From The Rumble Seat

Maryland Open Thread!

2010-03-12T23:00:22Z

Derrick Favors put a manhole cover over the nets in the second half...literally. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Submit comments with positive energy that can be fed to our team via psycho-electrical waves on the internet all the way to Greensboro into the speakers of Greensboro Coliseum and into the subconscious of our team. We need good qi. The entire State of Maryland is riding a wave of bad qi following the destruction of College Park post Duke victory.

We channeled Will Bynum last night. Today we must channel Jarrett Jack.

Give us your qi Jarrett.

via thezantabakherald.files.wordpress.com

JAY BILAS SAYS, "MARYLAND PREPARE FOR COMBAT!"

2010-03-12T19:42:54Z

JAY BILAS SAYS, "MARYLAND PREPARE FOR COMBAT!"

Wake Forest Baseball Preview

2010-03-12T19:00:30Z

Tom Walter, Wake's new coach. Via WFU Athletics.

View full size photo »

Blogger So Dear author, Bart, sent us a quick preview of the Deacons so we could get a feel for this weekend's first ACC series. First pitch is scheduled for today at 4:00PM. The game will most likely be postponed due to inclement weather but here's the scoop on Wake Forest...

FTRS: Who will be Wake's weekend 3? How have they been pitching?
Bart @ BSD: In last weekend's series against Xavier the Deacons experienced fairly good success from their starting pitchers Michael Dimock, Tim Cooney, and Austin Stadler. All indications from both press releases and from manager Walter are that these will be the same three pitchers getting the go this weekend. Sophomore righty Michael Dimock (1-1, 1.54) will get the chance to go against McGuire and the Jackets on Friday, with Cooney going on Saturday and Stadler on Sunday.

FTRS: With regards to Wake's bats...
Bart @ BSD: So far this season the Deacons have done a good job getting hits in the 2-3-4 spots of the lineup, primarily lead by Ryan Semeniuk who has a 14 game hitting streak. These hitters typically include Semeniuk, Steven Brooks, and Mike Murray. Murray has been named a finalist to the Johnny Bench award list (top catcher) and is off to a fast start at the plate this season hitting two home runs in the series against Xavier.

Wake hasn't done a great job of getting the hits going so far this year, but that's something that is going to happen with a young team. The Deacs have had plenty of chances and opportunities to drive runs and simply have not gotten the job done. Several times this year we have had the bases loaded with no or one outs, or runners at the corners and cannot get that one hit that busts open the game. I don't think the team lacks a killer instinct but rather that youth is something that we will have to work through this year under Walter. The bats will heat up for the Deacons.

FTRS: What are Wake's chances of improving on their 6 win total in conference from last season?
Bart @ BSD: I think that the Deacs are certainly poised to win more than 6 conference games this year. Last year's recruiting class was a solid one with Stadler, Mac Williamson, and Daniel Marrs highlighting the youngsters. With a new manager in Walter, the Deacs look more confident and cohesive as a team and I believe should win between 10-12 games in the conference. This is still not a fantastic record but if we can come close to doubling our conference win total this will be viewed as a success. There is some excitement around this team over the years to come because of Walter and I expect the Deacs to trend upwards over the next several years.

I think the Deacs will surprise people and take one of three this weekend. This would be a pretty big success if they can avoid the sweep. Thank you for the interview and if you have any further questions just let me know! Go Deacs.

Thanks to Blogger So Dear and their contributors for their great work. Tech fans look forward to a good series as long as the weather holds out. For more information check out the College Baseball Blog's preview of this weekend's ACC tilts.

Turtle is back on the menu...

2010-03-12T16:00:39Z

More photos » Gerry Broome - AP

Boing! (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Browse more photos »

First off, here is Ted's segment on the radio yesterday before UNC. The conversation can still be applied to tonight.

