Where are they now - Jim Morris

Well, we know he is coaching Miami at Omaha. But this article mentions his former life at the GT HC:

"Everybody copied Miami," Morris said. "Ron was the most influential guy in my career."

When Morris took over as coach at Georgia Tech in 1982, the team didn't charge admission and there were just a couple of bleachers behind the fence around home plate.

Morris took a trip to Coral Gables with the school's business manager to meet with Fraser.

Georgia Tech now has a new stadium and had back-to-back sellout crowds of 4,157 at the super regional it hosted last weekend.

Where are they now - Troy Holroyd

The former GT grad and golfer and where his career has taken him...... Looks like he is leading going into the weekend at the NC Amateur.

The North / South advantage

Do southern schools have an advantage because of weather in beesball? Probably. Is it fair that the seasons start earlier in the South? I have an answer - to all the best players - come South - we'll let you start early here. Story here.

Coach Hall has his own opinion about the possibility of extending the season into the summer academic schedule:

Todd would like college baseball to mirror Major League Baseball’s April schedule and run through the summer, arguing schools already pay for football and basketball players to stay on campus all summer out of season.

“That’s the only way I would vote for it," Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall said. “Change our guys’ academic calendar to where they go to school winter semester and during the summer, and let’s start the season April 1. If they want to increase graduation rates, then our guys just go to school year-round and they’ll probably graduate early."

No one realistically thinks that would happen. But Todd’s opinion is clear: Warm-weather schools have a decided advantage every year by getting on the field earlier and playing more home games.

CollegeFootballNews Georgia Tech Preview

Well worth the read:

Overview
Preview of the offense
Preview of the defense
The "Inside" Scoop.

After reading these previews, I have to say they are some of the best I have seen. I have read Athlon and Sporting News previews and they don't quite nail it like CFN.

Some commments:

You pretty much know what you're going to get with Georgia Tech with a 7-to-9 win season, a bowl berth, a few big wins, a weird loss or two, and a middle of the road finish in the ACC.

Don't expect things to change much this year even after the addition of Miami and Virginia Tech. Not enough improvement has been made in any one area to expect any sort of a run at an ACC title, and there hasn't been enough of a loss anywhere to expect a drop-off. The defense will be sound and the offense will have its moments, but this is still a young team trying to get some momentum.

The Schedule: It's not a pretty slate with no room to go on any sort of run. The road games couldn't be more brutal considering Miami comes to Atlanta. The year-end rivalry game at Georgia and the DI-AA layup against Samford won't help bowl hopes. The only chance for the post-season is with a win at North Carolina and at least two other road wins.

The season will be a success if ... the Yellow Jackets wins seven games. There can't be any let downs against a brutal ACC slate. It will take seven wins (assuming one of the victories is over Samford) to get to the post-season. With this schedule that would be a major accomplishment even for a team as good as this one.

Strength of the offense: Running backs
Weakness of the offense: Receivers

The Skinny on the O-Line: The loss of center Hugh Reilly and tackle Nat Dorsey severely weakens a solid line. The pass protection was a bit of a problem, but the 27 sacks allowed is a bit misleading considering true freshman quarterback Reggie Ball often tried to make plays happen and got caught. This should still be a strong run blocking unit with two good guards and tackle Kyle Wallace to work behind. Depth is a serious issue.

On Reggie Ball: But, he’s got to increase his ability to see the field and find secondary and tertiary receivers. Instead of relying heavily on one receiver as he did last season (Jonathan Smith, who has since moved on to the NFL), he’s got to open up and utilize all of his weapons. Furthermore, as per usual with a young quarterback, he also needs to make much better decisions. Now, don’t misunderstand – Reggie Ball is a tremendous quarterback and has a great future at Tech. However, what the Jackets need in 2004 is for him take his game to a whole new level. Whether he has the maturity and mental toughness to be able to do just that remains a question.

On the defense: Basically ... If linebackers can be found to replace Keyaron Fox and Daryl Smith, the defense should be every bit as good as it was in 2003 when it only allowed 322 yards and 20.5 points per game. The secondary will be among the ACC's best led by All-America star safety James Butler. Getting to the quarterback won't be a problem with Travis Parker moving over from tackle to take some heat off Eric Henderson.

