum to Jack to Ish for the reverse lay-in), and #5 (Ish soars from nowhere to throw back the missed shot).


2. Sports is about match-ups and sometimes certain teams or certain players just do not match up well. Chris Paul is now a combined 4-23 from the field in his career against the Jackets. He finished last night 2-11. Of course it works the other way - witness our troubles against NCST.


3. It is worth bringing up that Coach Hewitt was quoted as saying he was pleasantly surprised after watching game film against VaTech. Personally, I thought he was smoking some whacky weed, as did some of my friends, who sent me personal notes. But once again, Coach Hewitt proves that he knows this team better than anyone. When he says we're playing well (but we are losing), I am starting to think we should believe him. When we are winning and he says we are not doing the things we need to do to be successful, I think I'll start believing him. Most of the time I think this is about keeping your team on an even keel. Don't let them get too up or too down. Maybe he's just flat out being honest. Go figure.


4. On TV, it sounded like AMC was really rockin' (at least most of the night). THAT is the kind of support this team deserves. Great show from the local fans!!!


5. Will Bynum has scored 58 points in the last two games. We won one and lost one. The real difference imo - passing. 19 assists is good and an indication we were distributing the ball well most of the time. I still come back to Jack being the difference. Not his scoring, but getting his team involved. He did it last night.


6. How tired will these guys be playing at Maryland on Sunday? Jack and Bynum both log 40+ minutes, McHenry 38 and Ish 32. Luke ought to be well-rested with only 19 minutes.


7. I have to say this - the ACC referees last night were bad. Not bad in that we got "jobbed". Just bad all around. Bad both ways. Ironically, it wasn't Ted Valentine who was the worst on the floor.


8. There were 17 NBA scouts sitting courtside to witness this game, including 4 from the Atlanta Hawks.


9. After the game, Coach Hewitt took blame for the team not handling E.Williams. He said he was guilty of not preparing the team enough to handle him. He said he did have a strategy to use, but he didn't tell the team about it until halftime. It was a semi-humorous moment.


OFFICIAL AP RE-CAP


BOX SCORE
Well this box score differs from the one at Yahoo - it shows we DID out-rebound WF 37-35.


PHOTO GALLERY


TECH SNAPS 3-GAME SLIDE
Interesting comment from Skip Prosser about Coach Hewitt:

Wake coach Skip Prosser didn't need Thursday night's loss to teach him that lesson.


"Last year when they'd lose a game, he kept telling his team, telling us, telling everybody else who would listen, we're a good team and they'd continue to be good," Prosser said before the game. "He knows they're a good team. People who know basketball are aware they are a good team."


GT PREVAILS IN SHOOT-OUT


LULL ENDS AS NO.5 DEACONS FALL IN OT
Leave it to our "friends" at AJC to focus on "WF losing" as opposed to "GT Winning" in the headline for the game.


GT TIPS WF


GT UPSETS WF


TECH WINS OT THRILLER


JACKETS HALT DEAC'S DRIVE


JACKETS SHOW A PULSE


WHAT'S WRONG WITH GT? WF WILL SAY LITTLE


DEHYDRATION SLOWS WILLIAMS IN OT


NCAA GAME SUMMARY


AROUND THE ACC


ARTICLE ON TV TIMEOUTS



LOOKING AHEAD TO MARYLAND

Georgia Tech at Maryland (Sunday):
What it means: Both teams have struggled lately, though the Terrapins stopped the bleeding with a critical victory Wednesday at Duke. The Yellow Jackets had been slumping heading into Thursday's game against Wake Forest, losing three in a row. Maryland, which had lost three of five before the impressive win at Duke, fell to North Carolina State by 16 in its last home game and would like to string some wins together to improve its postseason credentials.


What to watch for: Georgia Tech is still learning how to get along without senior guard B.J. Elder, the team's second-leading scorer who has missed six games with a hamstring injury that has corresponded with the Jackets' slump. The Terps have struggled at times defensively and need to step it up on that end with sophomore stopper D.J. Strawberry (knee ligament) lost for the season.


WHERE ARE THEY NOW - CHRIS BOSH
A nice comment on the former GT standout:

If the NBA gave out an under-the-radar award to the best player getting minimal attention, Raptors forward Chris Bosh would be the man. He's the same spectacular athlete he was at Georgia Tech, with a lot more game. He and Bobcats rookie Emeka Okafor could be the best big men in the East within three years.