A Daily Dose

BASKETBALL
After a solid week defeating Virginia and Maryland, the Jackets move up one spot to #13 in the ESPN/USAToday Coaches poll and one spot from #12 to #11 in the AP poll. Our RPI rankings have improved to #11 in the nation and our Sagarin Ranking is #7................ Looks like Paul Hewitt called the league office to complain about the calls against Luke S. Here is an excerpt from a Charleston Post and Courier article - "RAW DEAL - Complaining to the referees hasn't seemed to work, so Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt is pleading his case with the ACC office. Perhaps the league's most vocal critic of officiating, Hewitt doesn't believe junior center Luke Schenscher is getting any respect in the low post. "Luke is a very good player," Hewitt said of his 7-1, 255-pound junior. "He runs extremely well for a big guy. He gains position an awful lot, and when he gains that position sometimes it's taken away from him by being dislodged with a knee or shove in the back. When he does a similar tactic on the other end defensively, it's called. "Hewitt took his anger out on referee Ted Valentine during Saturday's win over Maryland and incurred his first technical of the season. Sunday, he called the ACC office to complain. "They understand exactly what I'm talking about," said Hewitt, whose Yellow Jackets (14-2, 2-1) play at Wake Forest tonight. "They're working at it." Statistically, Schenscher didn't seem affected against the Terps. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and shut down center Jamar Smith. "It's more frustrating to me," Hewitt said. "Believe me, (Schenscher) doesn't even worry about it.".................. Here is a story highlighting the strength of Wake Forest at home, where they have won 24 games in a row. GT will have their hands full................... A former GT hoops player has his state of Georgia high school scoring record broken................ This is a bit suspicious - are St.John's boosters "talking" with Paul Hewitt? Check out the bottom of this story....................... Here is more on the tough game the Jackets face tonight.............. Here is an article about Dwight Howard, the nation's #1 high school prospect. I saw him play last night and will make some comments in a future post................... Can the ACC/Big 10 challenge survive. This writer from NC State explores that question. Personally, I think it might be more interesting to have an ACC/SEC challenge. At least there would be more regional interest. Of course maybe their goal is to get more national exposure for all these teams.

FOOTBALL
Looks like Tony Hargrove will try his hand at the NFL draft, foregoing his senior year. If you remember, Tony was one of the 10 "flunkgate" football players and didn't play a down this past season. Not a big surprise....................... For more on why kicker Gary Cismesia de-committed from the Jackets and committed to FSU, click here................... George O'Leary's pay package has now become public - and he can earn up to $1.1million per year with incentives. Wow!! That's some big dough................... Here is an update on some highly sought after recruits, including Brandon Miller, from SI.com.............. Looks like the addition of Bobby Ross at Army has energized the school, fans and players............ Coach Gailey has picked up 2 more commitments - TE John Morrison, and Kieran Delaney, an offensive lineman. Morrison is listed as 6'5" 235 and is from Marietta and Delaney at 6'5" 310lb and is from Connecticut.

BASEBALL
Baseball America's website has profile the Jackets on their front page. While it is a subscriber site, "swarmee" over at the Hive provides this summary.

Bill Curry comments about his goof at GT...

... regarding ethics.

".....As a very young head coach at Georgia Tech, Curry once promised Tech supporters that he was aware of what other coaches at other more successful programs were doing, and that he would turn them in and, in his words, "bring them to their knees."

"I was on the Ethics Committee of the AFCA at the time," Curry said. "They took me off that committee until I had time to simmer down and learn my lesson. I never did anything that irresponsible again. I faced a negative reaction from my colleagues, and I deserved it. From that point on, I tried to let my colleagues know that if I came across a violation, first I'd let them know, then I'd report it to the conference and the NCAA....."

RPI Rankings helped by UNC/UGA wins

Well, our RPI has shot up to #11. There are a number of factors that helped us last week:

1. Playing a tougher schedule. We lost to UNC, beat UVA and beat Maryland. This helped move our strength-of-schedule to #26 in the nation, much better than when it was hovering around 100.

