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Top 40 Guard Jeff Jones (class of 2007) has decommitted from Maryland's hoops program and is back on the market, citing relationship issues since the departure of assistant coach Rob Moxley (to Charlotte). Prior to his committment to Gary Williams, he was considering Georgia Tech, UVA, UNC, NCST and some Big East teams.
So Georgia Tech recruitniks are asking - is GT in the running? Are they interested? Not sure I have the answer, but here are some thoughts:
1. Tech is looking to fill only one more slot for the class of 2007 to go with Gani Lawall and Lance Storrs
2. They were looking for a Point Guard to fill that slot as the heir apparent to Javaris Crittenton, particularly if he leaves after one season. Ideally, JC stays at least 2 seasons, and the next guy in line gets groomed for at least one season without having to run the team as a starter.
3. If Jones is considered by the staff to be a pure Scoring Guard, then I doubt they make a run at him. With Storrs on board, they have a solid 4-year "glue guy" who does a lot of little things. Jones is considered more of an impact player, but Storrs is the proverbial "bird in the hand" right now. He's on board and we're on board with him. If Jones is a pure SG, my guess is - he snoozed, he loses.
4. If Jones is considered by the staff to be a legitimate Point Guard option, then I see them taking a serious run for a committment. He would basically be vying with guys like Mo Miller, Tyrel Reed, Chris Wright and Jamelle McMillan.
5. One interesting note - Thaddeus Young, Javaris Crittenton AND Jeff Jones will be playing together at the Junior World Championship in Douai, France June 8-11 - link here... Nike Team USA will include TY / JC (GT), Marcus Williams (AZ), Brook / Robin Lopez (Stanford 7 foot twins), Nic Wise (FL), Chase Budinger (AZ), Samardo Samuels (high school), Vernon Macklin (Georgetown). I know the website does not list Jones, but the team has added Jones and Nick Calathes (FL) to increase perimeter depth and flexibility. I'm not sure exactly what that will mean in this, but it's interesting for sure...... Here's another link with the updated roster...
6. Many Maryland fans seem to think that GT is the front-runner for Jones, for whatever that is worth - probably not much.
7. Lastly, there is a lot of chatter on the 'net about his father's involvement in his recruiting and pulling the strings in the process. Who knows if it's similar to a Zam situation, but just thought I would point this out. Of course this is nothing but speculation, so now you can disregard it.
H.S. guard reneges on commitment to Maryland - baltimoresun.com
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Hoops - Maryland Guard backs out of commitment
Hoops - Zach Peacock Mention
A nice blurb on hoops incoming recruit Zach Peacock:
VIKINGS' VICTORY: A year after Miami High was the county's basketball capitol, the scene shifted to Norland where the Vikings' girls -- led by UM-bound Eboni Sadler -- finished as the state runner-up and the boys' -- led by Zachery Peacock, Dade's 6A-4A Male Athlete of the Year -- won it all.
Peacock, a Georgia Tech signee, proved he was Dade's best basketball player went it counted most. With Norland and district rival Krop in the midst of a season-long battle, Peacock swung the momentum in the regional finals -- and the teams' fifth meeting. Then at state, the 6-8 forward put the defensive-minded Vikings on his back and upset top-ranked Winter Park in the state final en route to MVP honors.
MiamiHerald.com 05/23/2006 A dozen to remember
ESPN.com - NCF - Maisel: The rites of spring coaching visits
Someone over at the Hive found this article - a cool read with some GT ties................
ESPN.com - NCF - Maisel: The rites of spring coaching visits
Lunch Bunch Report - Wes Durham 5/22/06 - www.scout.com
Great report on Wes Durham's appearance at the Lunch Bunch. Note key marketing changes to help with recruiting - including a change in format for the TV show and running it at midnight on Friday's (after high school games are over), the change in the radio show, etc. ............
Lunch Bunch Report - Wes Durham 5/22/06 - www.scout.com
Payne, Hodges, Kindel and Wieters Earn All-ACC Honors :: Tech places four or more on the all-ACC team for the 12th straight year.
All ACC honors are in for the diamond Jackets.
Payne, Hodges, Kindel and Wieters Earn All-ACC Honors :: Tech places four or more on the all-ACC team for the 12th straight year.
Tech Baseball Earns No. 4 Seed at ACC Tournament :: Yellow Jackets face #5 seed Miami on Wednesday aqt 4 p.m.
Details on the ACC Tourney....................
Tech Baseball Earns No. 4 Seed at ACC Tournament :: Yellow Jackets face #5 seed Miami on Wednesday aqt 4 p.m.
Gailey gets trip back to past
Very nice article about Gailey at the Macon Touchdown Club meeting. Note that in attendence was Georgia Tech recruit Correy Earls, and check out the wink-and-nod to Earls when discussing Calvin Johnson:
Wide receiver Calvin Johnson is a hot topic, whether you're a Jacket, Jackets fan, opponent, or cornerback, let alone message boards and upper-deck offensive coordinators. Yes, Gailey knows - contrary to what some Jackets faithful think - getting the ball to him is good.
'Like I don't realize that he's the best player in the whole Southeast,' Gailey said. 'I'm trying to get the ball just as hard ... to him, I can promise you that.'
But between protection, coverage, double and triple teams, and proper offensive reads, it's not as easy as just throwing it to him. And Johnson isn't the type to use too much on reverses.
'He's not a reverse runner,' Gailey explained. 'He's not a guy you can put in the backfield or get the ball in his hands in other ways, like maybe another person in this room. You can do that with him, whoever that might be.'
And he nodded with a smile at Earls, sitting with Central head coach Anthony Hines and Chargers assistants and a couple teammates.
Gailey gets trip back to past
Monday, May 22, 2006
2006 Preseason Heisman 100 - Reggie Ball #81
From CFN on their top 100 Heisman candidates:
81. QB Reggie Ball, Georgia Tech – Hey, stranger things have happened. Ball’s been one of the nation’s least consistent quarterbacks the last three years, throwing too many picks and giving up too many sacks, but strides were made, and as long as Calvin Johnson is healthy, the potential is there for solid senior year.
2006 Preseason Heisman 100
Football Recruit Wins State ShotPut Title
One of the top performances in the meet came in throws with Greenbrier Christian Academy senior Trevor Bray throwing for a personal best mark of 56 feet to win the shot put competition by a dominant margin of nearly five feet.
MileStat.com
Friday, May 19, 2006
BASKETBALL: 2008 CLASS: Jarvis Jones
Jarvis Jones, who played with Thaddeus Young at Mitchell High School in Memphis has added Georgia Tech to his list of 4 schools that he will choose from. Memphis is starting to become a GT hotbed with Paul Hewitt. Jones played last week in the Wallace Prather Memorial Classic at Georgia Tech. Jones poured in 42 points in one game which included 11 three-pointers (WOW!). He has already visited Georgia Tech with Thaddeus Young last season, and he loves Atlanta. Jones said Georgia Tech is "HIGH" on his list.
"When nobody else was recruiting me, they were," Jones said. "They got in first. I want a good education and good surroundings."
Jones lists his four schools as Georgia Tech, Illinois, Florida, and Tennessee
OJ Mayo - No.1 ranked Senior to be in the country will choose from Kansas State, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Texas, West Virginia
Chris Wright PG Washington D.C - Moving up everyone's list quickly will choose from Clemson, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Villanova, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Miami (Fl)
Julian Vaughan 6-9 240 Reston, Va - Top 30 prospect will choose from North Carolina, Georgetown, Maryland, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Duke, Georgia Tech, Georgia
James Harden 6-4 185 Lakewood, Calif - Top 30 prospect narrowed it to Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Texas, UCLA, USC, Washington State
Corey Stokes (St. Benedict Prep) Newark, NJ 6-5/185 Top 35
Connecticut, Villanova, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Louisville, Marquette, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, St. John's, Syracuse, Wake Forest
Top 50
Darquavis Tucker (Arthur Hill HS) Saginaw, MI 6-5/180
Anthony McClain (National Christian Academy) Fort Washington, MD 7-0/220
Jai Lucas - Houston, TX
Tyrell Reed - Burlington, KS
Just a list of names guys, alot of guys considering GT. If we can just get 2 of these guys, we'll be great.
Football - GT - MTSU to play 3 game series
It's not finalized yet, but appears that MTSU will play Georgia Tech in ATL in 2010 and 2012, while we will go on the road to play them in 2011. Funny how these scheduling things typically work - it's ties and relationships. Who knows who. In this case our new AD worked with the MTSU AD while they were collegues at South Carolina. Dig deep enough and you'll always find some personal tie, and usually you don't have to go too far.
The Daily News Journal - www.dnj.com -
Thursday, May 18, 2006
NCAA: Good news, bad news for GT Football
The NCAA announced today that the Georgia Tech football team would not have to forfeit games from a six year span, as originally thought. The bad news, is that GT still will not be able to recoup the scholarships that were lost as a result. All in all Wayne Clough was pleased with the result.
"We take certification of athletic eligibility seriously and have strengthened the system to help ensure that we are fully compliant in the future," Clough said in a statement released by the school.
"Additionally, we are particularly appreciative that the committee determined that the football team's records should stand. I am personally pleased that we are now able to close this issue and put it behind us."
The NCAA accepted Tech's self-imposed reductions of 3.90 scholarships in men's track and field and two scholarships in women's track and field for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years.
A violation also was found in the women's swimming program, but the swimmer involved was not on scholarship, so that program was not penalized with a scholarship reduction.
Also, GT's 1998 ACC Championship stands, so they can keep the rings.
There were no TV or bowl restrictions placed on the football program. Like Wayne said we should be happy it's all behind us now, and we can still play football.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Ish Muhammad to sign with the ABA's Knoxville Noise; Tarver as well?