On the linebackers: The Skinny: The loss of 284 tackles between Keyaron Fox and Daryl Smith will hurt. Gerris Wilkerson has to become a superstar as the anchor of a very green, but very athletic group. The lineup will change several times and several ways before the first game as the coaching staff searches for the right fit.

On the secondary: The Skinny: The pieces are in place to be one of the ACC's best secondaries. James Butler is an All-American star with veterans Reuben Houston and Dawan Landry good enough to grow into All-ACC caliber performers. Kenny Scott will be an All-ACC corner by the time his career is over

On the kicking game: The Skinny: The kicking game always seems to turn out fine at Georgia Tech, and there are several options to work with. Kenny Scott will return kickoffs again after averaging 22.3 yards per return last year. A consistent punt returner needs to be found to replace Jonathan Smith and his 11.7 yard average.

Hoops Recruiting - Overview

If you have any interest in GT hoops, you need to head over to insiders and read RamblinRed's recruiting overview. Now that the dust has settled, he reviews each ACC team and how they helped themselves for the upcoming season. What did he have to say about GT?

I heard one recruiter refer to this class as the deepest, most versatile class entering the ACC. I suspect that would be sweet music to Coach Hewitt’s ears, given his philosophy. GT added two players who can score from the perimeter and two who can operate inside. Between the 4 players they can cover all 5 spots on the floor. Fredrick is a scoring combo guard, the all-time SC leading scorer. It must be in his genes as his father was the NCAA national leading scorer at SC in 1981. Morrow is an athletic wing with a sweet jump shot. Smith is an athletic beast in the mold of Isma’il Muhammad with a little more developed game. Dickey gives GT a big, athletic body with a lot of upside. GT had two main priorities with this class, get guys who can shoot and get guys who can rebound – they got 2 of each. While they missed on Randolph Morris in the Spring, they met their needs and get a solid A.

Recruiting - Football

Nice story on a fullback prospect out of NC - he has GT in his top 6 or 7. As expected he excels on the field and in the classroom.

Daily Swarm

ERIC PATTERSON NAMED TO ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
EP was voted on the 3rd team squad Thursday. Congrats!!!

HOOPS RECRUITING
Wesley Matthews, a 6'5" guard and 4-star recruit, announced Thursday that he has narrowed his choices down to 3 schools - Marquette, Wisconsin and GT. Story here. He plays currently at a high school in Madison Wisc. He did not hint at a favorite, but did say that he would like to make a decision soon. It looks like Coach Hewitt is waiting on Matthews to make a decision before extending offers to other potential recruits. Rivals has ranked WM #72 in his class and the #19 shooting guard. Hoopsmasters has him at #26, Prepstars at #17 and Dave Telep at #93. Quite a spread. Matthews has not had a lot of publicity this year because he was sidelined with a broken thumb. So far his final 3 schools are the only ones he has offers from, but he has also been recruited by Kentucky, UConn and Stanford among others.

He grew up playing the point, but is more of a combo-guard. He seems to have good all-around skills, with an ability to drive to the basket, sound defensive skills and a good shot. As a junior he averaged 15.8 points. As a sophomore he averaged 14.1 points, 4.6 boards, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He shot 51% from the field and 77% from the line.

Wesley's father is a former NBA player (W.Matthews Sr) and happened to attend U of Wisconsin.

Here's a little bio on him from a UConn site:

Wes is a 6'4" 200 pound shooting guard from Madison,
Wisconsin. He attends Memorial High School.

Wes averaged 16 points per game and shot over 50% from the
field. He was the leading scorer on a team loaded with division
one talent. Matthews is the #51 ranked player in his class by
Rivals Hoops.

Matthews is very well built and has an excellent shooting
stroke from mid range out to the three point line. He is also
terrific driving by his man to the basket. Wes is well known
for having a very solid all around game.

His father Wes Matthews Sr. is from Connecticut and was a
standout at Harding High School. Both of Matthews parents
attended Wisconsin where Wes Sr. was an outstanding
basketball player before moving on to the NBA.

In this blurb, it mentions that he met Dick Vitale:

Madison Memorial boys basketball player Wes Matthews Jr. met Dick Vitale at his book signing Friday in Madison and then was mentioned twice by the ESPN commentator during the telecast of Wisconsin's victory over Michigan State on Saturday. "We chit-chatted for a little bit and I guess that led to the ESPN (mention)," Matthews told the Wisconsin State Journal. Matthews, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior guard, is No. 60 out of Rivalshoops.com's 2005 Top 75 players in the country.