2. UNC beats UConn. You say - how does this help us, when we play both teams and beat UConn ourselves? In my mind we want UNC to be as strong as possible because we play them twice. Now we need to beat them at our house.

3. UGAg beats KY - certainly helps us out with our double OT loss to them. Now we can only hope that UGAg doesn't have to have a dreaded rematch with Winthrop.

4. Maryland beats UNC and we beat Maryland. Like a string of dominos, they fall.

Maryland plays guerilla hoops

... as this article points out. Let's all hope that their Jeckyl and Hyde tendencies show themselves and they can take out Dook.

Recruiting Updates - football

Talented kicker Gary Cismesia DE-commits from GT and decides to go to FSU. No doubt all the talk of private planes, lobster, cavier, steak (and probably beach bunnies) changed his mind. Well, this happens every year, so don't get discourages. After all, these are 18 year old kids we are talking about. There is a lot of pressure on them. So I will wish Gary well in his career at FSU (although there is no ink to paper yet, so nothing is final).

On the positive side, GT got a commit from Jonathan Morrison, a 6'5" 235lb TE/DE from Marietta High School. Welcome to GT Jonathan!!! You made the right choice.

This Louisville KY journalist gives props to P.Hewitt

As mid-season coach of the year. Nice to see the recognition.

Rumored changes with GT football

Football Scoop is reporting the following: Looks like Patrick Nix, the current QB coach, has been named the Offensive Coordinator. On the surface this seems like a solid move by Coach Gailey. Nix is a good QB coach and has a rep as a good recruiter. I like the move because maybe it will refine our passing game, which seems stale at times. No doubt PJ Daniels should still be the workhorse, but this should definitely help Reggie Ball and his development.

Also rumored is that Jay Omer is returning to GT as strength coach. Omer was Director of Player Development at GT from 1993-2000. He was named the Strength and Conditioning Professional Of the Year for the ACC in 1997. He is currently strength coach at BYU and here is an article about upgraded facilties at BYU. No doubt GT has some of the best facilities in the country so anyone stepping into that role has to be thrilled. Here is an article that actually credits Omer with at least one win a year for BYU.

From article:
11. You can credit strength and conditioning coach Jay Omer for at least one win per year.
The players and coaches know how lucky they are to have Omer on BYU’s coaching staff. He is the man they love to hate until they perform to their peak during games. It’s a testament to his effectiveness that defensive players would sooner run and participate in Mendenhall’s exhaustive drills than spend practices on the sidelines with Omer. The superior conditioning of BYU athletes will result in multiple turnovers that will win games this year and every year. Give Omer his due.

Here is an interview with BYU QB Brandon Doman where he mentions Omer:
But Coach Crowton showed up and that feeling started changing. We got this new strength coach from Georgia Tech [Jay Omer, BYU Strength and Conditioning Coach] that came in and all of a sudden it was this 'Do or Die,' but if you don't, not just you die but the whole team dies. Accountability. And living right and being a good student….

And yet another article giving Omer credit for the fitness of BYU athletes:
But, allowing for some poor competition, it's still valid to salute Crowton and his staff. They have invigorated and energized Provo, brought new camaraderie and enthusiasm. Being given a lot of credit is new strength coach Jay Omer, brought from Georgia Tech. BYU's guys are much stronger and fitter than before and it's showing up in far fewer injuries than in recent years.

Here's an interview with a former ECU player who was asked who his favorite coaches were:
8. Favorite coach?
“I had three at ECU: Strength coach Jay Omer, Steve Shankweiller, and Cary Godette. You hated them so much you had to love them.”

I think you get the point. If this rumor is true then sounds like 2 good moves by Chan Gailey.

theGooley has his Maryland pictures up

As always, great job on the pictures.

AJC writes about Luke and respect

Story about Luke and not getting the respect by the refs.

UGAg alumni aren't the only people....

