Inside The Chart: Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse

By Andy Demetra | Voice of the Yellow Jackets

Damon Stoudamire not only ran practice, he ran the aux cord.

The usual soundtrack of hip-hop songs blared from a portable speaker as Georgia Tech’s players stretched and hoisted up jumpers ahead of their Saturday morning shootaround at McCamish Pavilion.  But as Stoudamire ambled down the steps toward Cremins Court, the playlist suddenly switched to the funk-laced bass line and wah wah guitar of James Brown’s 1973 song “The Payback,” from his album of the same name.

“Revenge … I’m mad … Got to get back … I need some get back … Payback”

His players may not have paid attention to the lyrics, but the song choice was intentional.  Georgia Tech had already paid back Notre Dame for the three losses they dealt them last season, knocking off the Fighting Irish, 86-75, on Tuesday.  In a few hours they’d face Boston College, the team that rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat them last January.

Stoudamire hadn’t forgotten the sting of those losses.  He didn’t want his players to, either.

Hence the Godfather of Soul for some subliminal messaging.

Tech’s players heeded Brown’s words, shooting 58.5% en route to its largest ACC win in nearly four years.  After an anemic stretch before the holidays, the Yellow Jackets have now posted three straight games with season highs in field goal percentage.

Last three games:

• Alabama A&M: 1% FG
• Notre Dame: 6% FG
• Boston College: 5% FG

They’ll now see if that scoring punch can translate away from home.  Georgia Tech (8-7, 2-2 ACC) won’t have any payback to motivate them against Syracuse (6-8, 0-3 ACC), whom they beat last February at McCamish Pavilion.  But as they look to continue their rise offensively, perhaps the Jackets can draw inspiration from a B-side on that 1973 James Brown album.

“Shoot Your Shot.”

Enjoy the top notes from my chart as Tech tries to keep climbing in the always-challenging climate – meteorological and otherwise – of Syracuse, N.Y. (7 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network):

 

The two highest-scoring games of Javian McCollum’s career came in the state of New York against New York teams. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

Javian McCollum pulled a reverse snowbird to begin his career, spending his first two seasons at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., two hours outside of Syracuse.

The Fort Myers, Fla., native didn’t exactly have much nostalgia for the 12-degree temperatures that greeted Georgia Tech as it entered the JMA Wireless Dome on Monday.  But by his sophomore year, he said he had finally grown somewhat cold-tolerant.

“I wouldn’t say I got used to it, but it didn’t bother me as much,” McCollum told me after practice.

Figuratively speaking, maybe he should have more warm feelings for this area.  With 59 points, the senior is in the midst of his best three-game scoring stretch since the end of his sophomore year at Siena.  And for what it’s worth, the two highest scoring games of his career both took place in New York State against New York teams (30 vs. Manhattan, 27 at Niagara).

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Syracuse has stumbled to begin ACC play, dropping to 0-3 after a 90-74 loss to Florida State in Tallahassee.

The game, however, did mark the return of leading scorer J.J. Starling (18.3 ppg), who had missed the previous seven games due to a hand injury.  The 6-4 junior is a quick-draw jump shooter who, like the rest of Syracuse’s guards, has plenty of freedom to operate in the halfcourt.  They also feature 6-9 freshman Donnie Freeman (13.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg), an active rebounder and skilled turnaround shooter who’s the Orange’s highest ranked recruit since Carmelo Anthony.

Syracuse scores 58% of its points off two-point shots (#16 NCAA); the Orange like to spread the floor, isolate and create.  Tech will need to do a good job denying angles and defend well in “randoms,” Stoudamire’s term for when a set play breaks down.  The Jackets did a terrific job defensive rebounding against BC, holding the Eagles to a season-low five second chance points.  No different than Saturday, when a shot is airborne, “we’ve got to go find a body and hit,” Stoudamire said.

Another development worth watching:  6-8 junior Chris Bell had missed 13 straight three-point attempts before going 4-for-4 against Florida State.  Twice last year, he sank 8-of-10 threes in an ACC game.  How much did the Florida State game reignite his confidence?  And if he gets going, how much will Syracuse’s offensive psyche change as a result?

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Two defensive tidbits you may have overlooked in the Boston College game:

• Eagles leading scorer Donald Hand Jr. (14.9 ppg) had two field goals in the first three-and-a-half minutes. He only had one the rest of the way.
• Ibrahim Souare also blocked four shots against BC. He entered the game with only four all season.

Duncan Powell is 10-of-18 from three-pont range over his last six games. (photo by Danny Karnik)

 

Another ingredient in Tech’s recent efficiency binge?  Duncan Powell’s ability to hit the corner three:

Duncan Powell – 3-point shooting

• First 8 games: 2 of 17  (11.8%)
• Last 6 games: 10 of 18  (55.6%)

Part of that has to do with the absences of Kowacie Reeves and Luke O’Brien, who both occupied the “corner three” spot this season.  But Powell’s success has had some collateral benefits as well.

“It’s huge.  We can attack his gap.  They can’t help off of him.  If they help off of him, it’s a three,” McCollum explained.  “What [more] can you ask for?  Get downhill on his gap, and then you’ve got rotations all over the floor.”

Syracuse has turned into a more conventional man-to-man team under head coach Adrian Autry, though they’ll still throw in some spurts of Boeheim-inspired 2-3 zone.  They’re not as lustful a steals team as years past, but Naithan George, the ACC’s current assists leader, will need to be ready for the Orange’s tendency to double and hedge on the wings.

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Ordinarily he’d be persona non grata as an alum of Syracuse’s fiercest rival, but the reception will likely be respectful when Georgetown transfer Ryan Mutombo gets introduced during Georgia Tech’s starting lineup.  His father, the late Georgetown legend Dikembe Mutombo, waged many a battle with Syracuse, including one season overlapping with Adrian Autry.

Reflecting on the Naismith Hall of Famer and humanitarian last month, former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim told The Daily Orange, “He’s just the nicest human being you ever want to meet.  And it’s hard to say that about a Georgetown guy.”

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Now that we’re prepared, we hope you are as well.  Join us for pregame coverage starting with the “Ramblin’ Wreck Tipoff Show” at 6:30 p.m. ET.  See you in Syracuse.

-AD-

 

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Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its second year under head coach Damon Stoudamire. 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 X (@GTMBB) and Instagram. For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com. Tickets for men’s basketball can be reserved here.