WASHINGTON, DC — Some 18-loss seasons feel much better than others. No, after Georgia Tech didn't improve its win-loss record in its first season under coach Damon Stoudemire and went 15-18 in its final season in 2022-23 with coach Josh Pastner at the helm. They only had 14 wins and 18 losses for the year. The program's first tournament drought in 14 years continues after Tuesday's season-ending 84-80 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Nevertheless, this year felt like perhaps the first year that something changed. For example, if you told Yellow Jackets fans before the season that they would beat both Duke and North Carolina, they would have been excited. Tech also defeated three other potential tournament berths: Mississippi State, Clemson and Wake Forest.
This history has given Tech a 4-1 record against Quad 1A teams, thus earning them the remarkable honor of being one of only five teams in the . history Must have at least 4 wins and no more than 1 loss against Quad 1A in the NET rating.
Of course, there's the small problem of losing for the third time to Massachusetts Lowell in Louisville, Ga., and Notre Dame on Tuesday. Tech's freshmen have flashed their promise in some of these landmark wins, most notably in December's stunning upset of the Blue Devils, in which center Baye Ndongo lost to Duke. That's when he dominated All-American Kyle Filipowski. But on many other nights, the young man was, well, a rambling crock.
Tuesday's loss was a perfect example of that. The squad took too long to get out of the gate for the noon start, and by the time coffee started they had a double-digit lead. Tech's second-half rally came under fire due to poor transition defense. Sequence and two late turnovers.
Looking back, the start was the biggest problem. Tech fell behind 17-5 just six minutes into the game and spent the rest of the game trying to come back.
“That's the moment,” Stoudemire said. “That's important to me. I've played a lot of basketball, I've coached a lot of basketball, I've been in some really high-level games. The moment we started the game, I thought we weren't locked in. I did.”
Technology also fell behind and failed. The Jackets took a one-point lead with just over a minute left, but an Irish rebound caught three players deep in the backcourt, opening up the floor for speedster Marcus Burton to make a go-ahead layup. The final two attacks ended in turnovers on pick-and-roll pass attempts from Nathan George to Ndongo.
While the threat of roster poaching is always present in the NIL era, Tech's young core is the biggest reason to believe in the program's future. The two best players on Tuesday were freshmen Ndongo and George, and only two of this year's top nine players were seniors.
Despite the disappointing ending, the pick-and-roll chemistry between George and Ndongo looks promising. They totaled 46 points and 10 assists on Tuesday. George took aim at the diminutive Burton late in Tech's rally and brutally cornered him with a ball-screen action when he received his fourth foul of the second half.
The next montage is peppered with highlights of George and Ndongo.
Young stars shined in their first ACC tournament game 🌟@NDmbb | @GTMBB | #ACCMBB pic.twitter.com/joMbXvGteW
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) March 12, 2024
Stoudemire pointed to the Burton-hunting stretch in the second half as an example of the cerebral, pro-style game he wants to play, and how difficult it was to put it into practice with young first-year players. It pointed out. The inconsistency of the year that probably contributed to this.
“We’re looking for matchups,” Stoudemire said. “Most college guys only run one to five ball screens. Barton got four fouls. Everybody stays flat, no matter who you're guarding, you set a screen, you set a real screen. Let's just go down there and see what we can get. But once you understand the mindset, the terminology, the fluidity of what we're doing, I don't think inconsistent play will happen.”
“I think the future is really bright just because we've shown a glimpse of what we can actually do,” George said. “I thought we could do it this year, but we didn't come close. But when you look at the young players, Tafara (Gyapare), Bayh, and everyone here today, including Coissy (Reeves), they stepped up. I think it's the same for all of us. Just watching us grow makes me feel like the future is really bright.”
Ndongo, on the other hand, had a few 'short roll' passes to the weaker side in this game, something that wasn't necessarily in his bag at the start of the season. Ndongo had three assists and, amazingly, zero turnovers against Notre Dame and 12 assists over the last eight games. Baby steps and all, but his production has been a once-in-a-lunar affair for most of conference play, and through Tuesday he had committed a whopping 74 turnovers. Against the Irish, he made multiple passes like this:
Splash 💦@GTMBB | ACCNpic.twitter.com/9jII90a5Nu
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 12, 2024
Once those two return, Georgia Tech will have additional reinforcements. Four-star wing Jadon Mutaf and four-star guard Brandon Stores have already committed. The return of Gapare and Ibrahima Sacco could mean that investment in their development will pay off again next season.
That said, freshmen aren't going to win big in the ACC. Stoudemire had already donned his offseason GM hat ahead of the transfer portal season. With transfer activity starting around this time (and I'm keeping an eye on it), he wonders where the holes are on his roster and which of his players are likely to leave for greener pastures. will need to be understood.
“I learned a lot this year,” Stoudemire said of his first season in the ACC. “Coming into this conference and being where I'm trying to go, where we're trying to go as a program, as we move forward, you learn how to recruit. You learn different styles of play in the conference.
“A lot of information is being stolen. Since I turned pro, I've been studying coaches a lot, so I was studying them, learning their philosophies, watching how players play. And now , now we can build our roster accordingly. I'm looking forward to moving forward. For me, it really starts from here. It's time to rebuild the team and look at the players. It's that time. Part of it.”
So now we wait for portal season (officially opens on Monday and lasts 45 days). But if GM Stoudemire can give Coach Stoudemire a few more reinforcements, Tuesday could be Georgia Tech's last ACC Tournament game for a while.
(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