.... joining the Georgia Force Arena league football team. Some former GT standouts are also signing up to help promote the team in the Hotlanta area.

Recruiting Update - Football

Short article on Calvin Johnson as well as some other recruits Coach Gailey is going after.

Here is another talented kid, Brandon Miller, that GT and UGAg and a ton of other teams are after.

Keep voting for Mark Price

Vote here. It appears you can vote about once per day. This is ESPN's All-Time ACC team. The winners will be announced Price is current only behind M.Jordan for guards, but Bobby Hurley is a close 2nd. The winners will be announced Jan 21 at halftime of the Duke/MD game on ESPN.

Recruiting Update - 12 year old wants to play for GT...

.... when he graduates (hoops by the way). No kidding. His name is Malik Major. Check it out. All 5'6" and 112lbs of him.

Story on the Maryland game...

.... with good quotes from Hewitt and the players. Here is another re-cap of the game from a writer from TerpTown.

Quote on Cremins playing more than 7....

... players. Don't know if this is an old quote of what, but an article discussing depth of talent, particularly with at Missouri.

Quote from aticle:
Bobby Cremins, the old Georgia Tech coach, used to say he never wanted more than seven good players because, “I'm not smart enough to know what to do with eight.”

No doubt this was Cremins' philosophy. Get one or two TOP blue-chippers and a good supporting cast, but nothing deeper than seven. That worked when players did not leave early. Once that started, that style didn't cut the mustard for consistent winning.

LadyJackets struggling in hoops

Well, the Lady hoops team lost to Clemson today, which puts them 10-7 and 1-4 in the ACC. Not a good start.

A great win over Maryland 81-71 at home

Just a nice win and a nice 2nd half of play after an up-and-down 1st half. Like many out-of-towners, I had to listen to on the internet. Some comments

1. This game was really about 2 players - Will Bynum and Luke Schenscher!!!! They absolutely dominated the game in the 2nd half. In the after-game interview Hewitt vigorously applauded their efforts and said "those two guys carried us in the 2nd half". "I have been telling the people up in NY what we are trying to do and that Will hasn't shown his true colors. But you saw tonight why we are so excited to have the little guy on our squad".

2. The crowd sounded FANTASTIC!!!!!! After the game Hewitt said "This is the loudest I have heard AMC in my 4 years. They were great!!". I love it!! Way to go fans.

3. Offense - GT shot 42% from the field and 43% from 3-point range. A nice outing offensively. However, the points came from a different mix of players, as I will discuss below

4. Defense - very nice, particularly in the 2nd half. Maryland shoots 36% and only 25% from 3pt range. GT forces 19 turnovers. Other than a weak stretch or two in the 1st half, a nice effort. Again, the game plan of wearing out the opponents seems to work as Maryland didn't have a lot left in their tanks.

5. Ted Valentine - I thought we were going to have a replay of the UGAg game for awhile. The crowd was really upset with Teddy for awhile and Hewitt even got T'eed up once. But things settled down and there didn't seem to be too many issues after that.

Individual performances

1. Will Bynum - EN FUEGO!!!!! Scores 25 points in 19 minutes. Goes 8-14 and 5-7 from 3pt range. Makes all 4 free throws and also gets 2 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal and only one turnover. He was the man tonight and we saw what he is capable of (or at least heard for some of us). At one point he hit a 3 point shot that evidently gave "rainbow" a new meaning. Wes Durham said "that looked like a lob wedge. Remember the movie MoonRaker? That's what that shot was". We are seeing Bynum play more and more WITH J.Jack and it seems the combo works. A lot of energy and excitement from this young man.

2. LOOOOOOOOOKKKKKEEE !!! The Aussie CONTROLS the paint. Double-double baby!!! We are talking 15 points (7-10) and 10 boards (5 offensive). Throw in 3 blocks and 2 steals and Luke has his game of the year. Hewitt really had high praises for him in the post-game interview calling out all those who continue to dog him. But Luke showed everyone tonight that PH is right. Way to go mate!!!!

