By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
It may seem like the last place for anyone affiliated with Georgia Tech to feel nostalgia. But Damon Stoudamire actually had some fond flashbacks when the Yellow Jackets visited Purcell Pavilion last year.
Growing up in Portland, Stoudamire said the two college basketball teams he watched most frequently were DePaul and Notre Dame, whose games aired nationwide on WGN. And during an evening practice last year, he gazed up at the rafters and spotted the retired number of late Notre Dame forward John Shumate, who was an assistant coach during Stoudamire’s first three seasons with the Toronto Raptors.
So that makes one member of Georgia Tech’s program that has warm feelings for South Bend. Stoudamire will now try to find some company on Saturday.
Snapping a losing streak can be hard enough. Doubly so on the road. But especially if that road venue is squat, circular Purcell Pavilion, where Georgia Tech (11-14, 2-10 ACC) has encountered all sorts of basketball witchcraft during an 11-game losing streak there dating back to 1990.
Notre Dame (11-14, 2-10 ACC) has dropped five straight since a come-from-behind win over Boston College on January 24. The home team may be looking to perform a basketball exorcism as well.
Enjoy the top notes from my chart before Tech looks to avoid a heartbreak on Valentine’s Day (12:00 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network).
Baye Ndongo turns it up historically at the end of the season. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Notre Dame’s season took a turn when Markus Burton, their preseason first team All-ACC guard, suffered a broken ankle in early December. Burton had been a perennial pest against Georgia Tech, averaging 19.2 points over four career games against the Jackets.
Even in his absence, the Fighting Irish have found success on offense lately, averaging 78.8 points on 46% shooting during their losing streak. Freshman Jalen Haralson may not get the acclaim of the ACC’s other top rookies, but the 6-7 McDonald’s All-American (15.5 ppg) has taken over Burton’s high usage mantle this season.
Player Usage Rate NCAA Rank
Markus Burton ’24-25 33.4% #11
Jalen Haralson ’25-26 33.4% #10
Haralson has been turnover prone of late, but he’s an athletic, slashing wing who also ranks in the top 20 nationally in Fouls Drawn Per 40 Minutes. Tech can’t afford short closeouts on guard Braeden Shrewsberry (12.0 ppg), a cunning manipulator of screens who ranks second in the ACC in three-point percentage (42.1%). He’s not the only player capable of catching fire – 6-7 freshman Brad Koehler averages 38% from three while 6-11 Cole Certa has made 13 threes over his last three games, giving the Irish a pair of jumbo-sized shooters from deep.
The three-point line has been a treacherous place for Georgia Tech lately – opponents have laced 37 three-pointers at a 47.4% clip over the last three games. Tech will have to be physical fighting through screens and not overcommit on Notre Dame’s ball handlers. The Irish run a clever mix of flares, slips, back screens and two-man action in the halfcourt.
It’s not just in your head. Baye Ndongo does seem to turn it on at the free throw line as ACC play progresses.
Year Started Finished
Freshman 22 of 41 (53.6%) 23 of 27 (85.2%)
Sophomore 30 of 52 (57.7%) 36 of 44 (81.8%)
Junior 14 of 23 (60.9%) 16 of 19 (84.2%)
He’ll bang in the post with 6-8 Carson Towt (9.3 rpg), a bruising, max effort forward who led the nation in rebounding average last year and ranks 20th nationally in offensive rebounds per game.
Kam Craft was a multi-sport athlete growing up. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Notre Dame has arguably the most notable college basketball/baseball star of the modern era in Pat Connaughton, who’s in his 11th NBA season after getting selected in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
Kam Craft had no delusions about following the Connaughton path – or even that of his dad Mark, who played both sports at VMI. But Georgia Tech’s junior guard played baseball through his junior year of high school in Buffalo Grove, Ill., in addition to shining on the AAU basketball circuit. He reminisced on his baseball career on a recent “Damon Stoudamire Show.”
“It was a great outlet, and it always happened after basketball season, so it was easy to reset my mentality by playing baseball,” said Craft, who was a right-handed pitcher.
“I threw a fastball, changeup and a little slider. I was a three-pitch type of guy. And I had a two-seam [fastball] too. It was probably low- to mid-80’s. Nothing crazy, but I could locate it well,” he added.
The same could be said of his shooting touch. Craft doesn’t have enough attempts to qualify for the conference leaderboard, but he’s shooting 46.8% from three-point range in ACC play (22 of 47). His mom plans on making the roughly two-hour drive from suburban Chicago to watch him in South Bend.
Lamar Washington’s grandfather is a member of the Idaho State Athletics Hall of Fame. (photo by Danny Karnik)
They didn’t get the win, but the Jackets didn’t sabotage themselves with turnovers against Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons came in leading the ACC in Turnover Rate, a foreboding stat for a Tech team that has struggled with giveaways. The Yellow Jackets instead finished with one of their lowest turnover rates of the season:
Wake Forest TO%: 19.9%
vs. Georgia Tech: 12.2%
–per KenPom
Haunted as Purcell Pavilion feels, Lamar Washington may welcome the change of scenery. The senior, who had a scoreless night against Wake Forest, has posted three of his four highest scoring games of ACC play on the road. His grandfather, Frank Swopes, is a member of the Idaho State Athletics Hall of Fame after a standout basketball career there.
Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well. Join us for pregame coverage starting with the “Ramblin’ Wreck Tip-off Show” at 11:30 a.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network. See you in South Bend.
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