There’s no doubt that Georgia Tech is a team in transition.
The team’s best scorer, rebounder and passer, Iman Shumpert, left the team for the NBA.
Its head coach for the past decade, Paul Hewitt, was fired after suffering his third losing season in four years — and it won’t play any true home games this season because Alexander Memorial Coliseum is being traded in for the under-construction McCamish Pavilion.
Although Georgia Tech is undergoing a much-needed overhaul of its basketball program, new head coach Brian Gregory is saying all the right things thus far. At ACC Operation Basketball, Gregory talked about balancing his hopes for this year’s team with laying the groundwork for future success.
“We better have a team that plays their tail off and our guys have done a great job of embracing that,” Gregory said. “They’ve done everything that I could ask of them up to this point. You want to have success with that this year but you want to lay the foundation as this program advances.”
For Gregory’s Georgia Tech team to be successful they’ll have to buy into the scrappy, no-nonsense style of basketball he’s been preaching.
“Our offense is based on five guys sharing the ball, working as one, creating easy plays for each other,” Gregory said. “Defensively, five guys are covering the ball. Five guys are rebounding. Everything’s based on five guys working as one.”
Fans have been largely disappointed with the team’s play in recent years, and Gregory’s high-pressure defense and up-tempo offense may be just the cure the Yellow Jackets need.
Junior guard Glen Rice Jr. appears primed for a breakout season and should be “the man” on this Yellow Jackets squad. Rice led the team in 3-point shooting and was second, behind Shumpert, in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
