Friday, January 14, 2005

Tech Returns to the Triangle...

...to face the Pack of NCST. Reeling from their 4th straight loss, the Pack will be looking for vengenance..... and respectability. Story here. The Pack has beaten the Jackets 4 times in a row, and 5 times in a row on their current home floor and 8 straight total going back to their previous homecourt.

The news on Elder and Dickey is not great:

Update on B.J. Elder and Ra'Sean Dickey -- "B.J. will not play. Ra'Sean might have had a little setback. He woke up this morning with a little swelling behind his knee, so he is getting an MRI today."


Coach Hewitt on the UNC game:

We have a real bad taste in our mouth because we played so poorly against Carolina. Despite everything that is going on, even if we were at full strength we still would have lost that game. Our team really feels like it has to come out and play better. You know me; I have said that before, if we don't play well and lose, it is a really uncomfortable feeling. My guys felt very, very uncomfortable after that game and they want to get back on the court and just go play well. If you play well and lose, you can evaluate it later and find some good things. Our team felt very uncomfortable after the way they played the other night."


You know what, we are always complaining about not knowing where a team stands. Are they great, are they average? We have had that frustration with the football team. Yet here's a case where we have 3 losses:


1. A 12:30 AM eastern start in Vegas against a top 20 Gonzaga team that will be in the top 10 before the season is over.


2. An overtime loss AT Kansas by 2 points.


3. A loss to top 5 North Carolina, who is playing better than anyone right now.


Now, look at our wins - we have blown everyone else away. Nothing else has really been close. So it seems fairly clear where this team stands in terms of talent and development at this point in the season. We are clearly a top 15-20 team (right now), but we are not good enough or healthy enough yet to be considered in the very top elite like Illinois and UNC. Can we beat those teams - yes. But we haven't. Our 3 chances have fallen short.


So the development with team and players will continue and Coach Hewitt should have them clicking, healthy and ready when it REALLY counts - as he always seems to do!!!


In fact, this high school head coach says it best:

Glick's message to his team was simple.


"Nobody remembers what seed Georgia Tech or Maryland was in last year's ACC tournament," Glick said. "They just remember that Georgia Tech reached the (national) finals and Maryland won the ACC Tournament. Basketball is made for the postseason."