Saturday, February 19, 2005

Hoops Notes

GT EAGER TO ENGINEER LATE RUN TO NCAA'S
From our "friends" at the USAToday.


TEAM NOTES FROM USATODAY


TIME DWINDLING FOR JACKETS


OUR TOURNAMENT HISTORY
A quick re-cap of our year-by-year history.


TONY BARNHART PICKS THE BRACKETS


RECRUITING - SHERRON COLLINS
A kid who is friends with Will Bynum and who is interested in GT. I found the last part of this quote a bit funny:

Recruiting analysts rate Collins the No. 2 junior in the state behind Jon Scheyer of Glenbrook North. The Crane dynamo already has scholarship offers from a number of Top 25 programs.


Collins also learned how to refine his speed in one-on-one matchups against ex-Crane and current Georgia Tech standout Will Bynum.


"I've played against him the last two years," Collins said. "It was like going against yourself.


"I'd say he got the best of me. But I learned a lot from him. He showed me ways to use my quickness and to not dribble so much."


Are we talking about the same Will Bynum????


RECRUITING - WILL WALKER
While there is a lot of talk about Javaris Crittendon and Tywon Lawson as the "next" great PG at Georgia Tech, these are not the only guys interested in GT. This talented PG actually has GT at the top of his list right now. Walker is another guard out of Illinois who is ranked by Scout.com as the #10 PG in his class.

"I like Georgia Tech a lot," Walker said boldly. "Miami sounds good right now, Illinois is doing real well obviously. They run a lot with the ball, which I like. I want to see even more of Georgia Tech, however."


So the question remained, does that mean Georgia Tech is a leader?


"Yes, I guess you could definitely say that," Walker remarked.





TIM BRANDO LIKES CHRIS PAUL OVER J.JACK
Well, a lot of media people do. Will be interesting how the NBA looks at things:

The Deacons have the ingredients you must have to beat Duke. They have an incredible point guard. They don't have as physical a point guard as Maryland's John Gilchrist or Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack, but I would argue that Chris Paul is a more complete guard than either one of them and the best overall guard in the country. I would be shocked if he's not the player of the year in college basketball. He means more to his team than any individual player in the game.


FACT OF THE DAY

If Georgia Tech fails to make the NCAA tournament, it won't be the first defending national runner-up to do so. The past five teams not to get a bid a year after losing the title game:
• Syracuse (1997). A year after falling to Kentucky in the finals, the John Wallace-less Orange lost to Florida State in the first round of the NIT.
• Duke (1995). The Blue Devils started 9-3 under Mike Krzyzewski, finished 4-15 under Pete Gaudet when Coach K took a leave.
• Seton Hall (1990). The Terry Dehere-led Pirates stumbled to 12-16 a year after taking Michigan to OT in Seattle.
• Houston (1985). Things went downhill in a hurry for the Cougars after Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler left.
• Indiana State (1980). Life without Larry Bird wasn't the same for the Sycamores, who went from 33-1 to 16-11.


DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR 0.6 WINS
A look at the RPI and how it might impact the selection committee.


PREVIEW OF CLEMSON
By the way, they were blown out today by UNC to extend their losing streak in Chapel Hill to 51 in a row. No kidding.


WOMEN'S HOOPS: ACC EYES MORE TOURNEY BIDS


JJ REDICK'S MOM KNOWS WHEY PEOPLE HATE HIM SO MUCH
Hugh, and I just thought it was because he was a pompous jerk.