Looks like the Ish will sign a contract for the 2006-2007 ABA season with the Knoxville Noise of the ABA. It also looks like Gavin Raiteri, CEO and co-owner of the team is pretty excited about signing Muhammad.
"We're thrilled to have a player of his caliber coming to this city and this team. He's going to bring an exciting above-the-rim style of basketball to the city. It's going to be something the fans will not want to miss."
And look who else is going to Join Muhammad on the team
Coming to Noise tryouts along with Isma'il will be his former Yellow Jacket teammate, Theodis Tarver, as well as his older brother Aleem Muhammad. Tarver is a 6'9" center who will bring some size and power to the Knoxville Noise. He is an outstanding shot blocker and an excellent post defender. He was a member of the 2003-2004 Georgia Tech squad that reached the Final Four in the NCAA tournament.
If you read the article, the nice thing about all of this is that two members of the Knoxville Noise family, team President Ashley Raiteri and his father Mark Raiteri are former Yellow Jackets themselves. They are pretty excited about bringing Muhammad and Tarver along.
"I'm so excited to have these talented players possibly playing for the Noise. I've been following Georgia Tech basketball for years and knowing that they might be coming to play for my team is just amazing."
3 and Done: ED Nelson cut by Rams
This just out from the AP. 3 days of minicamp, and the Rams said "Goodbye Ed" I have to laugh at this one a little bit, but oh well. Good luck Mr. Nelson.
Former UConn basketball player Ed Nelson's experiment with NFL football is over, at least for now.
Nelson, who signed a free-agent contract with the Saint Louis Rams, was cut yesterday after a three-day minicamp.
The 6-foot-8, 265-pound Nelson had not played football since his freshman year of high school.
Hoops Recruiting: Al-Farouq Aminu narrows it down to final six schools
Al-Farouq Aminu , one of the best players in the state of Georgia has announced his final 6 schools from which he will choose from. The great news here is that Georgia, who was one of the schools that Aminu was high on, apparently has been eliminated. Aminu's final six schools are Clemson, Tenn, UCONN, Georgia Tech, Florida, and Wake Forest. Some more good news is that Aminu is great friends with Tech signee Gani Lawal. If you had to ask me what way the younger Aminu is leaning with the top six, well just read what he had to say. Still 2 years away, but good news anyway.
"I see them everyday(GT). I like how they play and the way get up and down," Aminu said. "It might give them an edge over some other schools. I might know more about (Georgia Tech) than other ones. But I want to get out and see the other schools too."
Maurice Miller should announce his college decision soon as well. Looks like Tech will have Gani Lawal, Lance Storrs, and is a strong contender for "Mo" Miller to round out the class of 2007. Houston's Deandre Jordan a 6-11 center also had listed GT high on his list. The problem with Jordan though, is that he may not fit in academically. Correction: Aminu is in the Class of 2008.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Football - Pre-Seaon All-ACC
Sporting News announces their football pre-season All-ACC team. Here you go:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Pos. Name, School Ht. Wt. Cl.
QB Kyle Wright,
Miami 6-4 220 Jr.
RB Micah
Andrews, Wake Forest 5-10 215 Jr.
RB James Davis, Clemson 5-11 210
So.
WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech 6-4 235 Jr.
WR Greg Carr, Florida
State 6-6 200 So.
TE Greg Olsen, Miami 6-5 252 Jr.
C Leroy Harris, N.C.
State 6-3 300 Sr.
G Josh Beekman, Boston College 6-2 325 Sr.
G Roman Fry,
Clemson 6-4 295 Sr.
T Jared Gaither, Maryland 6-9 330 So.
T Steve
Vallos, Wake Forest 6-3 290 Sr.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DE Gaines Adams, Clemson 6-5 265 Sr.
DE Baraka
Atkins, Miami 6-4 264 Sr.
DT Andre Fluellen, Florida State 6-4 286 Jr.
LB
Buster Davis, Florida State 5-10 240 Sr.
LB KaMichael Hall, Georgia Tech 6-0
225 Sr.
LB Vince Hall, Virginia Tech 6-0 236 Jr.
LB Anthony Waters,
Clemson 6-3 240 Sr.
CB Kenny Scott, Georgia Tech 6-2 185 Sr.
CB John
Talley, Duke 5-11 180 Sr.
S Brandon Meriweather, Miami 6-0 188 Sr.
S Aaron
Rouse, Virginia Tech 6-4 221 Sr.
FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
K Jad Dean, Clemson 5-11 205 Sr.
P Adam
Podlesh, Maryland 6-0 192 Sr.
KR Darrell Blackman, N.C. State 5-10 209
Jr.
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Offense: Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia
Tech
Defense: Brandon Meriweather, S, Miami
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Pos. Name, School Ht. Wt. Cl.
QB Drew
Weatherford, Florida State 6-3 220 So.
RB Andre Brown, N.C. State 6-0 232
So.
RB Branden Ore, Virginia Tech 5-11 204 So.
WR Ryan Moore, Miami 6-3
215 Sr.
WR Chansi Stuckey, Clemson 6-0 185 Sr.
TE Tom Santi, Virginia 6-5
238 Jr.
C Dustin Fry, Clemson 6-3 315 Sr.
G James Marten, Boston College
6-8 315 Sr.
G Derrick Morse, Miami 6-4 295 Jr.
T Andrew Gardner, Georgia
Tech 6-6 290 So.
T Mario Henderson, Florida State 6-7 304 Sr.
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DE Chris Ellis, Virginia Tech 6-5 250 Jr.
DE
Chris Long, Virginia 6-4 278 Jr.
DT Conrad Bolston, Maryland 6-3 285
Sr.
LB Jon
Abbate, Wake Forest 5-11 245 Jr.
LB Xavier Adibi, Virginia Tech 6-2 224
Jr.
LB Jon Beason, Miami 6-0 225 Jr.
LB Brian Toal, Boston College 6-1 238
Jr.
CB Josh Wilson, Maryland 5-10 182 Sr.
CB Marcus Hamilton, Virginia
5-11 187 Sr.
S Josh
Gattis, Wake Forest 6-1 212 Sr.
S Kenny Phillips, Miami 6-2 200
So.
SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS
K Brandon Pace, Virginia Tech 5-10 196 Sr.
P
Nic Schmitt, Virginia Tech 6-2 273 Sr.
KR Brandon Tate, North Carolina 6-1
193 So.
NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR
Offense: Sergio Render, G, Virginia
Tech
Defense: Myron Rolle, SS, Florida State
Certainly some GTech love there with C.Johnson, K.Scott and K-Mike on 1st team, CJ Offensive POY, Andrew Gardner 2nd team. Seems to me that the biggest absense might be Philip Wheeler.
Sporting News Lists Andrews, Vallos As First Team Preseason All-ACC :: Abbate, Gattis selected to publication's second team
Prime Time, Prime Time, Prime Time
We reported it unofficially a number of weeks back. Now it's official, only better. Not only will Georgia Tech be playing Notre Dame in primetime on a national television audience in Atlanta on the opening weekend of the 2006 college football season - the game will be televised by ABC and ESPN's college gameday crew will be setup on campus all day.
So let's review
- Opening weekend of college football season - Sept 2
- Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame
- in Atlanta
- 8:00 pm game
- national television audience
- ABC Primetime
- ESPN College Game day crew on campus all day
ESPN.com - NCF - ABC to broadcast 12 prime-time Saturday games
RamblinWreck story
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL ????!!!!!!
Monday, May 15, 2006
Where are they now - Gerris Wilkinson
Sad but well done article on Gerris Wilkinson on his first Mother's Day since the passing of his mom.
"We never really knew how serious it was," said Wilkinson, who spent his final season working on a second degree, in International Affairs. "She came to my first game in mid-September, and then she went back to California. And that's when she really started to go down."
The sad phone call came as a surprise, but Wilkinson played, anyway. He made six tackles and helped hold the Hurricanes to 30 yards rushing, 237 total yards, and a 1-for-14 third-down conversion rate.
The game, he said, was actually the easiest part of the week. He blocked everything out and just played football.
"People always say that's what she would have wanted me to do. And my family gave me their blessing to do it," Wilkinson said.
"It wasn't hard. It was kind of an inspiration. And it just let me go out there and get my mind off it, too."
That performance became a big reason the Giants drafted him in the third round.
Giants' rookie has a heavy heart
Where are they now - Jarrett Jack
...back in the ATL getting his degree - that's where. It is incredibly rewarding to read articles like the one below. For me having high character kids should be goal #1 - then the talent. In Jarrett, we were able to enjoy 3 years of both and now he's making good on year 4 so he can walk the walk and tell people he's a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Jarrett - you da man!!!!
Mom's gift is making Jack a class act
Tech's Joseph gets new 3-year contract | ajc.com
Dan Radakovich makes one of the most important decisions an AD can make - hiring head coaches. He has elected to extend our ladies hoops' coach MaChelle Joseph's contract for another 3 years. Congrats MJ!!! Now it time to turn those recruiting successess off the court into stronger success on the court. We're with you.
Tech's Joseph gets new 3-year contract ajc.com
ACC expansion proves wise | ajc.com
The ACC cronies are celebrating and whooping it up at their spring meeting. The ACC dominated the NFL draft with more selections than any other conference - ever, more 1st round picks than anyone - ever, more defensive picks than anyone - ever. Throw in the fact that the ACC had the highest TV ratings of ANY conference last year according to ESPN, and you have quite a story brewing - at least for football. The hoops coaches didn't have quite the same story to tell, but just wait until this season - the ACC will be back - well, at least where Jacket fans hope it will be.
ACC expansion proves wise ajc.com
Where are they now - Eric Henderson
Nice article on Eric Henderson. There is no doubt that EVERY Jacket fan wishes huge success for this young man. He's dealt with more in his young life than most in a lifetime. EH - all the best. GO JACKETS!!!
