Hoops - Don't Worry About the Polls

There seem to be a decent number of people upset over the fact that the Jackets went to Maui, made it to the championship game and dropped in the polls. We beat a good Purdue team, a top 15 Memphis team and lost to the new #1 team in the nation. In fact, the teams we played had a record of 6-0 against teams that WERE NOT Georgia Tech.


So how do we drop? I'll tell you how. Our team went to Maui, played three games, but only played two good halves. We played 2 terrible halves, two good ones and one mediocre one. We fell behind early in every game and were playing catch-up the whole time. There wasn't a complete game in the bunch. What does that tell the "experts" who vote?.......... inconsistency........... What does starting 3 freshman tell the experts?............... Inconsistency................. What happens when your head coach tells the media that your team is ranked too high to be in the top 20 (he did)? They start believing him.................. So it all makes sense to me, even though our team can hold our heads WAY high after that performance in Maui.


Now here's part II....................... the polls are meaningless.................... especially now................ I mean, really, are you telling me that this group of people really knows who the top 25 teams are right now? No way. The polls don't mean anything right now and they don't represent anything other than a media gimmick to generate discussion and interest and get people to watch TV and listen to the radio.


What matters is winning as many of these early games as possible before hitting the ACC schedule. What matters is our freshman learning the collegiate game. What matters is this squad developing that chemistry that will matter so much in the post-season.


Don't sweat the polls right now. In February maybe. In November...................... forget about it.


On a separate note, Thad Young will not play tonight as he battles tendonitis in his knee. Not good, as this is probably one of those things he'll battle all year........................ Also, Mouhammad Faye re-injured his wrist early in the game tonight. He's on the bench with ice on it now.