The Downside - Georgia Tech | Syracusefan.com

The Downside - Georgia Tech

SWC75

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- When your team is dysfunctional, the opposition will not be a cure for your problems. We can’t even beat the likes of Boston College or Georgia Tech. The 25-0 start ended two weeks ago but it seems like two years ago. We are arguably the worst team in the ACC right now.


- The comeback was nice, as far as it went, but basically meaningless because we didn’t do it in our regular defense and offense. We pressed for almost the whole second half, Georgia Tech got some easy buckets off it but didn’t have the poise to return to their deliberate offense and they missed enough shots to let us back in the game. But we aren’t going to be pressing form the opening tap vs. Florida State. JB will never due that until he gets down double figures. Our problems will not be resolved by doing something we don’t normally do: they will be resolved by doing what we normally do well.


- Our shooting continues to be horrible. We cannot hit open jumps shots and have to go the basket to score. And the defense is waiting for us there. Ennis and Fair made some amazing drives to the basket tonight but there were other drives that went nowhere. Basketball is a very hard game if you have to go all the way to the basket to score.


- But it’s not just shooting or even offense. Our whole game is fraying around the edges. Even in the first half, before we started pressing, Tech hit 46% of their shots and half their three pointer. Daniel Miller, their big center, was 7 for 10 from the floor. Where were Christmas and Keita?


- We can’t even find the basket from the foul line. We are a 70% free throw shooting team but were 7 for 16 in this game, 9 misses in a game we lost by 5. I know nobody’s in a mood to laugh but Matt Park came up with a great line. When Trevor Cooney was fouled early in the game and went to the line, Jimmy Salatin said that he is virtually automatic from there. He missed and Park said “So much for automation”.


- Mike Waters had it right: we are presently a two man team: Tyler Ennis and CJ Fair. They took 42 of our 64 shots and scored 46 of our 64 points. That’s great but it’s not enough. We can win going 2 on 5, just like we can win on drives to the basket alone.


- As great as Tyler and CJ were, they themselves eliminated our chances to win at the end. CJ for the umpteenth time dribbled to ball off his foot on one promising drive. Tyler lost control of the ball on one drive and tried to hit a bank shot, as he did in the first half, both times with disastrous results as the Yellow Jackets got a run-out


- A couple of weeks ago, Rakeem Christmas seemed to be developing into a major player for us. Tonight he was 1 for 2 from the field and scored 3 points in 28 minutes. He had 10 rebounds but only open of them was on the offensive board. He did have four blocks but his man went 7 for 10.


- Trevor Cooney is just no good flashing off of those screens the way GMAC and Andy Rautins used to. He’s moving sideways when he shoots more than forward. We need to switch to an side out game such as other teams have used against us- penetrate, draw the defense in and dish back our. The shooter catches the ball, is already squared up and moves toward the basket. Cooney has now missed 40 of his last 55 three pointers since that 9 for 12 Notre Dame game.


- Tyler Roberson played, getting three rebounds, 2 improbable assists and a block. But JB didn’t feel he “knew what we were doing”. The big thing is that he was reluctant to shoot. He did score once off a rebound. But another time he had an open lane to the basket, hesitated and turned to pass the ball back out. Then he had an open jumper from 12 feet, decided not to take it, Then saw there was no one to pass to and that he was still open. He laboriously went through the shooting motion but left it short. Roberson, Christmas, Keita and Gbinije played a total of 88 minutes and attempted 10 shots.


- We were only out-rebounded by one, 38-39 and had 13 offensive rebounds. But that’s deceiving. Six of those were “team” rebounds, which, If I understand the term correctly, were occasions where we got the ball on out-of-bounds calls. No putbacks there.


- Tech came in turning the ball over more than 12 times a game, last tin the ACC. We pressed and used half-court traps for almost the whole second half and only forced 9 turnovers.


- Were aren’t going to beat anybody until we get a healthy Jerami Grant back. What if we don’t get a healthy Jerami Grant back? Then it will all be over soon, my friends.
 
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After this game, I think this thread would be just as aptly titled "The Backside"
 
The downside is that we may be seeing the last of SWC75 's "The Downside" this season sooner rather than later.
 
This team was winning games by the skin of their teeth all season and now that the luck has run out and law of averages have caught up...they are acting like there has been some sea change. No. The flaws we have now are the same flaws we had then..only accentuated by cooney's inability to shoot and injuries. When was the last game we played where we took control and never let an inferior opponent up for air? I cant think of one game like that since conference play started save for VTech.
 
This team was winning games by the skin of their teeth all season and now that the luck has run out and law of averages have caught up...they are acting like there has been some sea change. No. The flaws we have now are the same flaws we had then..only accentuated by cooney's inability to shoot and injuries. When was the last game we played where we took control and never let an inferior opponent up for air? I cant think of one game like that since conference play started save for VTech.

It's not like we were playing horribly the first 25 games - we played efficiently and happened to be in close games (we were #2 by Pomeroy's standards for a little while, top five for a good portion). Since the Indiana game, we were in the top ten until the Maryland game. Now we're 14 and not slowing down.

This is a noticeably different team in the last few weeks, especially without Grant. This team peaked on February 1. Hopefully they can do it again.
 
Starting with the Notre Dame game, every game has been our worst game of the year. I keep thinking "ok, there is no way we'll play that bad again" and then the next game we play worse yet. Really quite perplexing. It must be so frustrating for the team and coaches.
 
Cooney is 7-37 from 3 in the last 5 games...18.9%. That is as big a problem as any during this slide. Maybe he comes out of it and maybe this is just who he is. He needs a lot of space to get his shot off and against ACC teams he isn't getting a comfort zone like he was earlier in the season.
 
our set offense as near as i can tell has become just 1 pass in the front court and either ennis or fair trying to knife between the defense.

and "When your dysfunctional," the cure for your problems
chanel-iman.jpg
 
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