Uphill battle for ex-Jacket ajc.com
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Coach Charlton Young is no longer a candidate for the men's basketball assistant | Chattanooga Times Free Press
Ok - I get it now Coach Charlton Young - maybe you were playing the "game". Turns out you are not going to interview for the Tennessee job but you did have a conversation with Bruce Pearl and it comes at a time when you are re-negotiating your contract with Jackets. Got it now. It's all clear.
Coach Charlton Young is no longer a candidate for the men's basketball assistant Chattanooga Times Free Press
Now, how do I feel about that? I mean, if it's good enough for Rick Barnes and John Calipari it's good enough for you, right? There are a LONG list of coaches that have used interest from another school to get a salary bump. I guess that's free market economics in the true sense, right? For me I'm not so sure I would go find a suitor ONLY to get a salary bump, although if I was interested in testing the market for my services and that was an outcome, so be it............ So you're out of the doghouse from my perspective. Glad you really are a Jacket. I liked what you brought from day 1 and glad you're still on board. I hope it is a long-term wish to stay with one program for awhile.
Chan Gailey Radio Interview
Right Click here to listen or download the Rivals.com Radio interview with Chan Gailey. Good interview overall. Some notes:
- Patrick Nix taking over playcalling has been in the works for a long time. Just a matter of time and seemed like a great time to do it. Great players returning and great ideas for our offense.
- I have to make a clean break. Can't do it in increments.
- Calvin Johnson is the best size / speed / hand-eye coordination guy he's ever coached - best he's every been around. He stills needs more experience like everyone but that's just time. The sky's the limit for him. The challenge is getting a great WR the ball. It's a lot harder to get a great WR the ball than it is a great RB or a great QB. Rest assured we're doing everything we can do to get him the ball
- on spread offense -
- on defense - challenge is secondary - only one returning starter. Front 7, if healthy, will be as good as we've ever been at Tech. But secondary will require guys to step up and fill some holes.
- on contract extension. You just can't recruit without long term stability. If "I" was a kid I would look at it.
Beesball - Jackets fall
Always a bad night when the Jackets lose to UGAg.
No. 16 Georgia Stops No. 9 Georgia Tech at Turner Field, 5-4 :: Bulldogs win in 11 innings.
Where are they now - Zam Fredrick
Well, it's official - Zam "Buck" Fredrick is going to be a USC Gamecock........... This version has a little insight from Zam Senior:
The elder Fredrick says his son didn't seem a good fit with Georgia Tech. "Instead of fighting through it for four years and not really enjoy yourself, you make a change," he said. "Now, he can seek the peace and happiness he deserves."
If that is truly what Buck wants then I am happy that this worked out for him. I can only hope that the last chapter in this story is a good one for Zam. It's too bad he didn't find his niche at Georgia Tech, but that doesn't make him a bad guy. Zam, all the best - good luck......... until "we" meet again.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Football - Athlon 2006 Season Cover
Here's the regional ACC cover with Calvin Johnson and James Davis:
Message from D-Rad
Well, Georgia Tech's new AD Dan Radakovich has started the first in a series of fireside chats he cleverly calls "The Good Word with Dan Radakovich". Have to give some props for that. Anyhow, here is the full message from D-Rad:
The Good Word with Dan Radakovich
Message from the Director of Athletics
May 9, 2006
TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of Georgia Tech Athletics
FROM: Dan Radakovich, Georgia Tech Director of Athletics
I'm excited to launch this series of letters to you, our supporters of Georgia Tech Athletics, to outline our vision for excellence for your athletics program. "The Good Word" will deliver to you regular updates on the issues facing our athletics program as well as provide a forum for feedback and discussion on topics that are important to you.
Our vision is simple but challenging: to position Georgia Tech to be one of the top athletics programs in the nation - year in and year out - for the next quarter of a century.
Let me begin this first letter by telling you a few things that are important for our future.
First, Georgia Tech needs to alter the way business is conducted in the Athletic Association. We must become more transparent in our dealings and more cognizant of the needs of our customers.
Second, we must grow our customer base. Our location in the city of Atlanta provides tremendous marketing opportunities, but we must provide value for the competitive entertainment dollar. We must make each customer feel that no matter the outcome of the contest they have attended, they made a wise choice by attending a Tech event.
Third, we must value our product. College athletics has grown into a very large industry, one that requires a substantial revenue stream each and every year. In subsequent writings, I will detail more about our financial status, both present and future, and how we may need to alter our current business practices to achieve a level of financial stability.
Over my first six weeks on the job, I have met with many Tech alums and supporters. One message has come through loud and clear: There is a deep passion for the Institute and a great sense of philanthropy. We must continue to capitalize on that generosity and grow it to constituents who may reside outside the current Tech family. We need to announce that there is room on the Ramblin' Wreck for everyone.
In the coming months, through this correspondence, I will continue to paint a detailed picture of the state of Georgia Tech Athletics so that you can have a better understanding of our goals and plans.
We have some very important decisions to make in the near future. We want you to play a role in the future success of Tech Athletics, so we welcome your feedback at goodword@athletics.gatech.edu
While I cannot guarantee a personal response to every email that we receive, please know that they will all be read, so I do encourage your participation in this process. Some of your questions could become topics for future issues of the The Good Word.
I also encourage you to share this letter with any Tech fan who may not have access to the Internet. Our goal is to inform and engage as many Yellow Jacket supporters as we possibly can.
I want to personally thank you for your continued support of Georgia Tech Athletics as we move forward with our vision for excellence.
Go Jackets!
Football Recruiting - Jackets land a LB
Coach Gailey and crew land verbal committment #3 with Johnson County High School linebacker Brad Jefferson. He's a 6'2" 205lb standout who also excels at track, starring in the 110m hurdles. He clocked a 4.6 in the 40and benches 355lb. He also had offers from Clemson, Duke, Florida and Maryland - a strong ACC flavor.
Scout Profile - Has Brad at 6-0 210
Rivals Profile- Has Brad at 6-2 205
Scott Kennedy at Scout.com has him in his GA Top 30 and will be a 3-star minimum guy when the rankings coming out, and it seems that he may have been Tech's top LB target for this class.
georgia.scout.com/3/hsgeorgia2007.html
Seems like yet another very good committment and another strong get in the state. A nice combination of strength and speed......... and the staff's renued focus in state seems to be paying off. GO JACKETS!!!!!!!
Hoops - Charlton Young Wants Out???
I'm sorry but this just doesn't feel right to me. It's official that one season after joining the Jackets as an assistant, Charlton Young is interviewing for an assistant position with Tennessee.
KnoxNews: Vol Basketball
Sorry, I don't get it. Only last month, Young had this to say when it was rumored he was in the running:
Georgia Tech assistant Charlton Young, who spent seven years on Cliff Ellis' Auburn staff and was associate head coach at UT-Chattanooga under Jeff Lebo in 2004-05, laughed off the notion that he was interested in the opening.
"I'm not a candidate. That's message-board stuff," Young said, when reached by telephone Monday. "They've got me going everywhere this year. I'm a Georgia Tech guy."
Coach Young, please explain to Jacket fans what has changed. Please explain why you lied last month and said that you're "a Georgia Tech guy" all the way. Please explain to Jacket fans what the motivation is for you to go from an assistant in the top conference in the nation to an assistant in the SEC? If there is some hometown motivation or Bruce Pearl is an old mentor of yours, ok. Just let us know why you are interested in leaving with such an outstanding recruiting class coming in. Why have you bounced around so much during your coaching career and now want to do it again? I'm only saying these things because many fans like what you've brought to the team, both in recruiting and instruction. But ok, if you want out, we wish you the best. We just don't understand. What aren't you finding for yourself here in ATL that you think you're going to get elsewhere. I just hope there's not "more to this story", as Paul Harvey would say........
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Hoops - Large Turnaround Coming?
Funny thing about expectations. Last year we all expected a drop-off in results, and that's what we got. However, I don't think anyone anticipated the drop that occurred. Now expectations are going 180 degrees the other direction. The irony - one of the reasons for the positive expectations is the return of mostly the same crew that sent us to the near bottom of the ACC. Yes, everyone recognizes the potential impact of Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young and possibly the savior of the universe - Muha......... However, what it reallys says is that people recognize the existing talent coming back. The key to our success really falls on their development, as they are the foundation of the program - guys like Dickey, Smith, Morrow, Clinch, Bell, Aminu, West, etc.
The expectations bandwagon is rolling - time to get on.......
NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBS SportsLine.com
Hoops - Hewitt building the base
Coach Hewitt is doing a great job building a sold recruiting base in the state of GA. That continues as GT will host the 1st Annual Wallace Prather Memorial AAU Classic. Almost every GA AAU team will be there. This from RamblinRed over at theHive:
Both Lawal and Storrs will be there with the GA Stars Under 17 squad. Mo Miller
will be here with Team Memphis. Thompkins and Singleton will be playing on
Celtics under-16 squads. Some other 2008 and 2009 targets that will be on campus
include Xavier Gibson, Derrick Favors, Carter McMasters, Romero Osby, Lance
Stephenson. There will also be other ACC signees here - particularly from the DC
Assualt squad.Here is the schedule http://www.atlantaceltics.com/ced/Tournament%20Schedule.pdf
Wallace Prather Memorial AAU Classic at GT this weekend - www.scout.com
Tech Places Three on All-ACC Golf Team :: Heppler Named Coach of the Year, Tringale Named Freshman of the Year
Awards abound for Tech golfers - 3 guys on the all-ACC team, the Freshman of the year, the coach of the year, it's all good folks!! Only one thing would cap off the year- an NCAA title.....
Tech Places Three on All-ACC Golf Team :: Heppler Named Coach of the Year, Tringale Named Freshman of the Year
Where are they now - hoopsters
Good article on what's happening with former Tech hoops players and their status getting a degree. No word on Jack, Bynum or Bosh in terms of progress towards a degree, but Elder, Schenscher and McHenry are all enrolled for classes this summer. Way to go guys!!