Now, let's look at some quotes about last night:

It also revealed nothing we didn't already know about the Yellow Jackets. GT's guard play is horrendous as ever, and they had more turnovers (13) than assists (11). There's still no real PG, they jack way too many threes, and ignore Derrick Favors too much. Maryland's solid perimeter defense will cause them problems, and Gary Williams has the knowledge and guard play to exploit it on the other end. - Ben Broman (Testudo Times)

North Carolina had made a stunning 17-0 run over 7:13 in the first half that put the Tar Heels up 24-13. Of UNC's seven shots from the floor in the run, six were layups. Everything was way too easy for Carolina -- and way too hard for Georgia Tech. But Tech reversed that in the second half. "Congratulate Georgia Tech," said Roy Williams who likely will miss his first NCAA tournament since his first year at Kansas in 1989. "I think that will help them." - Carroll Rogers (AJC)

For awhile at least, this team played like they wanted to be there. Some of it was more Tech's ineptitude than anything else; the Yellow Jackets came out slow and unfocused, with nine turnovers and 2-11 shooting from behind the arc in the first half. The Heels, on the other hand, outhustled, outrebounded and plain embarrassed Tech in the first half. Even with their all-too familiar poor shooting, UNC went into the locker room with a ten point lead, led by Marcus Ginyard, who was everywhere on the court spurring the team on. - T.H. (Carolina March)

Complaining in a seemingly growing refrain, some Georgia Tech fans have been pleading with the school — via online team message boards, Twitter and various other mediums — to let go of its head coach after his team once again finished the regular season without a winning conference record. The Yellow Jackets’ 7-9 ACC showing marked the eighth time a Georgia Tech team failed to finish above .500 in conference play since the head coach was hired nine years ago. - Coley Harvey (Macon Telegraph)

What do you think about Tech's match up tonight with the Terps? I think Tech fans should be relatively confident. We lost a tough one in College Park but physically we dominated the Terps. Take away their 17,950 fans and our guards might play an okay game. Hell, we should beat the Terps by 10 if we play up to our potential. They have no answer for Derrick Favors or Gani Lawal. Let us know your thoughts. WOOHOO! If Tech wins tonight, Winfield owes CPH a big hug.

Danny Hall vs. the ACC

2010-03-12T13:00:28Z

In buildup to our first ACC series. I wanted to show everyone why Danny Hall (CDH) is the man. First, let's look at his total ACC winning percentage. He's 300-188-1 against the ACC all time. Hall only has a losing records against Clemson and Miami. Only 3 out of the 19 ACC head coaches he's faced have winning records against him all time. Here's a graph of his running winning percentage against current ACC teams since 1994 (Big East Miami and VT games counted):

It's a big mess, I know. The key to reading it is finding a particular team you want to compare against Danny Hall and tracking the particular color. The next table is a table of ACC coaches Hall has faced and their winning percentages versus him:

I threw in Georgie just for the heck of it.

Tech has played 146 ACC series since Danny Hall took over (including 7 Miami/VT pre-ACC series). Danny Hall's squad has won 85 of these series (factoring in ACCT/NCAAT games). 42 of those 85 season series were sweeps. Tech has only been swept 12 times by conference opponents. This totals out to an all time 85-49-12 series record for Hall against current ACC competition. Hall has faced two former ACC coaches, Steve Traylor (Duke) and Ray Tanner (NCSU). Hall's teams swept Traylor's Wofford squads in three meetings from 2002-2007. Tech split two series with Tanner's South Carolina squad, losing the 2002 meeting 1-2 while winning the 2005 rematch 2-1.

Wake Forest is 16-31 all time against Danny Hall. In 14 series meetings, the Deacons have only won 3 series. The Deacons are breaking in new head coach Tom Walter. Their previous head coach, Rick Rembielak, did not have his contract renewed after the 2009 season.

Forget Hewitt, Be a Tech Fan! The ACCT Open Thread.

