Dec. 18, 2015
By Jon Cooper | The Good Word
It doesn’t take much to get Marcus Georges-Hunt fired up for a game — pretty much just put it on the schedule. But Saturday’s game gets Georges-Hunt’s competitive fire burning a little higher.
It’s Georgia, in Athens.
Even more important, it’s the 6-5 guard’s final game against Georgia and his final trip to Stegeman Coliseum. Tip-off is at noon and can be seen on the SEC Network. It also can be heard on the Georgia Tech/IMG Sports Network as well as on Sirius channel 83 and XM channel 190 and can be followed online via the GT Gameday App. and on Ramblinwreck.com.
The senior College Park native has been a big part of the Jackets’ 7-2 start in ‘15-16, pacing the team with 15.2 points per game, and is red-hot coming into the game, having scored 39 points on 55 percent shooting (11-for-20), 88.2 from the foul line (15-for-17) over his past two games.
Georges-Hunt would like to add to the team’s current three-game win streak, his career three-game streak over Georgia, and the Jackets’ four-game series winning streak. He’s averaged 13.3 points, including a then-career-high 18 as a freshman (he also pulled down six rebounds, his high against UGA) on 44.4 percent shooting, 42.8 from three-point range, and 61.9 percent from the line — a percentage damaged by last season’s 1-for-5. He’s also pulled down 4.3 rebounds, dished out 3.0 assists and made 2.0 steals against the Bulldogs.
Marcus took time out prior to Thursday afternoon’s practice to talk all things Georgia Tech-Georgia.
THE GOOD WORD: How excited are you about your last go-round with Georgia?
Marcus Georges-Hunt: I’m very excited knowing that this game, out of all games on the schedule, this is the big one because of the rivalry. Call it Hate Week or whatever but it’s going to be real fun. It’s always real competitive. You’re fighting to try and get the win at the end of the day, but that game, it seems is more competitive.
TGW: What is your best memory of your past games against Georgia?
MGH: I don’t have a specific memory. Just being able to come out with the victory was a really good feeling and a great feeling knowing the school and the rivalry that we have with them.
TGW: Georgia Tech led wire-to-wire in one of the three games in which you’ve played and virtually wire-to-wire in another. To what do you attribute GT’s dominance lately?
MGH: Being able to compete, making the most out of every possession and not taking any possessions off and doing the little things, getting the 50-50 balls, things like that.
TGW: What are your thoughts about going up against guys like Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann one final time?
MGH: It’s great, being that we graduated high school the same year, we played against each other during AAU. I actually played with Kenny Gaines on my team. So I think it’s going to be real competitive and fun.
TGW: How does Georgia Tech match up with Georgia?
MGH: They’re very athletic, being that they have Mann at the point. He’s a strong point, trying to attack angles and he creates a lot of mismatch problems. Kenny is a great shooter and he’s their go-to guy. He does a lot for them. The sophomore [forward Yante] Maten provides a low-post presence. He has 20 points in the last four games. That’s big. So his presence is very important but they have [junior guard J.J.] Frazier that can shoot the ball, as well. I feel like they match up pretty well with us. We have a lot of older guys, a lot of fifth-year guys.
BONUS
TGW: Is this like most rivalry games where you can throw the stats out the window?
MGH: I wouldn’t say throw out the stats. You go into this game like any other game, with your mindset focused on coming out with the W. But, like I said, it means a lot more just going against Georgia.
