Jan. 20, 2006
ATLANTA –
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Georgia Tech attempts to rebound from two straight losses when it hosts Clemson Saturday in a regionally televised Atlantic Coast Conference game at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Yellow Jackets are 8-1 at home this season.
The game is being televised over the ACC’s regional cable network, including FSN South, the Sunshine Network and Comcast SportsNet. The Georgia Tech/ISP Network provides the radio coverage, locally on WQXI-AM (790), and nationally on XM Satellite Radio Ch. 191.
Tech (9-6 overall, 2-2 ACC this season) dropped into a four-way tie for fifth place in the ACC standings following its 86-71 loss at Wake Forest Wednesday night. The Tigers (13-5, 2-3 ACC) have also lost two straight games, including a 62-38 defeat at Miami Wednesday night, and are in ninth place in the conference standings.
Tech’s only loss at home this season occurred on Nov. 25, a 72-51 decision to Illinois-Chicago. A win Saturday would be the 500th for Tech in the Thrillerdome. The Yellow Jackets have an all-time record of 499-167 (.749) in their home arena, 64-19 under head coach Paul Hewitt.
The last five games between Georgia Tech and Clemson have gone to Tech, and the Yellow Jackets have won eight of 10 over the Tigers under head coach Paul Hewitt.
After a five-game period in which the Jackets had played very good defense (58.8 ppg), they have given up 173 points in their losses at NC State and Wake Forest. Those two opponents collectively shot 52.8 percent from the floor, 52.4 percent from three-point range, and assisted on 39 of 56 field goals while turning the ball over just 22 times.
Tech has remained steady on offense, however, averaging 73.6 points over its last nine games, shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 40.3 percent from three-point range.
Tech has played at least one man short for the last nine games. Junior guard Mario West has missed the last six games with a sprained toe and is not expected back for at least another week, while Lewis Clinch missed five games with a stress fracture in his lower left leg.
Georgia Tech’s starting lineup includes 6-0 sophomore Zam Fredrick, 6-5 sophomore Anthony Morrow and 6-5 freshman D’Andre Bell on the perimeter, 6-6 sophomore Jeremis Smith at power forward and 6-9 senior Theodis Tarver at center. The Yellow Jackets are 3-2 using that starting lineup. Morrow, the ACC’s seventh-leading scorer, and Smith, the conference’s second-leading rebounder, have formed a potent inside-outside combination for the Yellow Jackets this season.
Morrow, from Charlotte, N.C., leads the Jackets and ranks seventh in the ACC in scoring at 17.6 points a game. He leads the ACC with a 44.9-percent success rate from three-point range and is third in the conference in three-point field goals (2.93 per game). One of three Tech players averaging in double figures, Morrow has averaged 18.0 points and shoots 48 percent from three-point range in ACC games.
Smith, from Fort Worth, Texas, has transformed himself into a force in the paint on both ends of the floor this season, posting six double-doubles. Fully recovered from a dislocated kneecap that sidelined him for 17 games last year, Smith averages 13.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while hitting 51 percent of his field goal tries.
Fredrick, from St. Matthews, S.C., ranks in the ACC in assist average with 4.2 per game while averaging 9.6 points. Bell, a 6-5 wingman from Los Angeles, Calif., has averaged 6.2 points per game in six games as a starter, including two double-digit efforts, and averages 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds for the season.
Tarver, from Monroe, La., has started eight of Tech’s last nine games, averaging 4.9 points and 3.1 rebounds while making 50 percent of his field goal tries in those games. He averages 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds for the season.
Off the bench, freshman Lewis Clinch, a 6-3 guard from Cordele, Ga., has played well since missing five games with a stress fracture in his left leg, averaging 14 points on 12-of-22 shooting in his last two games. Paco Diaw, a 6-6 freshman from Dakar, Senegal, has been solid in a backup role at point guard (1.2 ppg, 1.8 apg).
In the frontcourt, Dickey, from Clio, S.C., is Tech’s third player in double digits for the season (10.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 57.8 pct. FG), while freshman Alade Aminu, a 6-9 player with good athletic ability and shot-blocking skills, has averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds as Tech’s other post reserve.
COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH Paul Hewitt
[On the “middle” eight ACC games] — “It’s like moving day. You always hear about having to take care of home court. I think what happens in those middle eight games is that teams start to develop their personality. They solidify themselves on their home court and go out and steal one or two on the road. That’s all you have to do to make a difference.”
[On fatigue following a late return from Wake Forest] – “This time of year you’re not getting much conditioning done anyway. It’s mostly about mental preparation. We took a step back offensively in the first half, not moving and cutting. I can’t really explain it, because in our shootaround earlier in the day, we had a lot of life. They were really active, bouncing around and talking. When the game started, the energy level was lost.”
[On the comeback at Wake Forest behind freshmen Aminu, Bell and Clinch] – “That’s a high-energy group. We finally got some consistency offensively, and we could set up our press. It’s tough to press when you’re turning the ball over and taking out of the net all of the time. We made a couple of shots, and we used our pressure and got on a little bit of a run. I really appreciate the effort those guys played with. They never looked at the scoreboard. They just played and gave everything they had. Next thing you know, it’s an eight-point game with four minutes to go.”
[On Lewis Clinch’s development] – “We said in the preseason that we had guys who can shoot the ball, and he was one of the guys I had my eye on when we talked about that. D’Andre Bell can shoot the basketball. When Zam Fredrick takes quality shots, he’s a capable shooter. It’s nice to see Lewis finally get some of the rust off and play to his potential. The game is starting to slow down for him. He knows when he’s open for a three, and he did a nice job reading the defense and getting clean looks at the basket.”
[On Clemson] – “They’re a team that does it with turnovers. They generate offense with turnovers and offensive rebounds. Miami only had 12 turnovers, so when you can hold your turnovers down against them, and they don’t shoot the ball well, you give yourself a chance. They’ve got some good pieces. The loss of James Mays didn’t help them, but by now they’ve adjusted. They beat Wake Forest at home.”
