Nov. 22, 2002
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s basketball team, still riding momentum from a fast finish in 2002 and two impressive exhibition victories, opens its 2002-03 season Saturday at 2 p.m. against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
The game will not be televised, but can be heard on the Georgia Tech-ISP Radio Network (WQXI-790 AM, WMGP-98.1 FM in Atlanta).
Head coach Paul Hewitt opens his third season with the Yellow Jackets, who come off a 15-16 campaign. In their two exhibition wins, the Jackets defeated the Southeast Atlanta All-Stars, 110-73, and Team Nike, 81-48. Tech shot an even 50 percent from the floor (39.5 percent from three-point range) in the two games, recorded 50 assists on 76 field goals, outrebounded the two opponents 56-38, and forced 37 turnovers with 22 steals.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 2-26 last year, has a new head coach in Van Holt and several first-year players.
Like the two exhibition opponents, however, Arkansas-Pine Bluff is an unfamiliar foe for Tech, and the situation reminds Hewitt of the Jackets’ game last year against IUPUI (a 98-92 home loss).
“They say those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it,” Hewitt said Friday. “This reminds me of the IUPUI game last year, when they had a team with a bunch of new players, and we didn’t know much about them. They caught us by surprise. They played well, and it ended up being a loss for us.
“This is a game where we really have to respect the opponent, and work hard to figure out who is who out there, the shooters, the penetrators, what have you. It is a good test, because we have some very difficult games coming up soon that will help us stretch our minds and push us a little physically.”
Tech will be shorthanded Saturday, playing without 6-4 sophomore guard B.J. Elder (Madison, Ga.), who will sit out the game with a sore left foot. Elder, an ACC All-Freshman selection last season who averaged 9.9 points a game, has experienced soreness in the foot on and off during the pre-season. He played in both exhibition games and averaged 10 points.
“The reason why we’re taking the precaution is because that is the same foot (fifth metatarsal bone) he broke in the final game of his senior year in high school,” said Hewitt. “He’s had two X-rays, both have been negative. Our medical staff suggested he have a CT scan done, and that is being done [Friday]. Our medical staff has done a great job with him, keeping him in shape. But we just want to rule out anything we can possibly rule out.”
Tech’s starting lineup will include 6-4 junior guard Marvin Lewis (Germantown, Md.), who has been named the Yellow Jackets’ permanent captain for 2002-03, and 6-4 freshman point guard Jarrett Jack (Fort Washington, Md.) in the backcourt, as well as 6-8 sophomore Ed Nelson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and 6-10 freshman Chris Bosh (Lancaster, Texas) along the front line. Isma’il Muhammad (Atlanta, Ga.), a 6-6 sophomore forward, will take Elder’s place in the starting lineup.
Bosh led Tech in scoring (17.5) and rebounding (11.0) in the two exhibitions, while Lewis averaged 15.5 points (7-of-11 from three-point range). Muhammad averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, while Nelson averaged 9.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. Jack averaged just 3.0 points, but dished out 8.5 assists in the two games.
The selection of Lewis as a team captain is noteworthy because Tech has had only two non-senior captains (Jason Floyd in 1998-99, Ivano Newbill in 1992-93) since the days of Mark Price and John Salley in the early 1980s. While Tech has no seniors, Lewis has earned the honor after starting all but one game his first two seasons.
“He’s obviously got the most experience,” said Hewitt. “He’s a very bright player and an intelligent young man, and an example of what we want our guys to be on and off the court. He has a lot of qualities that we like, and he a natural guy to turn to on the floor when the kids are having a tough time. He’s a natural guy to help them keep their focus.”
Without Elder and 6-4 freshman Jim Nystr?m (Stockholm, Sweden), who is ineligible for the first eight games, Tech will be thin in the backcourt. Anthony McHenry (Birmingham, Ala.), a 6-7 sophomore who averaged 4.0 points and 2.5 assists in the exhibitions, will be Tech’s top backcourt reserve. Luke Schenscher (Hope Forest, South Australia), a 7-1 sophomore, Robert Brooks (Saginaw, Mich.), a 6-8 junior, and Theodis Tarver (Monroe, La.), a 6-9 freshman, give the Jackets a deep frontcourt.
“We don’t have any depth on the perimeter, so those guys need to stay out of foul trouble,” said Hewitt. “Anthony McHenry is coming along. He just needs to settle down and play his game. He is a very good basketball player. When he gets tense, for lack of a better term, his decision-making and his ability level drops. I like what I’ve seen from him since the first exhibition. He had four turnovers the other night, but some of them came from aggressive play.”
UAPB, which split its two exhibition games, returns its top two scorers from last season in 6-6 forward Kory McKee (11.6) and 6-7 forward Don Fleming (10.0). The rest of the Golden Lions’ starting lineup includes 5-10 sophomore Lamarquis Blake (7.4 ppg last year) and 5-10 junior Michael Kendrick (0.5) in the backcourt, and 6-7 forward Justin Lloyd (7.0).
Tech’s play during the two exhibitions, while not against the level of competition the Jackets will face in the upcoming weeks, pleased Hewitt.
“I would like for us to be the type of team that moves the ball and is very unselfish,” Hewitt said. “When we were very successful at Siena, we had a high assist-to-basket ratio. We always passed the ball well. I think this year’s team has a chance to be the best defensive team I’ve ever been around, as an assistant or a head coach. I think the numbers we’ve seen in terms of steals and turnovers forced, we can do that on a regular basis. But it’s going to take a greater level of concentration and effort to do that against the quality opponents that we’ll be playing.”