This from his local paper:

Congrats also to Wesley Matthews for being selected as Second Team All-State by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Wesley is one of the top juniors in the country and will only get better because of his tremendous work ethic and the fact that he is a student of the game. An unselfish leader and great teammate. We are very proud of you Wesley!

To find out more about Wesley's family, read this article. It reveals the connection to Atlanta, as his parents were never married and his father lives in ATL. If just half this article is true, then he seems like humble, good kid - just the type of kid that fits at GT:

"I'm proud of the person that he is," Moore said of Matthews, who carries a 3.2 grade-point average, "and the young man that he's growing up to be."

What Matthews has grown up to be is a young man who is friendly and respectful to others.

"The biggest compliment I could pay to Wesley is, if I had a daughter I'd want her to date him," Collins said. "He's that kind of kid. He's got lots of friends. He does things the right way. He's not only a good basketball player, he's a good person."

Matthews could brag about his many athletic accomplishments but chooses instead to be humble.

"He's a cool guy," said Memorial's Justin Dahmen. "He knows he's good but he doesn't have to show it. He shows it on the court."

No doubt his mom, who was a hoops star in her own right, will have a HUGE influence on his recruiting. What is she looking for in a coach:

"Someone who I can trust can take on all the hard work that I've put into developing a young man and continuing on with that," she said. "That's going to be important to me."

Once she finds this Mr. Right, Moore thinks she'll be able to hand off her pride and joy to him. Sure, she anticipates feeling some of the empty-nest syndrome, but she also believes her job will be complete.

"If I'm feeling that person is the right person, I don't think I'm going to have a problem with it," Moore said. "And I think I'm ready for it. And I think Wesley will be ready for it.

To see a fairly complete list of players that currently have offers from GT, click here.

JESSICA SIMPSON PICKS GT IN HOOPS FINALS
Evidently is the most recently aired episode, Nick and Jessica discuss their NCAA picks. Jessica had picked GT in the finals. No, I didn't see it, but my search engine picked this story up:

Later, Nick reveals on the phone that Jessica is at the moment winning the basketball pool they entered, after betting on Xavier University and Georgia Tech

BEESBALL NOTES
On C.Remole:

Eight-round pick Freddy Sandoval (third base) and 11th-round selection Clifton Remole (Georgia Tech) play positions where the Quakes are already stocked.

How about Kevin Cameron, a former GT player:

Right-hander Kevin Cameron, 24, was 2-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 22 relief appearances for the Miracle. Cameron, a 13th-round pick in the June 2001 draft, was beset by tendonitis last year when he went 1-5 with a 3.92 at low-A Quad City. The Joliet, Ill., native attended Georgia Tech.

Here's a blurb on former GT player who transferred to AZ, Kevin Guyette:

HATING THE DOGS: Guyette, who is scheduled to start Arizona's third game of the CWS, has plenty of reason to dislike the Bulldogs.

He pitched at Georgia Tech for a season.

"I'm not a big fan, honestly. Not a big fan to say the least," he said.

Guyette played one injury plagued season for the Yellow Jackets in 2002, missing out on Tech's trip to the College World Series.

"I was watching them on TV. Now they're watching me on TV," he said.

Guyette remains friends with several Tech players and talked with five of them this week. He said he was rooting for them in the Super Regional. Guyette transferred to Arizona last year, largely to be closer to his father, Robert, who was diagnosed with cancer shortly before he was to begin his second year at Tech. Robert Guyette will be in attendance this week.

Texas minor league team is excited about Mike Nickeas - story here.

NICE STORY ON JAMES BUTLER
Well-written story on Butler from CFN.com - story here.

If you want a player to watch this year and root for as the ideal of what a college football player should be, check out one of the best defensive backs in the nation: Georgia Tech FS James Butler.

From Chan Gailey -

"Most importantly," said Gailey, "he's a very good student and an outstanding person. We will look to him to be the leader of our defense this season."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW - DARYL SMITH
Another nice article on the former GT player. From D-Smith:

"Being on the field is all I know,'' Smith said. "I don't want that to change just because I'm in the NFL.''

New Poll

Ok, you saw the details of Coach Hewitt's new deal - if not click here. So the question is - how much longer will Coach Hewitt be at GT. I am very interested in the feeling of fans.