2010-03-11T23:30:20Z

Channel your inner 2004 Will Bynum, everybody. We're all gonna need it!

View full size photo »

March Madness begins for us NOW! Whether you are a Hewitt Fan or a Hewitt Hater, I expect every one of us to be GEORGIA TECH FANS.

LET'S GO JACKETS!

FTRS on the radio: Ted previews UNC vs. GT 6:30 PM EST

2010-03-11T18:39:04Z

If you're on the coastal area of Georgia, check out Tedward tonight on AM 790 and AM 1350 The Fan. Ted will preview the matchup between the Jackets and the TarHeels. Once we get the mp3 sent over to us, we'll post it as well for those listeners who aren't within reception area.

Nomar retires as a Red Sox

2010-03-11T14:06:23Z

Nomar retires as a Red Sox

Red Sox sign Nomar to a 1-day deal so he can retire.

What has happened since we last met... A UNC Preview

2010-03-11T13:00:25Z

More photos » Gerry Broome - AP

Paul, what do you do when your fan base hates you after you gave them something no one else could? (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Browse more photos »

What has happened since the last time we played UNC? The Heels have gone 2-3 including their first winning streak since December. The Heels defeated a ranked Wake Forest squad on the road. Then, they got donkey punched by Duke at Cameron Indoor.

The Heels came into our last game off a 1-4 five game stretch. They shot 38.6% in lead up to our last game but were turning the ball over 15.5 times just before their NC State game. Their victory over NC State was won because UNC finally limited their turnovers. After a lackluster effort in Atlanta, the Heels went back to their turnover prone ways and have averaged about 14.4 turnovers per game in the last five games. The Heels are shooting about a percent better as of late but their two recent wins came off of poor shooting efforts from Wake and Miami more so than increased offensive efficiency.

For Tech to win, we've gotta do what we did in the first two meetings. Feed the big men the rock. If you combined Derrick and Gani's stats, you'd be short of a double-double-double average for the two UNC games. UNC cannot stop Gani Lawal. If the guards are making their shots and opening up the lane for Gani, we should win easily. UNC hasn't changed their minutes allocation or starting 5 since we last met. They only mixed it up once against Miami as a kick in the pants to slacking veterans. It didn't work.

Here are some more elaborate previews for the tournament:

SBNation - ACC Tournament Preview

SBNation - GT vs. UNC Preview

TarheelBlue.com - No. 10 Seed Tar Heels face No. 7 Seed Georgia Tech

Blogger So Dear - ACC Tournament Preview Part III

Carolina March - Why they can't get it together...

Tar Heel Fan - Expectations vs. Reality

Matt Wieters on SI

2010-03-10T19:00:37Z

via img205.yfrog.com

This edition came out today. Be sure to pick up your copy!

Syracuse, Michigan, Georgia Tech, & UTEP to Play in the Legends Classic

2010-03-10T18:29:00Z

Syracuse, Michigan, Georgia Tech, & UTEP to Play in the Legends Classic

Early 2010 season tipoff tournament featuring GT. No reason we can't beat down all of these mofo's. (HT: Troy Nunes)

ACC Fans: Hope you get the NFL Network

2010-03-10T18:27:08Z

ACC Fans: Hope you get the NFL Network

The guys at Barrel of Rum break it down for you but here's the summary:

The ACC has a limited window to work out a TV deal with ESPN. If it doesn't happen, plan on Fox, Versus, or the NFL Network.

Good Cop Bad Cop with Bird and Winfield. We talk Hewitt.

2010-03-10T13:00:27Z

We're bringing you a showdown of of wits and powerful mental control. Bird vs Winfield. Winfield vs Bird. What should be done about Paul Hewitt?????

ZOMG! There's a twist! In this episode, Bird plays Bad Cop (Fire Hewitt) and I play Good Cop (Keep Hewitt!

Should Paul Hewitt be fired? 10 reasons why or why not.

10.