Muhammad, West Have More Basketball Left :: Three other 2005 seniors enrolled for summer school
Football - Booker transferring to GT
JacketsOnline.com - Booker transferring from Auburn; headed to ACC
The rumors were correct - QB Calvin Booker is headed to Georgia Tech. At minimum this gives us another live arm to compete for the job after Reggie Ball's eligibility is done after this season. Welcome aboard Calvin............ GO JACKETS!!!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Football Recuiting: Rating The Raters
All you recruit-niks take note - a Michigan blogger has taken on Rivals.com in determining how well they really did picking the top 100 football recruits of 2002. Their conclusion - they did pretty darn well. They completed the top 50 and the next 50 will be posted later.......... Check it out.
mgoblog: Rating The Raters: 2002 Rivals 100 Part I
Having read that, it just confirms my overall conclusion - the challenge is NOT ranking the top 100, it's the next 300 that are the challenge. What would be REALLY interesting is to see how Rivals.com and Scout.com did after you passed the top 100, because that's where they really should be judged. Everybody follows the top kids, and you can bet a 5-star kid has a pretty good chance of being successful at the D-I level. Take Calvin Johnson - 5-stars - good call. Duhhh. .............. However, start getting into the 2-4 star kids and it's a real crap shoot. That is where college coaches really earn their money - talent evaluation of the kids NOT at the top. Because do you think for a second that Rivals.com and Scout.com can really evaluate 500+ kids fairly with their small staff of people? No way.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Beesball: #10 Jackets finish off sweep of South Florida
The Georgia Tech baseball team sweeps South Florida this weekend. Outside the ACC the Jackets are one tough team. A very good performance against a pretty good South Florida baseball team. The 10th ranked Jackets improve to 36-12 on the season, and should move up in the rankings this week. Go Jackets!
Andy Hawranick drove in two runs and John Goodman went five innings in his first college start to lead Georgia Tech to a 4-3 victory Saturday night and a sweep of a doubleheader with South Florida.
The Yellow Jackets (36-12) won the afternoon opener 7-2 as freshman David Duncan allowed one unearned run in eight innings and Jeff Kindel had three hits, including a home run.
The victories over USF (20-28) improved the Yellow Jackets record to 22-2 against teams outside the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Hoops - ACC / Big 10 Challenge Announced
Match-ups have been announced and the Jackets will face Penn St......... The worst news of all this - our game will be televised on ESPN-U, which means virtually nobody will see it. Guess that's what we get for stinking up the court last season.......... No doubt the marquee match-up will be UNC / Ohio State, with both teams bringing in the top 2 recruiting classes in the nation and buckets of talent.
2006 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Schedule (ALL TIMES ET)
Monday, Nov. 27
Michigan at N.C. State- 7 p.m.- ESPN2
Tuesday, Nov. 28
Maryland at Illinois- 7 p.m.- ESPN
Florida State at Wisconsin- 7:30 p.m.- ESPN2
Penn State at Georgia Tech - 8 p.m.- ESPNU
Indiana at Duke-9 p.m.- ESPN
Miami at Northwestern- 9:30 p.m.- ESPN2
Wednesday, Nov. 29
Michigan State at Boston College-7 p.m.-ESPN
Virginia at Purdue-7:30 p.m.-ESPN2
Iowa at Virginia Tech-8 p.m.-ESPNU
Ohio State at North Carolina-9 p.m.-ESPN
Clemson at Minnesota-9:30 p.m.-ESPN2
2006 Challenge highlights:
Challenge Rematch: College basketball tradition-rich programs Duke and Indiana will meet for the second consecutive year Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 9 p.m. on ESPN. The Hoosiers rank third all-time with five national titles, while the Blue Devils rank fifth with three. Duke, the only team to go undefeated in the Challenge at 7-0, won last year's game 75-67.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Where are they now - Zam Fredrick
It's sad to relegate Zam to the "where are they now" segment, but there really are questions about where he might end up. South Carolina just accepted the transfer of PG Devan Downey from Cincy and that raises huge scholarship availability questions for Buck. Looks like he might need to head to a good mid-major program or let dear ole dad pay for his education and let him be a walk-on at USC. Could happen.
Hoops Recruiting
Chris Singleton, one of the top prospects in the state of GA for the class of 2008 has narrowed his list to 4 schools, and Georgia Tech is on that list. Singleton is a 6'8" guy with a wingspan like a condor. The 2008 class out of Georgia will be interesting because there are at least 3 guys all in the 6'7" - 6'9" range (Singleton, Howard Thompkins and Al-Farouq Aminu, Alade's "little" bro) that all have the Jackets high on their list. Thompkins is ranked as the top guy in the state by Rivals, with Singleton at #3 and Aminu #7. Should be interesting......
Hoops - Pre-Season Polls
Rivals.com and their panel of experts has the Jackets tied with UConn at #14 in their pre-season hoops poll. Obviously the addition of JC and TY makes a difference:
14t. Georgia Tech (40) 11-17
Could the Jackets go from one of the worst teams in the ACC to one of the best? The addition of two top-10 recruits, Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young, made believers out of our panel.
Where are they now - PJ Daniels
Sports Illustrated on PJ Daniels and the Ravens' draft:
RAVENS: You bet I like drafts that lead off with two big guys, DT Haloti Ngata 338 pounds, and they say he still has some growing to do (Did I ever tell you why I really like King Kong? Because there's a guy who won't take any guff from the airlines), and Chris Chester, an athletic center who pulls out and leads plays. The sleeper light is flashing -- P.J. Daniels, a gusty little former walk-on RB who you might say would give Jamal Lewis a run for it if you were foolish enough to believe that these competitions are anything close to being fair.
Hoops - Finding that Mid-Major future star coach
Interesting article about NCST's hoops head coaching search as it relates to finding a mid-major guy ready to breakout - a la Paul Hewitt and even Bobby Cremins. Note the backgrounds of the current ACC coaches:
School .............Coach .............Previous school
Boston College .....Al Skinner ........Rhode Island
Clemson Oliver .....Purnell ...........Dayton
Duke ...............Mike Krzyzewski....Army
Florida State ......Leonard Hamilton ..Miami
Georgia Tech .......Paul Hewitt .......Siena
Maryland ...........Gary Williams .....Ohio State
Miami ..............Frank Haith .......Texas (asst.)
North Carolina .....Roy Williams ......Kansas
Virginia ...........Dave Leitao .......DePaul
Virginia Tech ......Seth Greenberg ....South Florida
Wake Forest ........Skip Prosser ......Xavier
Monday, May 01, 2006
What's Buzzin'
Aside from Gerris Wilkinson, Dawan Landry and PJ Daniels getting drafted, four other Jackets signed free agent deals - Chris Reis - Falcons, Damarious Bilbo - Cardinals, Eric Henderson - Bengals, Gavin Tarquinio - Falcons. Congrats to all!!!........... Am I the only one that didn't realize that Danny Payne led the diamond Jackets in batting avg, hits, runs, home runs, total bases, slugging % and stolen bases? ............... Back to football - is this our QB of the future - Josh Nesbitt?................. Back to hoops - evidently the vast majority of Portland Trailblazer fans really like Jarrett Jack and don't want to see him traded.......
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Rudy, the rest of the story
Now this is interesting. Does anyone know who the Georgia Tech QB was during that famous GT - Notre Dame game that turned Rudy into a motion picture? Well, turns out he was Rudy also. Rudy Allen was his name. The other Rudy. Interesting read............
NFL Draft Notes
Ed Nelson signed a free agent deal with the LA Rams. Alrighty then. You can finally afford more neck bling........ PJ Daniels and Dawan Landry are teammates again............. Also, there are unconfirmed reports that Chris Reis has signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons - nice if true.
Football - PJ Daniels / Dawan Landry Drafted
Evidently the Baltimore Ravens like what they scouted at Georgia Tech because they picked up PJ Daniels in the 4th round (132nd overall pick) and Dawan Landry in the 5th round with the 146th overall pick. Way to go guys!!.......... The biggest surprise to me is that Eric Henderson is still on the board. Is durability scaring away pro teams? In case you did not hear, Henderson dropped a weight on his toe right before some of his NFL workouts and could not participate as planned.
Football - More on Gerris Wilkinson
From New York Giants GM Ernie Accorsi:
He's an outstanding linebacker and a very versatile player. He's big and fast and he's 6-3, 231. He can run and he played four positions in four years. He started as a SAM his freshman year, a WILL his second year, a defensive end his third year and he played middle linebacker his fourth year. And he's a captain. Our coaches think he can play all three positions. And his gymnastics are off the charts"
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Gerris Wilkinson Picked by New York Giants in 3rd Round
Gerris Wilkinson just got picked by the New York Football Giants with the 96th overall pick in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. Congrats to Gerris! I am sure there will be a write up after the draft of all of GT's selections. Click the link below for NFL.com's school list. By the way, 12 first rounders from the ACC eh? Any questions?
FACT:The 12 ACC Selections in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft are in fact an all time record for most selections in the first round by a conference. Also, the selection of Mario Williams by the Texans with the first pick was the first time an ACC football player has gone No.1 in the NFL Draft
NFL Draft Notes
Well, here's the conference breakdown for the first 15 picks:
ACC 7
PAC 10 3
BIG 12 2
BIG 10 2
SEC 1
The ACC gets the #1 pick in the draft and the mighty SEC only has one player drafted so far - from VANDY!!!! Who'd a thunk it?
Friday, April 28, 2006
What's Buzzin'
FAMILY TIES
Did you know that Minn. Gopher recruit Lawrence Westbrook's mother Sabrina is the cousin of our own Travis Best? It's true. Now ya know.
CHRIS BOSH - STAYING IN TORONTO? WHY?
