By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
His coaches have repeated the line so often, he could probably change his name to “Nobody works harder than Cole” Kirouac.
“He works when nobody is looking. That’s a testament to him. He’s in our ‘Stay Ready’ group. He works his butt off. He does everything that we ask of him,” head coach Damon Stoudamire said of freshman Cole Kirouac following Georgia Tech’s 65-53 win over Boston College.
On a day where the Yellow Jackets didn’t have leading rebounder Mo Sylla, lost center Peyton Marshall to a second half injury, and had to muddle through an inelegant grind against the Eagles, it was the 7-footer from Cumming, Ga., who stepped up and delivered quality minutes off Stoudamire’s bench. Kirouac’s lone basket may have been the biggest, a thunderous slam that tied the game at 46 and tilted the energy at McCamish Pavilion. He also grabbed six rebounds and played sound, wall-up defense as BC’s guards tried to attack the rim with force.
His stat line may have looked modest (2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists). But even Kirouac’s teammates couldn’t overstate his significance.
“In reality, Cole was the answer. That’s how,” point guard Lamar Washington replied when asked how Tech overcame Sylla’s absence.
Winning in the ACC requires resourcefulness, and on Saturday it was Kirouac who made the quiet, influential plays that pushed Georgia Tech (10-5, 1-1 ACC) to its first conference win of the season. The Yellow Jackets may need his wingspan and defensive smarts again when they face another team with athletic, rangy forwards in the Syracuse Orange (9-5, 0-1 ACC). Enjoy the top notes from my chart as the Jackets gear up for another test in Atlanta (7:00 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network).
Chas Kelley III celebrates after Georgia Tech’s ACC home opening win over Boston College. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Boston College’s top two scorers, guards Donald Hand Jr. and Fred Payne, came in averaging 29 points per game.
Georgia Tech held them to a combined 3 of 26 from the field.
Overall, the Yellow Jackets limited the Eagles to 27.3% shooting, the lowest percentage they’ve allowed in an ACC game since Jan. 19, 2011 against Wake Forest (25.9%).
The Jackets will now try to tame a Syracuse team that epitomizes balance – the Orange have five players who average between 9.9 and 10.7 points per game. Syracuse lost its ACC opener to Clemson, but they did regain sophomore forward Donnie Freeman (17.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), who missed the previous nine games with injury. The Washington, D.C., native nearly willed his team to a comeback win over the Tigers, scoring all of his team-high 18 points in the final 12 minutes. At 6-9 and 205 pounds, Freeman can drive, post up, and possesses range to the three-point line. The Orange aren’t necessarily prolific from deep – they rank 17th in the ACC in three-point percentage (30.9%) – but with juking guard J.J. Starling (10.7 ppg) and former Yellow Jacket Nait George (10.4 ppg), the Orange play an isolate-and-create style that’s meant to leverage their athleticism in the half-court.
Among the keys for Tuesday? Tech will need to be sound in its shifts and play with controlled close-outs, and they’ll need to defend well in “randoms,” Stoudamire’s term for when a set play breaks down. “Randoms” can also lead to out-of-system rebounds, and the Jackets may need to sharpen up after getting outscored 28-4 in second chance points over the last two games.
Cole Kirouac has provided Georgia Tech a spark off the bench. (photo by Danny Karnik)
In a league that features likely lottery picks Cameron Boozer, Caleb Wilson and Mikel Brown Jr., the ACC freshman with the greatest name recognition may reside in Syracuse.
That would be 6-5 guard Kiyan Anthony, son of Basketball Hall of Famer (and technically, former Atlanta Hawk) Carmelo Anthony, who averages 10.6 points off the Orange’s bench. It may be ambitious to duplicate his Dad’s stat line on Tuesday, but Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 92-65 rout of Georgia Tech on December 21, 2002 at the Carrier Dome. That game also featured a double-double from forward Hakim Warrick, who later became teammates with Damon Stoudamire during his final three NBA seasons in Memphis.
Georgia Tech will continue a defensive gauntlet to begin ACC play:
NCAA Ranks – eFG% defense (KenPom)
12. Boston College 44.9%
18. Georgia Tech 44.9%
19. Duke 45.0%
20. Syracuse 45.1%
It’s a far cry from last year when Syracuse ranked 15th in the ACC in defensive efficiency. The Orange have athletic guards who play with active hands and bouncy, forbidding bigs who play well in gaps, resulting in a team that ranks second nationally in blocked shots (7.1). Pay attention to 6-9 William Kyle III, an agile, pogo stick forward who leads the ACC in blocks per game.
In the last two games, Georgia Tech has gone a combined -9 in turnover margin… but +6 in points off turnovers. It’s a testament to Tech’s improved transition defense, but they’ll need to avoid live ball turnovers that can lead to Syracuse fast breaks. Can the Jackets also not get jammed up by Syracuse’s hedges, avoid “playing in crowds” according to Stoudamire, and make decisive reads and reversals to create angles in the half-court?
Jaeden Mustaf producing solid numbers in his sophomore season. (photo by Danny Karnik)
Don’t worry, even the broadcaster did a double take.
According to the NCAA’s NET rankings, Syracuse is the last of 361 Division I teams that has still not played a true road game. The Orange faced Drexel in Philadelphia on November 15, but the game was played at XFinity Mobile Arena, home of the 76ers, and thus counts as a neutral site.
That streak will end at McCamish, where Georgia Tech has raced to its best home start since 2009-10. Can the McCamish crowd deliver another high-decibel performance against a Syracuse team that will be playing in an opponent’s gym for the first time this year?
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 6:30 p.m. ET on the Georgia Tech Sports Network. See you at McCamish.
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