Where are they now - David Duval

Really, where is he? Only kidding. Looks like even though he played terribly (currently in last place at +13), he actually is in a good place mentally. And make no mistake - there is something mental going on here. Story here. Maybe he can bounce back.

ESPN did a 5-minute profile on Duval, along with an interview. He basically said he his judgement of success has nothing to do with scores and the leaderboard. It has to do with his desire to be there. At the end of the piece, the announcers said they Duval was once a great golfer and maybe he will be again. But if he goes a different direction in his life, he seems to be happier about it.

GT wins ACC Sportsmanship Award

GT just won the first annual "ACC Sportamanship Award", as voted by each of the ACC schools. Story here. Each sponsored sport has an individual award and GT was the winner outright in 3 of those spring sports - Women's tennis, Men's Track & Field, and Women's Track & Field. Now it appears this award is new and only covered spring sports. Virginia got the award in beesball and Clemson in golf.

So, what is the greater significance? Does winning something like reinforce and promote ethical practices? Does it mean GT best represents the way sports should be played? Does it make it acceptable to not grow consistently winning programs if we are running our programs the "right" way?

A lot of this discussion always gets back to expectations. Do we want what O'Leary use to say we wanted - Harvard on the weekdays and FSU on the weekends? I'll tell you what I want. I want Georgia Tech 7 days a week. And that means you won't find us at the bottom of the ACC. Year-in and year-out you will find us competing anywhere from 1st - 5th place, no matter the sport. And every few years we have one of those seasons where everything comes together and magic happens. I was at GT in one of those years - 1990. Could be considered the best ever. It meant something because those of us who have been through GT know the rigors, the challenges, the blood, sweat and tears. It is special to graduate from GT. And to have that AND consistently winning programs is special. Not many programs can compete. Even mighty Stanford is in a different class. Stanford's hook and reputation centers around how hard it is to get in. GT's reputation centers around how hard it is to get out. An important distinction.

Congratulations to Dave Braine and the various programs that contributed to winning this award. It just confirms what we strongly believe in as GT alumni. GO JACKETS!!!

College or the Minor leagues

That is the decision facing Eddie Prasch:

Milton shortstop Eddie Prasch and center fielder Dexter Fowler, Blessed Trinity center fielder Tyler Flowers and Roswell relief pitcher Jeff Robinson caught scouts' eyes and now have to choose between playing in college or entering the minor leagues.

Prasch and Fowler, who helped the Eagles win the Class AAAAA championship over East Coweta, were picked by Pittsburgh in the third round and Colorado in the 14th round, respectively. Flowers was taken by the Braves in the 27th round, and Robinson by Pittsburgh in the 35th.

Prasch, a Georgia Tech signee, led Milton regulars in batting average (.463), slugging percentage (.919), runs scored (55) and RBIs (54).

Hoops to the Gridiron

From the USAToday:

Hoop it up:
For those still in tune with basketball, UConn travels to Georgia Tech on Nov. 13. That's believed to be the first time schools that met in the NCAA men's basketball final have met in a non-league football game the following season.

Where are they now - Duval and Cink and Molder

Well, both are playing today, but in different venues. Duval is not making the best of his comeback, finishing day 1 at +13. Things seemed to start out fine with a birdie, but it went downhill from there. He finished the day with 2 birdies, 4 pars, 9 bogies, and 3 double bogeys - ouch. He is currently in 101st position.

Duval's scorecard.
Leaderboard.
Story: Duval back on course
Story: Duval returns

Stewart Cink will be teeing off at 1:10pm. Cink and others with ties to the state of GA playing today.

Another former GT golfer is playing well the last few weeks - Bryce Molder. He has had 2 top 10 finishes on the Nationwide Tour and is ok well today, currently at even par and tied for 36th Northeast Penn Classic. Here is his bio and how he has played the past few seasons.

Leaderboard

Troy Matteson is also playing in that even and just getting started.

The Sears Cup

Stanford wins the cup for the 10th year in a row. This is the mythical trophy awarded to the college that accumulates the most points across ALL their sports programs based on how each performs. GT finished #34, which is outstanding. Why? Because to Cup is structured to give points in a lot of sports where we do not compete, particulary in women's programs.

The women's sports make a big difference as UNC came in at #6 and we beat them in just about every major sport this past season.