Evidently Chris Bosh is giving all indications he will sign a 6-year contract extension with Toronto. I give him credit for showing strong loyalty even though there really hasn't been an NBA player yet to show much loyalty north of the border. Here's what he said:
Dashing hopes for a lot of teams, Toronto's Chris Bosh sounds like he's getting ready to re-sign. Said Bosh: "It's a little easier with (Bryan) Colangelo in charge. Fans come to me all the time (saying), `We hope you stay.' I'm like, `Don't worry, man. If this organization does what they're supposed to do, I'll do what I'm supposed to.'
Well, if this NBA thing doesn't pan out, he might be readying himself for a TV career........ Could Bosh's draft class of 2003 be one of the best ever. It's shaping up that way.
HOW TO CLEAR UP BOWL CONFUSION - ADD MORE!!!
The NCAA just approved adding 3 new bowls, bringing the grand total to 31. Nice.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW - MATT MURTON
Great article on Matt and his conversion from football player to baseball star.
THE ANAOI FAMILY TREE
For those wanting to know the lineage of Joe Anaoi and his relationship into one of the royal families of wrestling, here you go:
It seems every once in a while another Samoan wrestler pops up who is reportedly related to every other Samoan wrestler who ever came before him. Can you provide us with a family tree of sorts? Umaga (Eddie Fatu) is related to Rikishi (Solofa Fatu) who is related to some other guys. Rosey (Matt Anoai) is related to Yokozuna (Rodney Anoai) is he not? And The Rock is in there too, isn't he? Along with Superfly Jimmy Snuka. Anyway, can you clear all this up? Who is related to who and how?
Okay, here goes nothing. Amituanai & Tovale Anoai had four children: Afa, Sika, Junior and Vera. Afa and Sika are the famed Wild Samoans of WWE fame.
Junior Anoai had a son, the late Rodney Anoai, Yokozuna.
Vera, who took the married name Fatu, had three wrestling sons: Solofa (Rikishi/Fatu), Sam (Tama/Tonga Kid) and Eddie (Jamal/Ekmo/Umaga).
Sika's son is Matt Anoai (Rosey/Kimo). Sika also has a son, Joe, that currently plays football for Georgia Tech.
Afa's sons that wrestled are Samula (Samu), Afa Jr. and Lloyd (L.A. Smooth). Afa's daughter, Monica, is the widow of a wrestler, the late Gary Albright.
Peter Maivia and James Reiher (Jimmy Snuka) are cousins of the Anoai (Afa, Sika, Junior, Vera) family. Maivia's daughter, Ata, married Rocky Johnson, and their son is The Rock.
GOLF: TWO FORMER GT PLAYERS 1-2 AT NATIONWIDE TOUR EVENT
Two Former Georgia Tech players Tripp Isenhour and Bryce Molder are 1-2 on the leaderboard, after the first round of the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs in Travelers Rest, South Carolina. Isenhour shot an opening round 66 on the Cliff's Valley course. Molder, a 4 year All American, and 3 time ACC Player Of The Year at Georgia Tech carded an opening round 65, both at 6 under par. Second round play continues tommorrow. Way to go guys. Hopefully Bryce can start playing like this and make it to the PGA Tour.
Apparently Bryce was happy to shoot his low round on the toughest of the three courses used at this event.
"Im really pleased with the round and excited to be leading from this course", said Molder. "If I would have had just one low round, I wouldnt have thought it would come from this course".
Meanwhile Isenhour said Bryce's round was the true leader of this golf tournament. The course Molder played on ranked as one of the toughest courses on the Nationwide Tour last year.
"I dont know what the weather was doing up there but a 6-under up there is the leader of the golf tournament", said Isenhour, speaking of Molders opening round.
Good to see these guys playing so well, especially in the same tournament.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Football Recruiting - Jackets Land a Safety
Carrolton safety Jerrard Tarrant pulled the trigger and verbally committed to the Jackets, as reported on Scout.com... He picked the Jackets over Auburn, Duke and Vandy, although it is not clear he had any other official offers at this point. He had 50 tackles and 4 INT's as a junior and is 6'0' 185lb, while running a 4.5-40. Here is his profile.
Congrats Jerrard!!! You made the right choice. If you were offered a scholly to GTech, then obviously you have something special. Welcome aboard.
Football - Nix Calling the Plays
Looks like Patrick Nix will call all the plays this fall. How do you feel about that? Obviously for any Jacket fan there is some element of hope this instills that the offensive might generate more points per game than the past few seasons. But is the play-calling more a function of personnel or offensive strategy?
What about how this fits with Coach Gailey's future? I give Coach credit. He could have handed over the play-calling last season and taken some heat off himself, but he felt Nix wasn't ready. He wasn't going to expose Nix before he was ready and I respect him for that, especially considering the pressure he was under in his contract extension season. Now Coach Gailey has a new 5-year deal, job security and NOW he's handing over the playcalling duties. In some ways it shows his character and it makes me really believe that he's going to do what's best for the team and not try to take short-cuts.
Coach has shown a willingness to change, with new assistants and some new offensive wrinkles that are sparking hope among fans. Jacket faithful already are feeling better about recruiting for the upcoming class, even though there is a long way to go.
However, don't forget - Coach Gailey may not be calling the plays, but he is certainly calling the shots. He's still the team's general.
What do you think about Nix taking over the offense?
Hoops - More on Thaddeus Young
This from DraftExpress, and this from SI.com:
Thaddeus Young, Mitchell (Memphis)
Not only was Young named team MVP for leading the White team to a 108-95 win, but some of his sick dunks were shown on "SportsCenter" later that night. Young recorded a double-double with game highs of 28 points and 13 rebounds. Ten of his boards came on the offensive end, leading to several putbacks and tip-ins. Young did shoot only 3-for-7 from the free-throw line, but that's just nitpicking considering his team won easily.
Grade: A+
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
What's Buzzin'
Had a few minutes to put some interesitng findings before hitting the sack:
CHARLTON YOUNG - HOT COMMODITY?
Coach Hewitt's newest assistant coach insists that he is NOT a candidate for another assistant coaching job, but evidently his name keeps coming up. This time it's as an assistant to Bruce Pearl at Tennessee. He says no way:
Georgia Tech assistant Charlton Young, who spent seven years on Cliff Ellis' Auburn staff and was associate head coach at UT-Chattanooga under Jeff Lebo in 2004-05, laughed off the notion that he was interested in the opening.
"I'm not a candidate. That's message-board stuff," Young said, when reached by telephone Monday. "They've got me going everywhere this year. I'm a Georgia Tech guy."
Here's the thing. Charlton Young played an important role in the recruitment of Thaddeus Young and has had a positive influence on recruiting for sure, but he would be absolutely stupid to go anywhere else now. With the team that we will field next season, I wouldn't want to go anywhere. But that's just me.
THADDEUS YOUNG - PROPS ALL AROUND
Make no mistake - if it were not for the 19-year old age limit in the NBA, Thaddeus Young would be a top 10 pick and we would NEVER see him in a GT uni. Period. Here's an article from the Jordan Classic and evidently Michael Jordan kidded him about going to the wrong ACC school. Here's another article with these nice words:
Young picked up MVP for the winning team, putting up 28 and 11. Young is headed to Georgia Tech, and we're predicting an ACC Freshman of the Year honor right now. The kid can do everything: threes, handle, rebound, "D," post moves and will dunk on anyone in the country. …
Here's another one from FoxSports.com with this on BadThad:
One thing we will tell you right now, though: Thaddeus Young is going to be a MONSTER at Georgia Tech next year. …
THROWBACK - KENNY ANDERSON PROPS
Nice props for Kenny Anderson by ESPN's Doug Gottlieb, but discounts the long-term legacy because of only a two-year stay:
Anderson was the truth at Georgia Tech. He led the Yellow Jackets to a
Final Four, averaged more than 20 points a game in both of his seasons in
Atlanta and actually had more assists in his freshman year than Hurley had in
any season during his record-shattering career, but there was no legacy because
of the lack of tenure.
REMEMBER PATRICK CARTER?
...not to be confused with Patrick Clark, who is still on the football and learning to play in the defensive secondary. Patrick Carter is the converted QB who transferred from GT last year and after a weird series of events ended up in Louisville. Now check out the comments about how he has impressed Bobby Petrino in the spring, and guess what? He's still messing around at QB:
Just what the rest of the Big East needs: Innovative Louisville coach Bob Petrino could have his most dangerous wide receiver yet--Georgia Tech transfer Patrick Carter. Petrino wants to use the quick, physical Carter all over the offense this fall and have him take direct snaps in the shotgun. The problem: Carter didn't spend enough time at receiver this spring; he took too many snaps at quarterback to give the Cardinals another arm while starter Brian Brohm continued his recovery from a torn ACL.
ACC FOOTBALL CAPSULES FROM ESPN
Worth a read to get you ready for the fall
JACKETS RUNNER-UP FOR "SATEFY U"
Well, 2nd runner up. Southern Cal gets the nod and FSU is 2nd, but the Jackets get some love.
SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO?
Calvin Johnson - the truth. He should go - period. Yeah, I want him to stay, and value his degree, but he should go to the NFL after this season period. He can come back and get his degree. CFN had this to say about his potential early entry next year:
2. WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech – At times last season, it became obvious that Johnson was out growing the college game and becoming a pro caliber receiver, who just wasn’t getting paid. Don’t pay too much attention to his pedestrian numbers, which have more to do with double teams and a battery mate that won’t play quarterback beyond Tech. When sizing up Johnson, the only numbers that matter are the ones that will be off the charts at the NFL combine. He’s also a model citizen from a great family, and the early favorite to be the first receiver taken next April.