Bird: Losing record against georgie. Out of football, softball, baseball, volleyball, and hoops. Only MaChelle Joseph and Paul Hewitt have losing records against Georgie. Even then, MaChelle Joseph is coaching against the Vince Dooley of Georgie basketball and is only down one game to the female dogs. There is no reason Paul Hewitt should have a losing record to a squad that has had more turmoil and NCAA sanctions than the SMU football team. NBA Draft Picks for Hewitt: 5. NBA Draft Picks for uga: 2.

Winfield: The pool of candidates is weak. This is a year where the big conferences are weak and would be prime opportunities to see the mid-majors sneak in and make their presences felt. However, this is not the case as college basketball seems to be down overall. Why fire a coach when there is no one out there? We don't want an NC State situation where they fired Sendek and got Sidney Lowe.

Winfield: We can't afford it because of the infamous contract. DRad is still trying to pay our debtors including Chan Gailey and we just added the Zelnak Center and the AMC has planned future renovations. The economics simply do not support a revenue sports coach firing.

Bird: No wins in the NCAAT since 2005. Only one berth to the NCAAT since 2005. This includes an overall record of 6-9 in ACCT games. Georgia Tech has only advanced past the second round in the ACCT once in Hewitt's tenure. The only time he's advanced past the second round in the NCAAT was 2004.

Bird: Poor free throw shooting costs Georgia Tech in close contests. Not since the 2004-2005 season, has GT finished in the top half of the ACC in free throw shooting percentage.

Winfield: Recruiting. Paul Hewitt brings in the talent. Chris Bosh, Jarrett Jack,, Thaddeus Young, Anthony Morrow, Mario West, Gani Lawal, and Derrick Favors all have, or will have, prominent positions in the NBA. Overall, we have had the 19th most players drafted to the NBA during the Hewitt Era. We are an NBA-feeder because of Hewitt!

Winfield: He is influential. Paul Hewitt is a prominent African-American coach in a big-time basketball conference. In 2007, he served as president of the Black Coaches Association and continues to be a dominant figure in that arena. People listen to Paul Hewitt.

Bird: Since 2005, Georgia Tech is 9-18 in games decided by one possession. Poor end of game play calls and poor execution have led to 18 losses that most likely cost GT additional NCAA tournament berths.

Bird: No ACC regular season titles or tournament titles during Hewitt's tenure at Georgia Tech.

Winfield: He's been there before. He can get us there again. With NBA rules, college basketball has become a cyclical sport and all teams must have some bit of luck on their side. Hewitt has taken the Jackets to The Big Dance 3 times since he came on board.

See the rest of our debate after The Jump!

Winfield: Only Roy Williams, Gary Williams, Paul Hewitt and Coach K have taken ACC teams to the Final Four appearances during Hewitt's tenure. Hewitt has put us in the elite company of the ACC.

Bird: Since 2005, GT has been on the road in the ACC 40 times. We've only won 6 times. That's a 15% winning percentage. This is the worst road winning percentage over that span in the ACC.

Bird: Paul only has a winning record against 3 current ACC head coaches: Dino, OP, and Sidney. Everyone has winning records against those three coaches.

Winfield: Predecessors. Bobby Cremins had 1 NCAA appearance in his last 7 years. Paul Hewitt has made it 3 times in the last 7 years.

Winfield: Hewitt rebuilt Sienna. From 1995-1997, Siena went 22-59. Over Hewitt's tenure he built them into a program that is now on autopilot. They have been to 5 of their 6 total NCAAT appearances during or after Hewitt's tenure. He knows how to put a team together

Bird: Paul Hewitt's former team, Siena, has been to the NCAAT four times since Paul Hewitt left. Georgia Tech has been to the NCAAT four times under Paul Hewitt. Siena has been past the first round twice since 2008. Georgia Tech has not reached the tournament since 2007.

