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November 18, 2003
Louisiana Lafayette at
Georgia Tech (-7) - 4:00pm Pacific
I am a big fan of Yellow Jackets head
coach Paul Hewitt. I was very high on last years team but they
never could put everything together or win on the road and it led
to an eventual NIT birth. Since then, power forward Chris Bosh
bolted for the NBA, and former ACC freshman of the year small
forward Ed Nelson transferred to UConn following a sub-par
sophomore season. I really believe this may be a case of addition
by subtraction. This year Tech players will have much more
defined roles and Hewitt will not have such a tough time rotating
players in and out to keep everyone happy. Sophomore forward
Theodis Tarver came on strong in the NIT last season, but injured
a kneecap in the preseason and is currently out. Georgia Tech
also is awaiting eligibility of Arizona transfer Will Bynum in
December. They are still plenty deep and plenty good right now.
Junior G/F B.J. Elder and senior G/F
Marvin Lewis ranked 2nd & 3rd respectively on the team in scoring
last season behind Bosh, but these two really were the catalysts
for this team. They are both gifted shooters and scorers and
should provide more leadership this year. Point guard Jared Jack
was 4th on the team in scoring as a freshman. He also dished out
six assists per game and earned all-ACC freshman team honors. 7-1
Australian product Luke Schenscher had a promising freshman season
but disappointed as a sophomore. He has worked hard in the
offseason and has a great opportunity to step up while Tarver is
sidelined with injury. He scored 20 points in recent exhibition
game. Junior forward Isma'il Muhammad had a strong finish to last
season and reportedly has picked up right where he left off. He
is very athletic and active around the basket. He reportedly had
more than a few dazzling dunks in the exhibitions. Junior forward
Anthony McHenry always plays with great intensity and senior
forward Robert Brooks will provide frontcourt experience. Tech
also gets a boost from the return of senior G/F Clarence Moore.
Moore did not play last season for personal reasons but has one
year of eligibility remaining. He averaged 9.4ppg two seasons
ago. Interestingly, he is a Louisiana native and makes his return
against a home state opponent.
Louisiana Lafayette is a preseason
favorite to win the West division of the Sun Belt conference but
they have major academic issues right now. No less than five
players are ineligible until the second semester. Three of them
were projected starters. Center Michael Southall (third leading
scorer, leading rebounder, leading shotblocker last season),
forward Cedric Williams (5th leading scorer, 4th leading rebounder,
bigger role expected this year), and guard Orien Greene (transfer
from Florida) will not play in this game. Reserves Dwayne
Mitchell and Chris Williams are also out. The Ragin Cajuns
already had lost senior forward Anthony Johnson (2nd leading
scorer & rebounder) and point guard Ken Lawrence (assist leader)
from last season to graduation. This puts a tremendous amount of
pressure on senior guards Brad Boyd and Laurie Bridges. Boyd
(last years leading scorer) is a talented scorer but has
questionable shot selection. He may already be trying to do too
much as he went 1-for-8 from behind the arc in the first half
alone of recent exhibition game. Head coach Jessie Evans admitted
afterwards that they have to work on getting better shots.
Lafayette won their final exhibition game by only 10 points
against a reportedly very weak AAU team despite playing their
starters almost the entire game. They only got 4 points from
their depleted bench. Onlookers reported the team exhibited poor
defense and rebounding which makes sense with their two best
inside players sidelined.
Georgia Tech was a very young team
last season. Note that their two personnel losses were not
graduations but a transfer and early exit to the NBA. They did
not have a single senior on the roster last year. This year they
have two as well as five juniors for support. Leadership and team
continuity will be much improved. In the offseason head coach
Hewitt mandated conditioning. It is the first time he has made it
such a priority. This team is now a year older, wiser, and
stronger. One thing we also learned from last season is Georgia
Tech plays very well at home (8-4 ATS here last year). The Yellow
Jackets averaged 106 points per game in their two exhibition games
and six players reached double figures in at least one of the
games, four in both. Expect a double digit win here from ACC home
team over an undermanned Cajun squad.
Georgia Tech 1 UNIT
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