Kyle Sturdivant’s four top scoring games this season have come on the road in the ACC. (photo by Rich Barnes)
Attention Quinten Post. You owe Josh Pastner a day-and-a-half of vacation time.
As he shared on his radio show Monday, the Georgia Tech coaching staff recruited Post out of high school in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Pastner even flew home early from a family vacation to Florida so he could see Post and his family on his official visit.
“It just shows that in recruiting, you get told no more than you get told yes,” Pastner grinned.
“I want to remind Quinten Post of that on Saturday,” he added. “You owe me by not getting any points or rebounds against us.”
That may be wishful thinking. After starting his career as a sparingly-used teammate of Deivon Smith at Mississippi State, Post (16.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg) has turned into an All-ACC caliber center in Chestnut Hill. At 7-0 and 250 pounds, he’s near-unmovable on the block, but he’s also a dangerous pick-and-pop threat from outside (44.0% 3pt.). The Eagles like to reverse the ball through their “5” man on offense, meaning Post gets plenty of touches on the perimeter.
In the backcourt, super-senior Makai Ashton-Langford (12.2 ppg) only shot 5-of-20 against Tech last year but reads screens well and has a quick first step. Six-foot-3 Jaeden Zackery (10.3 ppg) had a career-high 19 points at McCamish and gives the Eagles a broad-shouldered driver á la Syracuse’s Joe Girard. Boston College shoots threes as scarcely as any team in the ACC, but don’t mistake that for lack of confidence – the Eagles have shot a similar percentage as Georgia Tech lately.
3pt.% – Last 7 games
- Georgia Tech: 40.6% (74 of 182)
- Boston College: 39.6% (57 of 144)
Among the keys for Tech Saturday: Make second-effort recovery plays and limit outside drives from Ashton-Langford and Zackery. Can they also avoid running into foul trouble against Post’s physicality, both when he gets deep (on post-ups) or downhill (on pick-and-rolls)?
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On Wednesday the Yellow Jackets faced 6-11 Syracuse center Jesse Edwards, a native of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
On Saturday they’ll meet 7-0 Quinten Post, another Amsterdam native.
Facing a Dutch center in back-to-back games may seem odd… until you realize the Netherlands is the tallest country in the world.
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The odds of getting struck by lightning: Less than 1 in a million.
The odds of getting bitten by a shark: 1 in 3.5 million.
What Georgia Tech has done in Chestnut Hill lately may be even more improbable. In its last three trips to Conte Forum, Tech has shot the exact same field goal percentage – down to the tenth of a percentage point.
| Year |
FGM-FGA |
FG% |
| 2021-22 |
29-57 |
50.90% |
| 2019-20 |
27-53 |
50.90% |
| 2017-18 |
29-57 |
50.90% |
Duplicating that may be difficult against an Eagles team that ACC Network analyst Dan Bonner called “as tough and as physical a defense that any in this league.” With Ashton-Langford and Zackery scavenging aggressively for steals, Boston College ranks second in the ACC in turnover rate in conference play (17.9%). Head coach Earl Grant plays a style similar to his former boss Brad Brownell at Clemson, with players digging and swarming from the ball-side corners. Tech will once again have to play with strong pick-ups on the dribble.
Boston College has used that defense to rack up three wins over ranked opponents, its most in a season since 2008-09. In spite of that, though, the Eagles are allowing 36.9-percent three-point shooting in ACC play, second worst in the league behind Florida State. Could Georgia Tech’s recent three-point flurry cut into their aggressiveness sending defenders from the corners? That push-and-pull could be something to watch Saturday.
Another sneaky note: Kyle Sturdivant’s four highest scoring games this season have come in ACC road games.
- at Syracuse – 20 points*
- at Notre Dame – 18
- at Louisville – 17
- at Pittsburgh – 16
*Career high