Bird: Georgia Tech has the 19th most players drafted during the Hewitt Era (at 5) yet we have the 34th most wins in the NCAAT. This is classic under-utilization of talent. If the entire NCAA were ranked by number of wins in the NCAAT divided by NBA draft picks, GT would be ranked 51st.

Winfield: He put us back in the national college basketball spotlight by making it to the Final Four and by continuing to bring in big name recruits. This exposure only helps the program and the Institute itself.

Winfield: Hewitt may not be meeting your expectations but he is meeting reality. We have never consistently been better than North Carolina or Duke. Bobby Cremins kept us above average in the ACC while Paul Hewitt is keeping us in the ballpark of where we've always been in years of parity.

Bird: Frustrating half court offense is turnover prone. Lack of explosive transition offense since departure of Jarrett Jack. Defense fades in and out of conference play. Heavy reliance on underclassmen in offense because of poor recruiting and/or poor player development. All of these factors have led to a majority of the losses on the season and previous seasons.

Alright folks, who wins the debate?

ACC Bracket Predicted with LRMC rankings

2010-03-09T21:00:21Z

Mark Crammer - AP

Mfon, we need some points dude. (AP Photo/Anderson Independent-Mail, Mark Crammer)

View full size photo »

The ACC bracket has been released. And we've got Professor Sokol's ratings up to 3/8/2010 to project the winner of the tournament. Here are the results:

First Round: BC defeats UVA, Wake defeats Miami, GT defeats UNC, Clemson defeats NC State
Second Round: Duke defeats BC, VT defeats Wake, Maryland defeats GT, Clemson defeats FSU
Third Round: Duke defeats VT, Maryland defeats Clemson
Finals: Duke defeats Maryland

It's not the end that everyone wants but it's a pretty good idea of what will probably happen. We'll check back in a few days when the tourney's over.

Derrick Favors: ACC Rookie of the Year

2010-03-09T18:16:19Z

Derrick Favors: ACC Rookie of the Year

GT freshman forward Derrick Favors just named ACC Rookie of the Year. He had 45 votes, Glen Rice, Jr snuck in with one.

So long DFav. Enjoy making $$$$.

Paul Hewitt Era by the Numbers: Part III

2010-03-09T13:00:22Z

Earlier in the season, I pulled up data on Hewitt's matchups with opposing ACC coaches during his tenure. I also compared Hewitt's numbers in the NCAA tournament to opposing ACC coaches. Today, I'm looking at the one positive that is Paul Hewitt. Supposedly, he's a great recruiter. To me, the best indicator of overall talent is the respective pro league's draft (in this case the NBA Draft). So here's a quick overview of some NBA Draft figures since the 2001 Draft:

Basically, there were 58 draft picks from 2001-2003. There were 59 total picks in 2004 because of the introduction of the Charlotte Bobcats. And 2005-present, there have been 60 picks. So, the U.S. Colleges column indicates how many kids came from U.S. NCAA or NAIA affiliated schools in that year's Draft. The spike in the 2006 Draft college attendees was from the ineligibility of high school seniors (implementation of one year rule).

The next column (ACC %) is the percentage of college attendees drafted who went to ACC schools. Miami and BC had kids drafted in their pre-ACC days so those particular players were not counted for the ACC total. The final column indicates if UNC, Duke, or Maryland won a national title and flooded the Draft with picks.

Whenever we talk to opposing blogs during Q/A's, they generally bring up that they respect Paul Hewitt as a recruiter but not as a coach. Since Hewitt's time at Tech he's had 5 Draft picks (4 were his own recruits...). If we exclude BC, Miami, and VT, this figure would put Hewitt at 5th best out of 9 teams during his tenure. UNC has 13 picks, Duke 12, Maryland has had 6 picks, FSU and Wake have had 5 picks, and GT is tied with FSU and Wake at 5. UVA, Clemson, and NC State bring up the rear with 6 total picks. If we compared the number of Hewitt draft picks to all of the Division I schools, he would be tied for 19th out of 300+ schools.

