By Al Featherston for theACC.com
Not a lot was expected from Georgia Tech in 2004.
Sure, Paul Hewitt had a nice core group of players returning, but the early NBA defection of 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year Chris Bosh, plus the off-season transfer of 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year Ed Nelson, seemed to rob the Yellow Jackets of any real chance to improve on the 16-15 record they recorded in 2003 with those two frontcourt standouts.
So what happened?
Georgia Tech won 28 games in 2004, including five in the NCAA Tournament - a run that didn't end until the Jackets fell to UConn in the national championship game in San Antonio.
Is it just coincidence that the 2008 NCAA Championship will return to the Alamodome in San Antonio - in a year when Georgia Tech's hopes seem decimated by the off-season defection of 2007 freshman stars Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young?
"I'm very confident about this team," Hewitt said. "I'm not saying we'll be in San Antonio again, but this is a veteran team and we've got some pretty good depth."
It's true that Crittenton and Young led the Jackets in scoring last season - both averaging 14.4 points a game for a 20-12 team. But Hewitt is not lacking for scoring options this season.
Senior Guard
Anthony Morrow
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In fact, with the return of 6-2 junior guard Louis Clinch from academic ineligibility and the return to good health of 6-5 senior wing Anthony Morrow, Hewitt appears to have as much perimeter firepower as any team in the ACC. And down low, nobody has as many post options as the Jackets - especially if senior center Ra'Sean Dickey takes care of his academic work and returns to the team (as expected) in mid-December.
Dickey will join senior Jeremis Smith, junior Alade Aminu, sophomore Zack Peacock and celebrated freshman Gani Lawal in the competition for playing time up front.
"This is probably the deepest frontcourt I've had since I've been at Tech," Hewitt said.
But all the proven strength at the post and on the wing only conceals the one yawning gap in Hewitt's rotation - the absence of an experienced point guard. Crittenton's scoring can be replaced, but can the Yellow Jackets replace his floor leadership and his team-high 184 assists?
Smith suggested that Georgia Tech has so many weapons that it doesn't need a star at the point.
"We have people at so many different positions that can score, that all we need is a point guard to be a floor leader out there," the senior power forward said. "We don't need a Stephon Marbury or a Javaris Crittenton on this team. We need a Jason Kidd; we need a Steve Nash."
But does Hewitt have a collegiate version of Kidd or Nash?
What he does have are two relatively unheralded point guard options. One is 6-0 senior Matt Causey, who started his career at Georgetown in 2004, averaging 2.2 points and 1.8 assists in limited action. He then played two years at North Georgia College, where he was a star - 23.5 points and 6.7 assists while earning NAIA All-America honors. Hewitt's other point guard candidate is 6-1 freshman Maurice "Mo" Miller, who earned Tennessee Mr. Basketball honors last season at Raleigh-Egypt High School in Memphis.
Senior Forward
Jeremis Smith
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Hewitt claims to be confident that one or both can fill Georgia Tech's void at the point - although he makes that claim with a hint of a smile.
"I better be confident," he joked. "There are no midseason pickups. Seriously, they are both different-type point guards. They are not like Javaris or Jarrett Jack or even Tony Akins. I've always had the luxury of point guards who can take over a game. Both of these kids are pass-first point guards. I think it's a nice tandem. Causey can shoot the ball and he has good experience. Miller is a better athlete."
If Hewitt's playmakers don't let him down, the Jackets should be a fearsome offensive machine. The combo of Clinch and Morrow on the wing is potentially explosive.
A year ago, Clinch was shooting 47.6 percent from behind the 3-point arc. He scored 20-plus points in three straight games against UCLA, Penn State and Miami just before becoming academically ineligible.
"He is a very gifted and talented scorer," Hewitt said. "If you had to handicap it, I think you'd say that Lewis Clinch will probably be our top scorer."
