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email John Stansberry |
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AROUND THE NATION
August 1, 2008
Can Paul Hewitt turn Georgia Tech around?
 After
the 2004 National Championship game, I really thought
the sky would be the limit for the Georgia Tech
basketball program. Sure, coming up short against
UConn was a disappointment, but you couldn't help but
feel that the Yellow Jackets were going to be right
back in the Final Four in 2005. The core group of
Jarrett Jack, Will Bynum, B.J. Elder were all
returning, and even in the rugged ACC, you had to like
that team's chances.
Alas, it wasn't to be, as Georgia Tech underachieved
en route to a 20-12 record. That was followed by
11-17, 20-12 and 15-17 seasons, and as a result, you
have to believe that head coach Paul Hewitt is feeling
the pressure to produce. As if the won-loss record
wasn't enough, Hewitt made a few unflattering remarks
during an interview earlier this year on an Atlanta
sports talk radio station, 790 the Zone.
During the interview, Hewitt stated that he was “the
eighth or ninth choice” to coach Tech before he was
actually hired, and that “...there might have been a
reason seven or eight guys turned the job down.” While
commenting on his team's current plight, he offered,
“We have done as good as we can do, but we should be
doing a little better this year." To many Yellow
Jacket faithful, he appeared to be belittling his own
job.
Here we go again, you're thinking, another coach on
the hot seat story, these start popping up this time
of year when hoops hungry writers have gone too long
without their fix. Calm down and relax, this story
isn't headed in that direction, you've been spared
this time. I'm actually going to defend Hewitt,
because from what I've seen, the guy has always exuded
class and integrity. I honestly believe that nobody is
more frustrated with the current state of the Tech
program than Hewitt, and that day on 790 the Zone, the
frusrtation may have just bubbled over.
Hey, it's happened to the best of us, we all get a
little testy when times are tough. I'm hoping that's
the perspective that the powers that be at Tech had
concerning that particular interview and that it's not
used against him down the road. But the simplest way
that Hewitt can make people forget things like that is
to make Tech better on the floor. Job security is a
very simple thing to attain if you're winning.
But can Hewitt win with the current roster? I'll be
honest, the upcoming edition of the Yellow Jackets
isn't going to feature anyone who will make Tech fans
forget Bruce Dalrymple or James Forrest, so if Hewitt
approaches 20 wins, I think it'll be a heckuva
coaching effort. Tech returns nine letterwinners,
including five players who started seven or more
games. But while guys like D'Andre Bell and Moe Miller
are extremely solid, there doesn't appear to be a true
stud on this team who can carry the load.
Hewitt was a dealt a blow earlier this month when
senior center Ra'Sean Dickey, who was coming off a
redshirt season, announced he was leaving school to
play professionally in the Ukraine. But vagabond big
man Bassirou Dieng has been granted immediate
eligibility by the NCAA and will suit up for Tech this
season. In two years at St. Francis, he averaged 8.5
points and 5.2 rebounds after spending one season at
Norfolk State.
So what can Hewitt do to start turning this thing
around? Glad you asked, here goes:
GET TOUGHER: The Yellow Jackets were dead last in the
ACC last season in field goal percentage defense,
allowing the opposition to shoot 45.2% from the field.
In terms of rebounding margin, Tech was next to last
in the league at -0.8. Hewitt's a perimeter oriented
coach, and I'm not about to think a goof like me can
tell him how to coach. But it appears he has to find a
way to make this team a whole tougher on the interior.
GET BETTER ON THE ROAD: For his career, Hewitt is
17-49 in ACC road games. That's ugliness of the
highest order, I wouldn't blame Hewitt if he hired a
hypnotist to make Tech players believe that they're
playing every game in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. But
this is an area I think might be related to the
toughness thing I just touched on. A tougher
basketball team is better suited to get it done on the
road.
GET PLAYERS: Hewitt signed a true blue chip guard in
the offseason in Iman Shumpert, but in recent years,
he's missed on several of Metro Atlanta's bigger name
prospects. A prime example would be 2008 McDonald's
All-American forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who chose to
play for Wake Forest rather than with his older
brother Alade...who just happens to play for Tech. But
Hewitt appears to already be getting on track in this
department, having secured commitments from two of the
region's top prospects in the 2009 class (shooting
guard Glen Rice and point guard Mfon Udofia).
John Stansberry , who is a senior writer for collegeinsider.com,
also covers college football and has his own blog - -
the
LonelyTailgater.com.
EMAIL JOHN |
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