3. J.Jack - a subpar first half, but picks things up the rest of the game. Ends with 17 points (5-9), 5 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 5 to's. Not Jack standards but a nice outing none-the-less.

4. C-Moore - Only scores 3 points on a long-distance shot, but grabs 11 boards (3 offensive), has 1 block, 1 assist, 2 steals and 4 to's. Another "glue" performance, doing the dirty work. Nice outing.

5. Isma'il - off-night shooting. Ends with 9 (1-7), 7-11 from the line, 9 boards (3 offensive), 1 block, 1 steal, 1 to. He got hacked a lot tonight, but MADE his free-throws better than recent games. Hopefully that will give him some confidence. A good effort tonight.

6. BJ Elder - another subpar performance. Ends with 7 points (3-13), 1-4 from 3pt, no rebounds, no blocks, 2 assists, no steals and 5 to's. I wonder what is going on with BJ. If there is something physical going on, I hope team doctors can find it. If it is a confidence thing, he is the type guy who can work through it.

7. The "rest". Lewis ends with only 5 points (2-6), McHenry/Brooks/Tarver combine for only 15 minutes, no points, only 1 shot, no rebounds, 2 blocks. McHenry just keeps losing minutes, but interestingly it is NOT because Tarver is getting them. Tarver only played 6 minutes tonight. So where did the minutes go? Jack, Luke and BJ all played over 30 minutes. In fact Luke played EVERY minute in the 2nd half. His outstanding play just didn't let the other guys get their chances.

Lastly my hats off to Gilchrist. That kid can play, as he proved tonight as well as their win versus UNC.

College hoops is getting interesting. We take down #1 UConn earlier in the year, then get beat by UNC. UNC takes down UConn again today giving them their 2nd loss of the season. The message - respect the ACC. Maryland takes down that same UNC team earlier in the week, the same MD team we just took down. The ACC is brutal!!!!

Everyone said GT was overrated when we lost in double OT to UGAg (with Teddy V's help). The same UGAg team that lost to Winthrop by 20 and also lost by 24 to Tenn and 21 to South Carolina. However, today that same UGAg team takes down #5 Kentucky AT Rupp Arena!!!! Another impressive win. As much as I hate to see Dawgs win, this works in our favor. If the Dawgs can just get up for the average opponents they might get somewhere.

Recruiting Update - Football

AJC story on recruiting efforts and visits this weekend, including Marist standout Chris Davis.

Where are they now - Nomar Garciappara

Nice story on Nomar and his impact on the local kids in the Boston area.

A Daily Dose

BASKETBALL
LadyJackets look to bounce back from a 3-game skid............ Here is more on Elder's "lack of concentration" and his current "slump".................. For another good preview of tonight's contest with the Twerps, click here for a local MD paper's take................. Here is a nice story from the Washington Post about J.Jack and his background in high school........... Here is a nice article about the team, but I hate it when writers refer to our players at "interchangeable parts". Each of these guys is VERSATILE, but they all have different strengths and weaknesses to their game.

FOOTBALL
Ted Roof believes in a "master plan" and is ready to coach at Duke.......... On top of that his recruiting efforts are already paying off............ . Coach Gailey has put his football update on his website for the H-Bowl. Nice comments all around............ Senior Hugh O'Reilly will play for the South in the Villages GridIron Classic on Jan 31.............. Did Bobby Dodd launch the career of Gatorade??? Check out this article, and this excerpt - "The real test came when the Gators met Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1967. Led by Heisman quarterback Steve Spurrier and sophomore halfback Larry Smith, the team mounted a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Yellow Jackets 27-12. Smith's 94-year touchdown run set an Orange Bowl record. After the game, Graves related, Tech head coach Bobby Dodd told him, "We didn't have Gatorade. That made the difference."..............

MISC
Evidently even hardened criminals (or GT alumni) are strong Jacket fans. This guy left a GT hat at the scene of his crime................ A GT professor has been named to NASA's independent safety panel.