By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
One way or another, Lamar Washington hoped he’d be preparing for a game against Miami.
In addition to basketball, Washington was also a snarling, standout, 225-pound linebacker for Jefferson High School in his hometown of Portland, Ore. He had picked up some modest mid-major offers in hoops – his first three, he recalls, were from Bryant, Eastern Washington, and an offer from Damon Stoudamire at Pacific – but his mobility and ferocity in football had also attracted scholarship offers from Southern Cal and Oregon.
The Covid-19 shutdown, though, forced Washington to pivot.
“When Covid hit, I lost about 15, 20 pounds, and that changed my game (to) basketball,” he revealed on this week’s “Damon Stoudamire Show.”
“Once I lost all that weight, I played (football) again my senior year, but I was like, it’s not the same. I’m going to go to college to get bullied around, or I’m going to have to gain all that weight back and more,” Washington recalled thinking.
Oregon descended on Atlanta this weekend for its College Football Playoff semifinal showdown with Indiana, hopeful for a date with Miami next week in the national championship game. Washington, however, didn’t have time to muse about the alternate version of his athletic career, suiting up for his home state Ducks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The senior point guard was too busy leaving town with the rest of his Georgia Tech teammates (10-6, 1-2 ACC), bound for Coral Gables and an ACC basketball showdown with Miami (13-2, 2-0 ACC) at the Watsco Center.
The sport may be different, but for Washington and the Yellow Jackets, physicality may still rule the day if they want to rebound with a road victory. Enjoy the top notes from my chart as Tech aims for a fourth straight win over the Hurricanes (12:00 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network).
Lamar Washington is second on the team in scoring in ACC play. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Miami went full-on reno this offseason, hiring Duke’s Jai Lucas as head coach and not retaining a single player from last year’s roster. That quick flip has paid early dividends – after only winning seven games a year ago, the Hurricanes have won eight straight following an 81-77 win at Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes have done it by prioritizing paint touches and ceaseless rim pressure – they enter Saturday ranking 15th nationally in field goal percentage (51.7%) and 26th in scoring (87.9 ppg). Through two ACC games, Miami’s shooting splits become pretty clear:
Miami – ACC play
3pt.% 20.0% (8 of 40)
2pt.% 62.5% (45 of 72)
Miami uses 6-9 Malik Reneau (20.7 ppg) in a manner similar to Duke’s Cameron Boozer, giving the Indiana transfer plenty of freedom to isolate from the long post and assert his physicality. Point guard Tre Donaldson (15.9 ppg, 6.7 apg) ranks third in the ACC in assists and gives the Hurricanes a self-assured, inside-out show runner. 6-6 freshman Shelton Henderson (13.1 ppg) has a Jimmy Butler-esque ability to get downhill on rip-and-go moves, while 6-11, 266-pound Ernest Udeh Jr. (7.0 ppg, 10.2 rpg) loves middle runs and duck-ins.
Damon Stoudamire said his team couldn’t allow Syracuse to “live in the paint.” The Jackets will face a team with similar sensibilities on Saturday. Can they be aggressive fighting through screens, not give up angles on Miami’s dribble-drives, and stay well-gapped against a Hurricanes team that has made 20 or free throws in four straight games? And can they do a better job matching Miami’s physicality without fouling, which cost them at times against Syracuse?
They likely have their bases covered, but Georgia Tech’s coaches can always tap an unlikely source for some extra intel on Donaldson, who transferred to Miami following one season at Michigan. Donaldson and Georgia Tech’s Ahmari Harvey were defensive back teammates together at Florida State University Schools in Tallahassee, Fla., and both signed with Auburn – Harvey for football, Donaldson for basketball – coming out of high school.
Ahmari Harvey and Tre Donaldson were former teammates at Florida State University Schools. (photo credit: Tallahassee Democrat)
Congratulations on being the last man standing, Akai Fleming. The freshman guard is the only Yellow Jacket who has appeared in all 16 games this season, proving that a player’s greatest ability is sometimes availability. Fleming could also become the first Georgia Tech player to lead his team in free throw attempts and free throw percentage in a season since Josh Okogie did it in 2017-18. The Marietta native has made 19 consecutive free throws dating back to the Florida A&M game.
Kam Craft will finally get his crack at facing Miami.
Well, a Miami.
The former Miami (OH) guard delivered quality minutes off the bench to accelerate Georgia Tech’s comeback against Syracuse, finishing with 5 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. He also brings a sneaky three-point stroke to Coral Gables: Craft has made 9 of 17 threes away from home this year.
After consecutive games shooting below 40 percent, Tech will now look to boost its offense against a Miami team that ranks 35th in the country in defensive efficiency. The Hurricanes do a good job hassling teams with their length, and 6-4 Tru Washington (13.4 ppg) is a pesky point-of-attack defender who’s among the ACC leaders in steals. Tech will need to be sharp with its cuts and crisp with its shot fakes. Can they also finish better after a few too many layups and potential and-ones spilled out against Syracuse? Coming off a season-high 20 points, Baye Ndongo will spar in the post with Udeh Jr., who has recorded double-digit rebounds in three straight games.
Kam Craft has made 9 of 17 threes away from home this year. (photo by Danny Karnik)
One last footnote to Lamar Washington’s aborted football career. The head coach of Oregon when the Ducks offered him a scholarship?
Mario Cristobal, now the head coach of Miami.
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 Coral Gables.
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