By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech’s reward for beating the ACC’s second-place team, which had a 9-1 conference record?
Facing the ACC’s new second-place team… which has a 10-1 conference record.
Clemson (18-4, 10-1 ACC) may have thanked Georgia Tech (10-12, 4-7 ACC) for its 77-70 defeat of Louisville on Saturday, a result that gave the Tigers sole possession of second place in the ACC. Enemy of my enemy, and all that.
But gratitude has its limits. The Yellow Jackets now have plenty of inertia from their upset at McCamish Pavilion, and they’ll look to convert it into an encore against the Tigers.
Enjoy the top notes from my chart as Tech prepares for a late-rematch at Littlejohn Coliseum (9 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network):
Naithan George (0) is 11 of 12 on his midrange jumpers in Tech’s last two games. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Nait George has learned his lesson. When your 12-year NBA point guard head coach suggests you to do something, you do it.
“That was his game, too,” George said.
All season, Damon Stoudamire had encouraged his sophomore to be more assertive looking for his midrange jumper. Forget analytics or the perceived taboo of a “low efficiency” shot. A clean “middy” can often be better than a contested layup.
Reluctance wasn’t the issue; George had shown a sneaky touch on midrange shots last year. But the 6-3 guard has started to use them to devastating effect lately. According to Georgia Tech’s in-house shot tracking, George has gone 11 of 12 on midrange jumpers over the last two games.
Nait George – Midrange jumpers
- Last two games: 11 of 12 (91.7%)
- Previous 19 games: 25 of 69 (36.2%)
Not surprisingly, George has also posted two of his highest offensive ratings of the season in those games. He’s also dished out 16 assists against just two turnovers.
“The defense, to me, has been giving him the shots he’s been taking the last couple of games all season,” Stoudamire explained. “That way you don’t get too deep on your penetration. You’ve got to have that imaginary stop sign. Nait is a little bigger than what people think, so he can shoot over people.”
George will look to keep his effectiveness against a Clemson defense whose efficiency rating is nearly identical to Louisville’s.
Defensive Efficiency – NCAA Rank
- Clemson (0.971)
- Louisville (0.974)
*-per KenPom
George handled the hassling of Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn, the ACC’s leader in steals, on Saturday. He had different issues with Clemson’s Jaeden Zackery, a stout, pestering guard who forced him into 5 turnovers in a 70-59 loss at McCamish last month. The Yellow Jackets had their two lowest turnover rates of ACC play last week; Clemson was responsible for their second worst. The Tigers did a good job staying attached around screens and flattening out the Yellow Jackets’ possessions.
Worth remembering: Lance Terry, who scored a team-high 23 points against Louisville, didn’t play in the first Clemson game due to a wrist injury. The Tigers like to shrink the floor and collapse from the ball-side corners. Terry’s ability to attack closeouts and shoot the corner three could be key.
In addition to salty defense, Zackery led Clemson with a season-high 21 points at McCamish. A “connector” in the eyes of Stoudamire, the Boston College transfer has blended in seamlessly with Clemson’s All-ACC tandem of senior forward Ian Schieffelin (12.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and sixth-year senior guard Chase Hunter (17.2 ppg, 46% 3pt. ACC).
The Tigers rank 11th nationally in three-point percentage (38.8%), meaning Tech will once again have to stay alert in its spacing (Stoudamire praised Javian McCollum for his work on Louisville’s Reyne Smith, the ACC’s top three-point shooter). Clemson’s bigger headache may come from the frontcourt – the Tigers are one of the ACC’s biggest purveyors of playing two traditional posts, with the 6-8, 240-pound Schieffelin often paired alongside 6-11, 245-pound Viktor Lakhin.
Schieffelin and Lakhin actually combined for more assists against Tech (10) than Clemson’s guards (6). The Tigers not only have a veteran team, but possessions rarely get stagnant because of their forwards’ passing ability.
Offensive Efficiency – NCAA ranks
- Clemson (1.184 PPP)
- Louisville (1.181 PPP)
Tech struggled to deny duck-ins last month, resulting in hook shots around the rim or clear-outs for Clemson’s guards to drive. Stoudamire said the Jackets will need to play with better awareness and anticipation of those duck-ins.
“My first NBA game was against Kenny Anderson when he was with the New Jersey Nets, and the first time I ever got traded was for Kenny Anderson.” – Damon Stoudamire
Hunter will likely challenge for first-team All-ACC honors, which already implies he’s playing with consistency. But the Atlanta native has gone especially berserk in ACC home games:
Chase Hunter – ACC home games (5g)
- PPG: 0
- FG%: 6%
- %: 53.3% (16 of 30)
That said, could the Yellow Jackets have the antidote for his slashing, high-wattage scoring? In his last six games against Tech, Hunter has only averaged 34% field goal shooting. That included a mild (by his standards) 3-of-9 performance at McCamish. Stoudamire knows Hunter will get his points; more important is making him earn them inefficiently.
On a slightly less seismic scale, Stoudamire can relate to the Luka Doncic-for-Anthony Davis trade.
Stoudamire was once a midseason trade piece himself, going from Toronto to his hometown Portland Trail Blazers in February of 1998. And proof that the universe can wink at you: One of the players the Blazers shipped to make way for him was former Yellow Jacket Kenny Anderson.
“We always laugh about it,” Stoudamire said on his radio show. “My first NBA game was against Kenny Anderson when he was with the New Jersey Nets, and the first time I ever got traded was for Kenny Anderson.”
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 8:30 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network. See you at Clemson.
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Tech guard Marcos San Miguel (33) and grad assistant Alex Gaynor test out the bounciness of Littlejohn Coliseum rims at shootaround.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its second year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. Tech has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won four ACC Championships (1985, 1990, 1993, 2021), played in the NCAA Tournament 17 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be reserved here.