Morrow appeared to be on the brink of stardom after a sophomore season that saw him average 16.0 points and shoot 42.9 percent on 182 3-point attempts. But he underwent off-season back surgery in the summer of 2006 and missed all of the preseason. His recovery clearly slowed him last season, especially early.
But the Charlotte, N.C., native finished strong, averaging 15.0 points and hitting 14-of-27 3-point tries in his final four games.
Hewitt also has veterans D'Andre Bell and Mohammad Faye on the wing, along with 6-4 Lance Storrs, a powerful 212-pounder from Decatur, Ga., who reminds Hewitt of former Yellow Jackets' star B.J. Elder.
The Georgia Tech coach is confident that his combination of wings - and his collection of strong post players - will help make up for the offensive contributions that Young and Crittenton made last year. He's much more concerned about replacing the defensive contribution of the unheralded Mario West.
"His loss is huge," Hewitt said. "People are going to focus on the points we lost, but the reason we made the NCAA Tournament was Mario West's ability to make the big defensive play. When we beat Memphis, Javaris was struggling at the point and Mario stepped in for him there. He made a number of big defensive plays when we beat Duke and in the North Carolina game."
Bell and Faye appear to be the prime candidates to inherit West's role as a wing defender. But that will have to play out in the preseason and during the team's early games. With so many talented players, Hewitt has to find roles for everyone and sort out a rotation.
The Jackets'coach would have loved to welcome Young and Crittenton back for a second season, but he understands the dynamics of the game today.
"The way it is now in college basketball, it's year to year," Hewitt said. "You never count on having a kid there the following year. If he's good enough and he has a chance to change his life and his family's life, you can't stand in his way."
Four seasons ago, Hewitt figured out a way to succeed when he lost two young stars unexpectedly. There's no reason he can't do it again.
STRENGTH: The great depth of talent at four of the five positions. Hewitt has wing players who can score with Clinch and Morrow, wings who can defend in Bell and Faye, a crop of strong proven post players in Smith, Dickey and Aminu. And all of that is backed up by a number of young players pushing to make their mark - Storrs on the wing; Peacock and Lawal in the post.
CONCERNS: Either Matt Causey or Mo Miller must provide at least competent point guard play for the Jackets to succeed.
NEWCOMER TO WATCH: Miller is the freshman on the spot, but Lawal might be the best in the long run. The 6-8 prep All-American from College Park, Ga., has a relentless motor and the potential to be a devastating rebounder.
EARLY TESTS: Georgia Tech will face Charlotte in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 16. Other potential opponents in the tournament include Winthrop, Wichita State and Notre Dame. The Jackets go to Indiana on Nov. 27 for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, then travel to Vanderbilt four days later. Kansas visits Atlanta on Dec. 18. Georgia Tech also has later non-ACC tests at Georgia (Jan. 9) and at UConn (Feb. 9).
Paul Hewitt was named the 12th head coach in Georgia Tech basketball history on April 6, 2000 ... in seven years at Tech, Hewitt has recorded a mark of 127-95 and guided the Yellow Jackets to post-season play five times, including four NCAA Tournament berths ... in 2004-05, he led the Jackets to their second consecutive 20-win season, a first for Georgia Tech since 1989-90 ... three of his last four Tech teams have won 20 or more games ... despite being picked for seventh in the media preseason poll in 2003-04, the Yellow Jackets tied a school record with 28 wins and advanced to the NCAA’s National Championship game ... in 2001, Hewitt became only the second first-year coach to earn ACC Coach of the Year honors ... his overall record as a head coach is 193-122 (.613), with a total of seven post-season appearances in nine years ... prior to his arrival at Tech, Hewitt guided Siena College to two postseason appearances and an average of 22 wins in three seasons as a head coach ... at Siena, Hewitt guided the Saints to a 66-27 (.710) record ... following a three-year stretch in which Siena posted a 22-59 mark, Hewitt guided a young Saints team to a 17-12 overall record and its first-ever MAAC Tournament Championship game ... in his second year, Siena finished with a 25-6 record, the school's first-ever MAAC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