Here are the team sports counted: Division I -

Sports Included
There will be 20 sports counted in the standings -- the top 10 scoring sports for men and the top 10 scoring sports for women. Sports that may count in the standings include:

Men - baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor or outdoor) and wrestling.

Women - basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor or outdoor) and volleyball.

Coed - fencing and skiing.

Dietary Supplements

Interesting article on the use of dietary supplements and college programs trying to educate student-athletes:

Georgia Tech, for example, inititates policy awareness concerning supplements when a student-athlete takes a preseason physical.

Softball

Former Jacket Tara Knudson busted out of a slump by blasing an HR last night:

Add to that the fact that the Riptide bats started to come alive last night, with former Georgia Tech shortstop Tara Knudsen breaking out her slump with a towering two-run homer traveling 240 feet well past the left field fence,

In addition, Jessica Sallinger will be pitching will pitch against TeamUSA friday night. TeamUSA has outscored their opponents 335-11 and has a team ERA of 0.27. They have won 151 games in a row. Who's your dream team now?

Here's more on the other players, including Jenny Finch - which might make it TV worthy. Check your listings.

Where are they now - Daryl Smith

Thanks to "NoMatterWhat" over at the Hive for this blurb from the Sporting News:

Rookie Daryl Smith has had an unexpected impact on the linebacker situation. Veterans Greg Favors and Tommy Hendricks were signed to compete for the strongside job, but Smith has been so impressive in workouts that he could start. Smith lacks blazing speed and might be best suited to play in the middle, but the Jaguars love his tackling ability and instincts. Sporting News June 21, 2004

Recruiting - Hoops

Thanks to "Chuck" for the link to this round-up of ACC hoops recruiting.

Recruiting - Football

We are still in strong contention for Maurice Wells, the top high school RB in the nation. You can read this free article about his visit to the GT camp in ATL this past weekend - link here. Interesting that his host is D.Bilbo, who has been through his share of trials and tribulations at GT. Obviously the staff trusts D-Bo a lot or they wouldn't have him as a "host" for Wells. Probably says a lot for his maturity. I sure hope D-Bo can show some skills this season at WR. Looks like Wells also had time to talk with Coach Gailey and Coach Nix:

”I had a chance to sit down with Coach Gailey and Coach Nix. I had a great conversation with them. Coach Gailey is a great coach, and he is a good person to talk with. At the camp we did agility drills, ran 40’s, played some seven on seven. Bilbo was there between sessions, and we talked some more. I love the Tech campus too.”

Wells has a top 3 of GT, Ohio State and USC. My belief is that Ohio State is probably the favorite, but who knows.

Where are they now - Mark Tiexiera

Short article on MT:

"TEX" TEIXEIRA: Griffey Jr.'s counterpart in the Texas Rangers' lineup - cleanup hitter Mark Teixeira - isn't a junior in the familial sense.

But he is a chip off the old block. His father, John - nicknamed "Tex" - played his collegiate ball at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where Teixeira the younger was born April 11, 1980.

There wasn't any way the kid could be kept in Annapolis, however, after breaking the Maryland prep record for career home runs (29), RBI (105) and runs (128). Teixeira headed for Georgia Tech and hit .409 with 36 home runs and 165 RBI in 140 games over three years. He was the Rangers' No. 1 draft pick (fifth overall) in 2001, and last year hit the third-most home runs ever by a rookie switch hitter (26), behind Eddie Murray's and Tony Clark's 27.

The first baseman already is one of the brightest young lights in the junior circuit, and Reds fans would do well to follow him in the remaining two games here, given his engaging personality and passion for the game.

"It would be kind of an honor to see Griffey hit his 500th here - as long as we win the game," Teixeira said. "I've heard nothing but great things about him, and I know how great he is for the game now that he's healthy again."

Teixeira is a fan of interleague play.

"It's always fun to go to different major-league cities and play against guys you don't usually play," he said. "It's great to switch things up and make the season a little more fun."

Teixeira is part of the crew of young Rangers who had the club eight games over .500 (34-26) going into Tuesday's game. Among the others are third baseman Hank Blalock (day off Tuesday), shortstop Michael Young, right fielder Kevin Mench, catcher Gerald Laird (on disabled list until August) and center fielder Laynce Nix (15-day DL).