Hoops: Jackets lose to Winthrop in Paradise Jam

Well, if you had to judge where our season is going in hoops, it could be a pretty murky crystal ball. Four games in and the Jackets are 2-2. They lost to Winthrop tonight in the Virgin Islands. The Jackets were up for most of the first half and appeared to get off to a good start in the 2nd half. However, then it fell apart, with Winthrop hitting a bunch of shots in a row with no answer for Tech.

Here are some comments from watching our first game:

POINT GUARD IS AN ISSUE
With Mo Miller out, Causey and Bell got the PT, and it's clear that the PG spot is going to be a struggle during the season. Causey played well in the first half dishing out some nice assists and alley-oops, but his defensive play was VERY inconsistent and he is a fouling machine. His foul rate per minute could set some new records before the season is over. If Causey was a freshman, I would be feeling pretty solid about his future. However, he is a 5th year senior, so I'm not sure I would hold out hope that he turns into the next Steve Nash.

REBOUNDING - WHAT'S GOING ON?
Last year's team was a rebounding machine. This one is getting outrebounded by teams that don't have a guy over 6'9". What's going on? Rebounding is mostly about heart and technique. These guys are just not getting on a man and boxing out. Certainly it hurts to be missing Ra'Sean Dickey and Zach Peacock. I fully expect our rebounding to improve with their return.


Well, I don't have much more to add. At this point, it's hard to envision this team getting far this year. With the difficulty of schedule coming up prior to the ACC slate, it's hard to imagine this team winning 18 games..................... but you know, maybe the "light" will come on for these guys. There's certainly plenty of upperclass leadership to make it happen.

GO JACKETS!!!!