Season record: 1-0 +1.0 UNIT
One play for Tuesday:
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
Good luck,
Edward
One play for Tuesday:
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
Good luck,
Edward