The table above shows all of the schools with more draft picks than Paul Hewitt over his run at GT. It also shows that talent wins as those teams generally have more NCAA berths, Final 4 appearances, and National Titles.

This table, to me, is more indicative of how good a coach is. The table above shows how many NCAA tournament wins schools have racked up since 2001. I also added a column called "Wins/Pick", which shows how much bang we got for each NBA draftee. Basically, it states how efficient a school's talent has been. Is it a small sample size? Yes. Does it stretch over multiple coaching tenures at many of the schools? Yes. The point is more so to compare GT to our competition. And as an additional note, the average is ~2 tournament wins per draft pick across all of CBB.

Let me know what you think.

Gani Lawal was named third-team All-ACC and Derrick Favors was named to the all-rookie team by the...

2010-03-08T20:49:04Z

Gani Lawal was named third-team All-ACC and Derrick Favors was named to the all-rookie team by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association today."

Doug Roberson of the AJC

Paul Hewitt, we have given up on you

2010-03-08T13:00:31Z

More photos » John Bazemore - AP

We have given up on you.

Browse more photos »

Georgia Tech basketball is in a state of disarray and Paul Hewitt has lost all control of what little he had remaining over the squad. The fanbase is apathetic and has turned its back on the program. Virginia Tech, if not the final straw, was one of the last for the ticket holders. Hewitt was booed during pre-game and the AMC was empty during the final minute and a half because we have given up. Too many times I have been asked: "is it bad that I want to see us lose so that it's yet another strike against Paul Hewitt?" I know I shouldn't but I want to reply: "No".

The future is in question. Don't believe the "young team" excuses. Gani Lawal himself: "We’ve got a veteran team. I don’t buy that [about being "young"]. Yes, we’ve got young guys, but we’re a veteran team." We were experienced. We were talented. The season opened again with the infamous word, potential. What we didn't get was the realization and production of that potential. What we didn't get was coaching.

The worst thing to happen to Paul Hewitt was Paul Johnson. With Chan Gailey swimming in mediocrity it was easy for Hewitt to maintain the basketball status quo as long as he did something that made it seem like we were doing something worthwhile. We never looked at the basketball numbers too deeply because we were all grumbling about the king sport of football. And now, football has begun to meet expectations and our gaze has turned to Paul Hewitt, the man who can't win on the road and has a continuous rollover contract with an Athletic Association already in debt.

via blogs.ajc.com

One time, ONE TIME! have we had a winning conference record in TEN YEARS, and have never been a Top 3 seed in the conference tournament. In 2003-2004, we went 9-7. That season is quickly becoming an infamous historical fluke. Hewitt may be the recruiter, but he has lost his handle on being the COACH. I can throw out more stats, more numbers, and sub-par records he has accumulated but it will just make me angry and sad at our completely helpless situation. At this point, I don't even think Bird can disagree with me: PAUL HEWITT HAS TO GO.

What do we do now?

2010-03-07T18:42:21Z

More photos » Gerry Broome - AP

Hewitt. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Browse more photos »

Where does Georgia Tech go? What happens in Atlanta? Is it slightly ironic that the game that broke Chan's back was a Virginia Tech in Atlanta? I don't know what to say... The ACCT opponent looks to be either NC State or UVA. I haven't looked at the tie breakers or anything yet. Does this team have the consistency to win some ACCT games?

This is it...Hewitt's Alamo...the VT Open Thread

2010-03-06T17:00:17Z

More photos » Mark Crammer - AP

We need some MOE-MENTUM!!!@!@!@ (AP Photo/Anderson Independent-Mail, Mark Crammer)

Browse more photos »

It's time for the final home stand. Tech needs a win. Period. Virginia Tech, prepare yourselves for disappointment. Tipoff is 4:00PM. TV is Raycom.