By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets
Josh Pastner arrived at Georgia Tech a man-to-man absolutist. In seven years as an assistant at Memphis and Arizona, and seven years as Memphis’ head coach, his teams played strictly, staunchly man-to-man.
Fast forward another seven years, and Pastner’s Georgia Tech teams are now known for their disorienting mix of zone defenses, full of differing fronts and unorthodox slides and rotations. He and his staff installed the system before their first season in 2016-17, believing it could make up a talent gap. The Yellow Jackets finished the year ranked sixth in the nation in defensive efficiency, and Pastner hasn’t looked back.
The pendulum hasn’t swung entirely in the other direction; Tech still plays plenty of man-to-man depending on the matchup. But coaches now reach out to Pastner, by text and e-mail, at tournaments and camps, asking him to teach his system. They’ve tried in vain to figure out its Byzantine rules on their own, to no avail.
Good luck with that. Pardon the pun, but Pastner has kept it a closely guarded secret.
“This summer, I had four people come up to me and tell me you’re like the new John Chaney of zones,” he said on his radio show last month, referring to the legendary former Temple coach’s 2-3 matchup zone.
In spite of its 8-10 start, Pastner still feels buoyant about his team’s defense. Offense, as he’s said often, remains the issue. “We’ve got to keep grinding at it,” Pastner said at his press conference Friday. And now, Tech will search for scoring against the team most famous, most synonymous, most notorious for its zone defense, the Syracuse Orange (12-7, 5-3 ACC), who come to McCamish Pavilion on Saturday.
Enjoy the top reads from my chart as the Jackets try to wrap up a three-game homestand with a win (12 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports):
Rodney Howard enjoyed a career day last season against the Orange with 19 points and 10 rebounds. (photo by Danny Karnik)
The most striking change in Syracuse’s offense? The Orange rank second in the ACC in three-point percentage in conference play (38.3 pct.), but they’re far less reliant on the three than years past:
| Year | 3PA/FGA | NCAA Rank |
| 2022-23 | 29.10% | #339 |
| 2021-22 | 39.20% | #136 |
| 2020-21 | 40.30% | #95 |
| 2019-20 | 42.30% | #68 |
| 2018-19 | 43.20% | #68 |
The Orange still feature guard Joe Girard III (team-high 16.9 ppg), who ranks fifth in school history in career three-pointers and has moved to shooting guard this year. The 6-1 senior flies around curls, misdirections and pindowns and has a lightning-quick release. He’ll also be looking to regain his accuracy after shooting just 2 of 13 from three-point range over the last two games. Six-foot-7 freshman Chris Bell and 6-6 freshman Justin Taylor have also emerged as three-point threats. But freshman guard Judah Mintz, the Orange’s second leading scorer (14.9 ppg), profiles more as a driver with pace. Six-foot-11 center Jesse Edwards (13.9 ppg, 11.0 rpg), who had a career-high 25 points against Miami Monday, gives the Orange the soft-handed lob threat they’ve lacked in recent seasons. Even Girard will post up defenders deep on the perimeter, looking to back down and hit pull-ups.
According to ShotQuality, Syracuse ranks sixth in the nation in the percentage of its shots that come off midrange jumpers. The Jackets will need to keep their “stick hand” high, have disciplined close-outs, and not get broken down on straight-line drives like they did at times versus Pitt and N.C. State. Look for Mintz to come out with focus after scoring a season-low three points (with five turnovers) against Miami. Can Tech also win the “first chance” defensive rebounds, which could trigger its transition offense?
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They didn’t get the win, but Georgia Tech did neutralize two areas of strength from N.C. State.
The Wolfpack came in ranked ninth nationally in turnover rate. Their 21.2-percent rate against the Jackets was their second highest of the season.
N.C. State also led the ACC in defensive rebounding percentage. Georgia Tech outscored the Wolfpack 17-4 in second-chance points and finished with an offensive rebound percentage of 36.7, the second highest percentage N.C. State has allowed all year.
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Syracuse reserve center Mounir Hima hails from the west African county of Niger. His home country’s national basketball team is nicknamed the Giraffes.
Moses Wright averaged 32 points and 13 rebounds in his final two games against Syracuse. (photo by Danny Karnik)
On the surface, it seems Tech picked a bad time to make just two of 21 three-pointers against N.C. State. Conventional wisdom, if not outright cliché, says teams need to shoot well from three to beat a zone.
Yet when they’ve struggled from long range this year, the Jackets have shown an encouraging ability to bounce back in the next game. A few recent examples:
| Game | 3pt.% | Next Game | 3pt% |
| Clemson | 5-of-23 | Virginia | 7-of-16 |
| Notre Dame | 8-of-27 | Pittsburgh | 12-of-29 |
| Georgia | 5-of-19 | North Carolina | 9-of-26 |
Three-point shooting won’t be the only thing Tech needs to do well against the Orange. Can Rodney Howard, who had a career-high 19 points against Syracuse last year, be assertive in the alley? Can Jalon Moore catch-and-rip from the high post and finish through contact, especially with the ACC’s leading shot blocker in Edwards lurking underneath? If Tech runs a guard through the elbow, can someone like Kyle Sturdivant, who has sneaky-good touch from the midrange, unfurl soft jumpers? Tech will need to get consistent paint touches and not stare down passes against Syracuse’s zone – the Orange scramble and recover well, and they like to use their length to jump point-to-wing passes.
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Some potentially good karma strolled into McCamish Pavilion Friday.
Former ACC Player of the Year Moses Wright, on a 10-day break from his season with league-leading Zhejiang in the Chinese Basketball Association, paid a visit to Georgia Tech’s afternoon practice and will attend the game Saturday. Wright averaged 32.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in his final two games against Syracuse.
| Wright vs. Syracuse | Pts | Reb | FG | Other |
| 2/20/2021 (at Tech) | 31 | 16 | 14-25 | 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl |
| 2/22/2020 (at Syracuse) | 33 | 10 | 14-17 | 2 ast |
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Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well. Join us for pregame coverage starting at 11:30 a.m. on the Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports. See you at McCamish.
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ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team has completed six seasons under head coach Josh Pastner, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2021 and making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 years. 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 Twitter (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