GEORGIA TECH GRAD COCA-COLA BOTTLER CEO
Not THE Coca-Cola, but CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, the largest bottler of Coke. Now, first order of business - a change in marketing. I'm in ATL this week at a conference at the Mariott Marquis. During break at the drink cart are cans of coke. Not regular cans though. Commemorative cans. Not just any commemorative cans. Cans highlighting UGA's SEC champsionship season, with a giant logo on the side and the entire 2005 schedule / results on the side. Oh wait, not ALL the results. They seem to have left their bowl game result off the results. I would too if I were them.............. why do I have to put up with this less than 1 mile away from the Georgia Tech campus?
Women's Tennis: GT ACC CHAMPIONS
Congratulations to the women's tennis team. They won the ACC Championship on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Miami.
The Yellow Jackets opened the match by winning the all-important doubles point.
with wins at No. 2 and No.3 doubles. Tech's Alison Silverio/Kacie Anson pair
topped Caren
Seenauth and Patricia
Starzyk, 8-3, at the No. 3 position before Whitney McCray and Kelly Anderson
upset UM's 48th ranked tandem of Audrey
Banada and Monika
Dancevic, 8-4, at the No. 2 slot to clinch the point.
Georgia
Tech took a 2-0 match lead when Anderson, ranked 111th, defeated Starzyk 6-0,
6-3 at the No. 5 singles position
Congrats to Bryan Shelton and the whole women's tennis team on their 2nd Consecutive ACC Championship.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
A Good Day
If you're a Georgia Tech fan, it was a darn good day. The diamond-Jackets swept 3 from FSU on the road, the women's tennis team captures the ACC Championship, the lady softballers split with top 20 UNC, the men's golf team wins a "co-championship" with UNC for the ACC title (although this is a very strange one we'll need to hear more about). Cameron Tringale wins the individual ACC golf title. Throw in Thaddeus Young's Jordan Classic MVP on Saturday and it's been a darn good weekend for Jacket fans......... GO JACKETS!!!!!
Hoops - Thaddeus Young MVP at Jordan Classic
Thaddeus Young showed his wide array of skills, winning the MVP of the Jordan Classic with 28 points and 13 boards yesterday. Make sure to watch the replay on ESPN2 after lunch - I think 1:00 or 1:30 today. Here's a story on the game........
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Hoops - Father of Buck Speaks....... Again
Why is it that every time Buck Fredrick Senior speaks, I feel somewhat sorry for junior? Check it out.
Fredrick’s father said there would be no such backtracking this time.
"Absolutely no chance. Zero. There ain’t no going back to Atlanta. That's over," he said. "If he’s not going to stay there, it's going to have to be Carolina. It's as simple as that."
Really? Simple as that huh? Glad you have put down the law.
Interestingly, Buck's dad said the reason he is leaving is a disagreement that just occured this past week during a discussion about Fredrick's playing time and role on next season's team. Frankly, I can imagine there might be some truth here. Coach Hewitt has made it clear that he will NOT accept a lack of conditioning and we clearly had that last season - particularly with Buck. Heck, near the end of the season when he was playing his best ball, it was when his minutes were being limited to about 20 per game. Buck lost a decent amount of weight, but he clearly needed to lose more. However, with all that being said, you cannot help that Buck is caught in a position quandry. He will not be the starting PG with Javaris Crittenton on the way, and he would struggle for major minutes at the two-spot.
Having said that, I like Buck. I think he's a winner. I think he's a victim of "little league dad". Over0bearing fathers should not have their transgressions heaped on their sons. It's not fair for 19 year old kids to carry the burdens and dreams of their fathers. At the end of the day, Buck has decided he will be better off in another situation. I wish him all the best and hope he finds what HE is looking for (not pops).
As far as the Jackets are concerned, my hope is that the team chemistry will sky-rocket. For two seasons now there has been this "Buck saga" always hovering in the background. Let's let Buck move on and let's do the same. For Buck, he may not even land at USC as they seem to have run out of numbers. All the best.......
Friday, April 21, 2006
Jackets crush #8 Florida State 15-8
A big win tonight by the Beesball Team beating Florida State in Tallahassee 15-8. I dont have the story yet, but from the stats, looks like a big game from Matt Wieters going 3-4, and Danny Payne belting a grand slam and going 2-4. Payne's grand slam came when the game was tied at 8 in the sixth inning, and propeled the Jackets to their 4th straight win. Tech improves to 30-9 and 11-8 in the ACC. Game 2 tommorrow night at 7pm. Go Jackets!
Georgia Tech 15 Florida State 8 Boxscore
Game Story GT 15 FSU 8
Thursday, April 20, 2006
WITH ZAM LEAVING, WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE DICKEY?
With the departure of Zam Fredrick, there has been speculation from some fans that Ra'Sean Dickey, Zam's best friend could be next. I would have to believe the Ra'Sean established himself this past season as our best returning player, and therefore is in a different situation than Zam was. I am sure we'll hear some rumors about Ra'Sean looking elsewhere as well, but i wouldnt worry too much about Dickey seeking a move. Next year's team will rely on Dickey considerably, and i think he knows that. Should be a fun year. The only concern i have is who our backup point guard will be. I am thinking now that Mario West will be moved into that position. Any thoughts?
Zam Fredrick seeks transfer (Atlanta Journal - Constitution)
St. Matthews native Fredrick plans transfer (South Carolina newspaper)
hoops - Zam Fredrick seeks transfer
Coming as no big surprise, Buck Fredrick is seeking a transfer. Coach Hewitt gave Fredrick his release and when he decides on where he is going (based on where he is accepted), Buck will comment............More later......
Football Recruiting
Scout.com is reporting that super-stud cornerback Cedric Everson from Detroit has the Jackets at the top of his list, loves the school and already has 48 bonafide scholarship offers from schools including USC, UCLA, FSU, Miami, FL, etc, etc. Check out the comment in his profile:
As a junior Everson had 13 interceptions and he returned 10 of those for touchdowns. He also returned 10 punts and kicks for touchdowns.
He has registered a 4.29 forty and a 10.5 100 meter.
Yikes. That would be nice. Really nice.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Hoops - Recruit Rankings
Rivals.com has released their final 2006 top 150 rankings. Here's how the Georgia Tech recruits fell:
#5.... Thaddeus Young (#4 forward, 5-star)
#7.... Javaris Crittenton (#1 Point Guard, 5-star)
#134.. Zach Peacock (3-star)
UR.... Brad Sheehan (3-star)
From Rivals:
The No. 4 and No. 5 spots were a tough call between versatile small forwards Chase Budinger and Thaddeus Young. Young is a better defender and better at creating his shot off the dribble, but Budinger's automatic stroke from deep and his ability to handle the ball and create for his teammates give him a slight edge over Young.
Although Tywon Lawson pushes the tempo like no one else, is a proven winner and is a perfect fit for the North Carolina system, Javaris Crittenton gets a slight edge because we see him as a better NBA prospect, with the impact of his size on the defensive end, on the boards and in his ability to create his own shot.
To give you an idea of how the "down ACC" cleaned up in this class, look at the numbers. 35 of the top 150 are headed to the ACC, 5 of the top 10. The Big East had 27 of the top 150, but of course there are 45 teams in that conference, so on a per-team basis, it's not so high.
Congrats to all!!!
THAD YOUNG TO APPEAR ON FOX'S "COUNTDOWN TO SIGNING DAY" WEDNESDAY @6PM ET
Just a quick programming update, Thaddeus Young will appear on Fox Sports South Wednesday night on "Countdown to Signing Day". Not sure if Thaddeus Young will be in studio, but Bobby Cremins will be there, so it should be interesting what Bobby has to say about Thaddeus. Of course i am sure Bobby will call him "Travis Young". From what it looks like, the story on Thaddeus will be along the lines of "The best player to come out of Memphis since Penny Hardaway". Set the TIVO, or get home to watch it. It will be televised on FOX SPORTS SOUTH at 6:30 PM ET, on Wednesday, which is tommorrow.
Thaddeus Young "Countdown to Signing Day" article
CRITTENTON IMPRESSIVE IN KENTUCKY DERBY FESTIVAL CLASSIC
Javaris Crittenton had an impressive performance in the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic in Kentucky this past weekend. Javaris was on the Black team, which did end up losing the game 118-106 in overtime. Kentucky signeee Jodie Meeks forced overtime for the white team by hitting 2 free throws with 1.1 seconds left. In the overtime, the white team dominated and ended up winning by 12. Javaris' final numbers were 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and and three steals. Seems like Javaris is the real deal, especially with the performance he had in the McDonald's All American game. Interestingly, former GT target Stanley Robinson won the Slam dunk contest at the Classic. Should be some interesting recruiting news coming soon with GT in the hunt for some major targets in 2007, to go along with Gani Lawal. When i hear some news, i'll post.
Kentucky Derby Festival Classic (Story from CatsPause.com)
Sunday, April 16, 2006
BEESBALL: TECH HAMMERS CLEMSON 22-4
Looks like the Jackets are playing some serious baseball right now guys. How about the work of Wes Hodges? Yesterday he had a career high 6 rbi's, well today he bettered that by going 3-4 with 7 rbi's which included a home run, and 2 doubles. The Jackets improve to 28-9 on the season and 10-8 in the ACC. This was a big series win against one of the better teams in the country. Could this be the year for Tech baseball to win it all in Omaha? Gee, i hope so. Next up: Wednesday against Georgia State, and then a big series next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, against Florida State. Go Jackets!
NBA: JARRETT VS THE THRILL
In case you missed it , the Portland Trailblazers and the Golden State Warriors hooked up last night. That meant Will Bynum against Jarrett Jack. And it was a shootout out West for sure between the two former Techsters. I thought that was great to see Will and Jarrett playing so well in the same game. Jarrett has really been coming on lately. 8 points and 11 assists in his last outing and last night Jarrett's numbers were 15pts, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds. It was Golden State's night though as Will "The Thrill" was the second leading scorer on the team with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists. Could anyone have imagined that Luke and Will would be playing in the NBA, but BJ Elder is not? I really hope BJ gets his chance next season. I have seen some video of him over in Germany, and he looks like he is in GREAT shape! Looks like Will and Luke may even sign a contract over the summer. Here are some interesting links.
Will Bynum's Salary
Luke's Salary
Jarrett Jack's Salary
Chris Bosh's Salary
Matt Harpring's Salary
"Starbury's Salary"(Not bad for a college dropout eh?)
Jon Barry's Salary (Released in Early March, guaranteed)
Saturday, April 15, 2006
BEESBALL: TECH EVENS SERIES 12-3
Big game today, as the Yellow Jackets evened the series with Clemson winning 12-3. Good pitching by Tim Ladd, who went 5.2 innings of shutout pitching. Wes Hodges continues to be a stud, by homering and driving in a career high 6 runs. Danny Payne homered as well, and Steven Blackwood had a big game going 3-4 and scored 3 runs. Big bounce back game for the Yellow Jackets. Tech improves to 27-9 overall and 9-8 in the ACC. Tommorrow's game is televised on Fox Sports South as well at 1pm ET. Go Jackets!
WOMEN'S HOOPS: MAJOR RECRUIT LANDED
The Georgia Tech women's basketball team landed a major recruit last week in Jonesboro Senior, and the number 18 prospect in the nation Jasmine Duffy. Duffy, who averaged 12 points and 9 boards per game is the highest prospect the GT women have ever signed. Congratulations to Coach Joseph and we welcome Jasmine to GT. Wow, next season at GT should be good on the hardwood!
BEESBALL: GT STORMS BACK; LOSES 7-6
In a matchup of the two of the countries best teams last night in Atlanta, a furious Tech comeback was stalled, as Adrian Casanova hit a solo bomb in the 8th inning, and Georgia Tech couldnt recover losing 7-6. Whit Robbins had a grand slam for the Jackets in their 6-run sixth inning. The Jackets are now 26-9 overall and 8-8 in the ACC. Two games are left in the series. Both games are televised by Fox Sports South Saturday and Sunday at 1pm et. Go Jackets!!!!
Game 2: GT pastes Clemson 12-3 FINAL! (Click here for stats)
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Spring Sports Day
Lots going in this weekend. Check it out:
Saturday April 15, 2006
Football Scrimmage at Bobby Dodd Stadium
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Free and Open to the Public
Fans should enter Bobby Dodd Stadium at Gate 4
WreckFest at Peters Parking Deck
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Interactive games, face painters, food and fun.
GT merchandise will be on sale.
No. 12 GT Women's Tennis vs. Wake Forest
12 noon, Bill Moore Tennis Center (Fowler Street at 10th Street)
Admission is FREE!
No. 10 GT Baseball vs. No. 6 Clemson
1 p.m., Russ Chandler Stadium
Tickets can be purchased at the RCS ticket windows
GT Softball vs. Boston College (Doubleheader)
1 p.m., Glenn Field (14th Street & Mecaslin Street)
Admission is FREE!
NOTE ON PARKING:
Due to an event in Alexander Memorial Coliseum,
the AMC parking lots will not be available Saturday.
Peters Parking Deck and the O'Keefe Lots will be open.
Tech v. Notre Dame
I was out of the office during lunch and happened to be listening to Colin Cowherd's show on ESPNRadio just before noon. He brought on Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN College Gameday (and THE ohio state university) to yap about the "controversy" over OSU's uniform changes. Big freakin' deal . . .
However, the bigger discussion turned to Notre Dame, Charlie Weis and the national love-fest that is Irish football in 2006 and beyond. Much glory, however, soon was heaped on the Jackets and our stout defense, Jon Tenuta and how ND could be in for a surprise to start the season on the road. Great stuff . . .
Perhaps even bigger news was Herbstreit and Cowherd saying that College Gameday was slated to be broadcast from Grant Field and that it would be a night game, which Herbstreit and everyone at ESPN love televising with the cool surrounding ATL environment. Cowherd said that his show would be broadcast from Atlanta and 680TheFan during the end of that week.
That's the way to get the season started with a bang!
What's the good word?
Well the Jackets crushed the mutts at RCS 8-2 on Wednesday. Wieters went 2-5 with 4 RBIs and a homer. Blackwood added four hits going 4-5 with 2 RBIs. The Jackets took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first and UGAg brought it to 3-2 in the top of the second. However, that's all they would score and Tech went on to win it handily. The Jackets get a chance to go ahead and secure the series in Athens on April 26th.
Up next: A big 3-game series against Clemson this weekend. Bee there!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Jackets In The Draft
Well as Draft Day nears a few Jackets are showing up on team's radars. Gerris is rated as the #3 inside linebacker going into the draft. Clark Judge had this to say about him:
3. Gerris Wilkinson, Georgia Tech
The skinny: A two-time all-ACC choice, he led his team in tackles last season. Moved to middle linebacker after playing defensive end, he can play inside or out. An outstanding run defender and solid pass rusher, he's also durable -- starting all 37 games the past three years.
Also, Dawan is listed as a sleeper at the safety position.
Sleeper:
Dewan Landry, Georgia Tech. He's someone with loads of upside. He has the perfect size; he's smart; he's a solid tackler and he can play safety or cornerback. All he needs is some coaching to correct habits that sometimes take him out of position to make a play.
I think Eric will also be a solid DE, but this draft is loaded with them already. Also, Tech fans still wait to see if and where D-Bo will go, and where he will play if he does. Only 17 days to go...
Justin
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Football - Sunday Scrimmage Report
Robbie, one of our loyal readers, attended Sunday's practice and scrimmage and sent me the following write-up on the game. Thanks Robbie !!
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Spring Practice: Sunday April 9, 2006 @ 4pm
Well everyone, a detailed Sunday practice report is a little late but better now than never right? Considering the weather we all just went through, Sunday afternoon was the rainbow after the storm. Beautiful Spring afternoon and no better place to be than on the Flats watching the Jackets knock helmets with each other. The crowd was pretty good from what I have been accustomed to in the past. As practice went on, even more people decided to come out. I was very impressed to say the least. Most left before practice ended though. The sun was pretty rough. I got sun burned! Note to self...sit on shady side. I encourage more of you to come out if you can make it. Especially the weekend ones!
Most of you have probably already read some reports from the practice from other sources but I thought I would give you a little more in depth observation details than the obvious. The obvious of course was little No. 20 (Jamaal Evans) making a case for himself at RB while the defense was back to its old self taking advantage of young QBs and forcing many INTs. Yeah...the play calling and play making where vanilla but this was a VERY intense and hard hitting practice. Note that I paid more attention to the Offense this practice and thus have little less detail with the defense. I will focus on the defense when I am able to attend another practice this week.
SPECIAL TEAMS
I got there just as they were putting the finishing touches on punt team/return team drills. Not sure who was punting (didn't have my player notes and #'s; forgot it) but a few times he would absolutely drill it from what my position seemed like the 30 (LOS) to the 30. He line drived a few as well which did not look good at all. He got blocked once but that wasn't his fault...blown blocking assignment. If this is Brooks...consistency is definitely a WIP. Leg strength...NOT a problem.
OFFENSE
Overview -
Pretty Vanilla but what do you expect? We started the scrimmage under center. That lasted but a few plays with the QB on his behind. Quickly adjusted to our "spread" offensive formations. Shotgun with combinations of two or three WR/one or two TE/QB/RB. Two formations were of interest to me. One was a two TE (offset behind the line)/two WR/QB/RB shotgun very reminicent of the days of the Fridge. The other was a traditional 3WR/1TE/QB/RB shotgun. It was JJ, Calvin, TB, Cooper, and Choice...the surprise being Grant lined up in the slot! Oh the possibilities! We ran a lot of option pitches regardless of the formation with a lot of success. More so against second team D. We were dinking the defenses on the boundary a lot with the short pass. Quick passes to the WR and TEs (yes...we were throwing to the TEs quite a bit!). Formula: Running Game + Quick Passes = what we normally know of as the "answer" to a Coach JT defense. Understandable. It was for the most part successful...well...more so for the second team O vs second team D than the first O vs first D. But the offenses held their own against intense pressure.
Offensive Line -
Drills: Coach D is fun to watch. He is very much like Coach JT. Not as loud or intense but close. They were performing some sort of line drills where a defender would line up on either side of the Offensive Lineman. They would line up one, three, or five wide. Coach D would call snap and the offensive lineman had to use technique to shuffle their feet while getting under the defender and using his leverage to either blow him off the line or just stand him up. Worked on blocking assignments with simulated blitzes and stunts too. Coach D was in their face the whole time. Didn't like what he saw...made the player do it again...and again...and again. Constantly instructing. He would do this during scrimmage as well as he watched the line from just behind the play. I found this absolutely fasinating. Its a wonder we are beginning to mature a very talented and big offensive line. And Coach D is a big part. Lets hope we can add recruits such as stud Chris Little to this talented and big OL for the future.
Player Notes: Wrotto was getting beat by our speed DEs (MJ and Robertson). It happened a few times. By the way Coach D was working on him it appeared to be more technique than skill or talent. What was fascinating and shows you Wrotto's love for his new position and willingness to learn was how intense and interactive he was with Coach's D's one on one instruction. Coach D was working on Trey Dunmon a lot as well even saying out loud "Come on Trey...show me what you got!". Other than that everyone seemed to have played a great scrimmage. And Coach D was praising them when they did things right. Folks...Andrew Gardner is a future NFL player. He is so big and athletic. No one gets by him and on the INTs he was one of the first players to get to the ball carrier to take him down. What hustle!
Skill Positions -
QB: Audibles/Checks...yes...that is exactly what you just read. TB and JG appeared to be calling audibles/checks. When the defense would show blitz...TB would often check to another play. I am pretty certain because I heard someone at one point yell from the offensive players/coaches gathering "Great Change" (maybe from Nix?) when we ran the ball after the defense showed and then committed to a blitz. The play was a sizeable gainer. Didn't seem to work for the O all the time but still...it was nice to see. TB and JG played well IMHO. TB has one heck of a loud and gutteral cadence. Got the first team D to jump off sides a few times. Everytime it happened TB would keep the play going and one time it lead to a CJ TD on a fade to the corner of the EZ. Both QBs are very composed and moved well in the pocket to avoid pressure. IMHO, not all the INTs were bad decisions but they seemed more along the lines of the decision to force the issue than throw the ball away. I counted only two that were thrown poorly and one that was a jump ball to CJ that Scott finally got the better of. More experience will make the decision making better. Both run the option/keeper surprisingly well. TB is surprisingly quick for his size. BAckup QBs developing nicely. I really want to see RB out their again to see what he can do.
RB: No. 20...Jamaal Evans. No wonder CCG wanted nothing to do with recruiting RBs after Kelly and Evans signed. Evans is a talent and he has turned his size into a weapon by waiting on blockers and playing hide and seek with defenders. He changes speed really well and changes direction without having to slow down. Broke some big runs. He is fast. And he will lower the shoulder too...not afraid to take a hit. Oh...did I mention he can block...if you call throwing your body kamakaze style at a defender as blocking...but it was VERY effective with him often cutting the legs from the rusher. TC and RG had decent gains on a few runs and both did a great job of picking up blitzers on a few plays. Impressive.
WR: CJ. We finally got the ball to him a few times so as to use his open field skills. Once was a WR screen close to the sideline. He accelerated (WOW...how can someone that big move that fast?) and tip-toed the sideline for a big gain. Unfortunately, we tried it again later only to have CJ get a rude meeting by about three defenders. Whop! We were also able to get him the ball on a quick slant. Can't remember which QB threw it and how the QB was able to get rid of it and thread it through traffic but it was near his knees. CJ caught it, made a couple of moves, accelerated down the middle of the field, and absorbed a few hits before being brought down for a sizeable gain. Chris Dunlap caught a TD when the offense was close the EZ. It was more so over the middle and in stride. Great pass by TB. Once of the big surprises for me was Andrew Smith. Where did he come from? He had a very good scrimmage. Was a ball catching machine! Caught a ball on an out which the CB seemed to give up on not thinking the WR would catch it but he did. Then Andrew avoided the tackle with a move and made a big gain down the sideline. Also caught a TD on a slant with the offense in the Red Zone close to GL.
TE: WOW! TEs were getting balls and catching them. Not for big gains but still. One of the reserve TEs caught a TD ball. Mooneyham I think was his name. Cooper caught one ball and then made one of the collisions of the day. Cooper caught the ball on what seemed to be a bootleg and ran down field. Two defenders met him with a whop that made the crowd go Oh! Cooper...got the better end of that deal. He is a load. I am pleased with seeing the TEs get the ball more.
DEFENSE
Overview -
Blitz...blitz...and blitz some more. Send 5, 6, or even eight. Send the safeties...send the CBs...send coaches...send my grandmother...you get the point. Geez...we watch our defense blitz on TV and think nothing of it. But when you are standing on the field and see these 6-3 230 lb LBs and even bigger DLs rushing the line and bouncing in their stance before the snap...it is scary. I can see why young QBs crap in their pants when facing this defense. Its intimidating. Another description of our defense. SPEED. Our guys close so fast. Well...those worried that our D will not be able to produce TOs like last year would rest easy after this practice. Tipped balls, jumping routes, etc. all helped the D gather 6 ints. Both offenses had their way early with the defenses but later in the scrimmage the first team D adjusted and made a few stops on the first team O if they didn't turn them over. CJT is fun to watch like Coach D. He stands in the EZ even when the defense is 50+ yards a way. Before, during, and even after the play he is always yelling. Whether its getting a player into position before the snap, encouraging the D to "Wrap Him UP!" during a play, or yell at player who blew an assignment he too is constantly teaching. He is just a little more military in your face that Coach D.
DL: Not much to say here except that IMHO MJ and DR (Robertson) are going to be potential stars for us. Both are tall, big, and fast. When they were able to get into the backfield they wrecked havoc. MJ forced a fumble on a sack of TB. Didn't recognize any of the other players in there though. Like I said I was focused on the offense for this practice.
LB: I think Wheeler had an INT. Can't help much here. Should have paid more attention.
CB/S: They played well. Jumped routes, catching tipped balls, etc. They made the QBs pay for mistakes. Coverage was good for most of practice. Only CJ and Andrew Smith exploited them in a major way. TClark, Scott, PClark, and Lewis all had INTs. The second best collision of the day came from a run back of one of the INTs. Not sure if it was a safety or a LB but one of the OLs or TEs got leveled. Whop! We are talking Gary Guyton against VT leveled. Got some noise from the crowd on that one.
CONCLUSION
Well...that is as much as I can remember. It is early in the Spring but I have to give the nod to the defenses. But the gap is closing in comparison to last few years. The Offense no longer looks helpless in the face of the CJT blitzkrieg. It is now a matter of who can execute the best on their side of the ball.
Another point of interest is these players have a lot of family amd friends that come to practice. They all know each other, laugh, and talk. As the players left the field: mothers hugged their sons, fathers/brothers/friends shook their hands, and girlfriends gave a quick hug so as not to get all sweaty and stinky. With the coaches we have and the family atmosphere of this team...it made me wish that I was back in high school as a potential Division I football recruit. From what I witnessed today, GT would be at the top of my list.
Go Jackets,
RDL
Monday, April 10, 2006
Hoops - The Good Guy
Ok, so we saw the bad side of the PG tradition in the last post. Now the good side. Check out another great article on Jarrett Jack.
I just cannot wait......
........ to read Stephon Marbury's book on his experience at Georgia Tech. Gggggrrrreeeaaaaattttttttt.............
Stephon Marbury said he has no timetable on his return nor on the new book he's supposedly writing and new television show he's supposedly going to host.
During an informal chat with reporters, Marbury claimed he's planning a book on his basketball experiences from Georgia Tech on for the real behind-the-scenes story. Marbury also said he's in talks for his own TV show. However, he declined to specify when this might occur.
In addition, here is an article totally trashing Stephon in just about every way.
The words "excellence" and "commitment" are tattooed on Marbury's body, a constant reminder that he displays neither, certainly not this season.
Some of Marbury's teammates also were outraged by what they saw as the guard's double standard. At a team meeting last season, as rumors swirled that Wilkens was on the verge of being fired, the coach spoke to his team, telling them to concentrate on playing basketball and not worry about outside distractions.
When Wilkens was finished speaking, Marbury repeated most of the coach's message to the team, using profanity to puncuate his words and get his point across. When he was finished, the Knicks took the floor for practice with one exception: Marbury remained in the locker room for a massage.
Well, I'll put Steph's book on the same shelf with the Ian O'Connor book - the one at the bookstore.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Beesball Bounces Back to Take VT Series
The Jackets bounced back today winning 17-11 and rallying 5-3 in a doubleheader at Virginia Tech today. Wieters had a HUGE day driving in seven runs, taking one long, and recording his third save of the year. This coming after a loss (8-6) on Saturday when Blake Wood struck out nine but gave up six runs in six innings. The Jackets stand one game behind UNC and Miami in the Coastal division.
I would normally post a little more detail, but I took my girlfriend and we got engaged this weekend. I'm a trainer with football and basketball so I'll try and get you guys as much info as I'm allowed (I have to be silent about a lot of stuff that goes on behind scenes).
Justin
Thanks for the support
Well, I received many many emails with users willing to help with content and posting, including a few Dawgs. Pretty funny actually. I have chosen a couple of people who seem to be very pro-GT and just might have a lot to offer. So make sure you check out the name at the bottom of each post in the coming weeks. They won't all be coming from me.
To all our readers, thanks for your continued support. God bless.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Football Notes
Not good news for Joe Gaston - he's out for the season. Not what the secondary needs, where experience is already going to be lacking. Ouch...............Check out the spring prospectus................ Reuben Houston gets probation............ Darryl Richard - the beast is back........... Mansfield Wrotto is just slightly behind the learning curve on the O-Line, but it sounds like he's working his tail off to get it........
Football - Jackets Get first Commit for 2007
The Jackets land a "big ugly" - offensive lineman Joseph Gilbert. This from Scout.com:
Great student that carries a 3.7 GPA. Voted best OL on his team as a junior and also won the 2005 Heavyweight AAA Wrestling State Championship.
Joseph is 6'5" 275lb so he's got the frame for sure. Nice get from Cartersville. Welcome aboard !!!!!
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Where are they now - Bobby Cremins
How about this - Bobby Cremins is on the advisory committee to name the next head basketball coach at the Citidel.
Steve Orsini Leaves UCF
The former Georgia Tech assistant AD who was interested in the GT AD job has now left George O'Leary and UCF for the AD job at SMU. Interesting - seems that he wanted out anyhow. Wonder what the back story there is. Here's a little more on it.
Where are they now - Matt Murton
Matt Murton - columnist.
For my part, I want to stay within myself and be the player I am. The biggest part is learning how to be a professional and bringing your game to the park every day. If you can go out and compete every day with the right mind-set -- something that's easier said than done -- you can succeed. I look at it as a process. I want to keep getting closer and closer to the point where I can remain focused and locked in on the game for 162 games every year.
Hoops - NCST Fans Are Delusional
Well, The Wolfpack goes to the big dance 5 years in a row and it's not enough. Herb Sendek has heard enough and he just left to take the head coaching job at Arizona St. He's tired of the constant criticism, which is really just a vieled inferiority complex by NCST fans who think they could actually be on par with Duke and UNC for more than 1 or 2 seasons in a row. Sorry folks - give up that dream.