Feb. 26, 2002
ATLANTA – Having won six of its last eight games, resurgent Georgia Tech returns home for an important Atlantic Coast Conference game Wednesday night against 24th-ranked Wake Forest, the final regular-season home game for three Tech seniors, including point guard Tony Akins.
The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2, with local radio coverage on WQXI-AM (790), WMAX-FM (98.1), WSNY-FM (100.1) and WLKQ-FM (102.3).
Tech (13-15, 5-9 ACC) won its third straight game Saturday with a thrilling 82-80, last-second triumph at No. 22 Virginia. In the process, the Yellow Jackets took over sixth place alone in the ACC standings and moved within a game of the fifth-place Cavaliers. The Jackets finish their regular season Saturday at Florida State. Wake Forest (18-10, 8-6), meanwhile, dropped a heart-breaking 90-89 decision at No. 2 Maryland Sunday to fall into fourth place in the conference.
“We couldn’t ask for better momentum going into this last home game, especially with it being Senior Night,” said head coach Paul Hewitt. “The crowd will be here to support Tony Akins and Winston Neal, and hopefully Michael Isenhour will feel up to coming out. “We’re playing against a tough Wake Forest team coming off a very difficult loss. They played extremely well against Maryland, and we’re going to have to play very well. They’re a very talented team, and Skip Prosser deserves a lot of credit for getting that team to change its style and personality.”
Playing his final home game is ACC Co-Player of the Week Akins (Sr., Lilburn, Ga.), who ranks eighth in the ACC in scoring (16.4), fifth in assists (5.5), second in three-point percentage (.410) and first in three-point field goals per game (3.07). Off-guard Marvin Lewis (So., Germantown, Md.) is Tech’s only other player averaging in double figures for the season with 11.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He actually leads Tech in three-point percentage (42.3) and would rank third in the ACC in free throw accuracy (88.6), but he does not have enough attempts to qualify for league rankings.
Tech’s starting lineup for the last 10 games has included 6-5 sophomore forward Clarence Moore (Norco, La.), along with a pair of ACC all-freshman hopefuls in 6-3 guard B.J. Elder (Madison, Ga.), this week’s ACC Rookie of the Week, and 6-7 center Ed Nelson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).
Moore averages 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, shooting 47.1 percent from three-point range and 45.8 percent overall vs. the ACC. Nelson has played very well of late, averaging 8.3 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds. He tops ACC freshmen in scoring (10.3), rebounding (6.8) and field goal percentage (52.4) in ACC games. Elder averages 9.0 points and has been one of Tech’s better free throw shooters at 73.5 percent.
Tech goes five deep on the bench, which provides about 30 percent of the Jackets’ scoring: 6-5 sophomore wingman Halston Lane (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), 6.6 points per game, 6-8 sophomore center Robert Brooks (Saginaw, Mich.), 3.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, 6-5 forward Isma’il Muhammad (Fr., Atlanta, Ga.), who averages 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds, and 6-5 guard Anthony McHenry (Fr., Birmingham, Ala.), 1.8 ppg. Seven-foot freshman center Luke Schenscher (Hope Forest, South Australia), who missed 12 games during December and January with a broken foot, averages 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds and is shooting 51.9 percent from the floor.
“Having won six of the last eight, with our only two losses to Duke and Maryland, I felt we were capable of putting a string like this together,” Hewitt added. “That said, that’s not going to help us Wednesday night because Wake Forest is a very strong team, and will probably be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.”
Tech Series vs. Wake Forest
oWake Forest defeated Georgia Tech, 87-74, in the team’s first meeting this year on Jan. 26 in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons now lead the overall series with the Yellow Jackets, 26-24.
oIf Tech can pull off a win Wednesday, it would be the ninth time in 12 years that the teams split their regular season series, including last year.
oTech upset the Deacons, ranked sixth at the time, at home last year, 95-89. In the home victory, Halston Lane scored 17 of his 21 points after intermission, while four other Jackets hit double figures. The Jackets have won three of the last four meetings at home with Wake Forest and have won 16 of 23 games all-time against the Deacons at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
oThe home team has won 14 of the last 17 games in the series, the exceptions being a 77-76 thriller on Feb. 11, 1998, a 60-46 Wake victory at Tech on Feb. 27, 2000, and a 73-63 Wake win at Tech on Jan. 8, 1997.
oTech is 21-16 against Wake Forest since 1985, including 12 straight victories from 1985-91.
oThe closest game in the series’ last seven games was Tech’s six-point overtime win here last year.
At Stake Wednesday
oTech is attempting to win its fourth straight game, which would be a first under Paul Hewitt since games 2-through-5 last year. The Jackets have won three in a row three times this season.
oShould the Yellow Jackets defeat Wake Forest and Virginia lose to Duke Thursday, Tech can tie Virginias for fifth place in the ACC standings.
oWith a win, Tech would avoid only its fourth losing record in the history of Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets are 7-7 at home this year.
oTech will play its 10th ranked opponent of the season looking for its third win against such opposition. Both of Tech’s wins over ranked teams this season (Syracuse on Dec. 16, Virginia last Saturday) occurred away from Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Last Time Out
Georgia Tech won its sixth game in the last eight and fifth ACC contest in the last seven, defeating No. 22 Virginia, 82-80, at University Hall on a last-second three-point basket from Marvin Lewis.
Tech raced to first-half leads of 15-2 and 30-16 before Virginia made a comeback to take a 45-41 lead into the final seconds of the first half. The Cavaliers fouled Tony Akins on a three-point shot, however, at the end of the first half, and Akins made all three free throws to cut the margin to 45-44 at intermission.
Six points was the largest lead for either team in the second half, that by Virginia by a score of 80-74 on Adam Hall’s steal and jumper at the 1:28 mark. The Cavaliers never scored again, missing four free throws while Tech rallied behind B.J. Elder’s three, a pair of free throws by Akins and Lewis’ game-winner.
Akins, who scored 17 points in the first half on four treys, was held without a field goal after intermission but went 6-for-6 at the line to finish with 23 points. Elder scored 18 points with four threes, and Lewis had 15 points, all on threes.
Tech shot a season-high 55.3 percent from the floor, including 60 percent from beyond the arc (15-for-25). That overcame 24 turnovers, a 21-2 deficit on second-chance points and the fact that the Cavaliers took 19 more shots than did Tech.
Senior Night at Tech
Three senior players will make their farewell appearances at Alexander Memorial Coliseum Wednesday night – point guard Tony Akins of Lilburn, Ga., guard Winston Neal of Greenville, Ga., and center Michael Isenhour of Lawrenceville, Ga.
Akins, the first four-year starter at point guard for the Yellow Jackets since Travis Best (1992-95), is finishing out a brilliant career in which he ranks 12th all-time at Tech in scoring, fourth in assists seventh in steals and in the top 10 in three-point percentage.
“You’ve got to go back to last year with Tony and how he changed his style of play and personality on the court to help us get to the NCAA Tournament,” said Hewitt. “He averaged over 18 points a game over the last 10 games of the season. This year, to be put in the situation with all the new guys, and then his roommate and best friend, Michael Isenhour, being stricken with leukemia, and then to have the kind of season he has had, he deserves a lot of credit. He’s going to play a great basketball game whether he scores points or not.”
Isenhour, who played in 27 games last year and was expected to be a major contributor this year, has not played a game while being treated for leukemia. Neal has played in 23 games in his career and has been a major contributor in practice and in the locker room.
“Winston Neal has really helped this team doing the right things off the court, particularly befriending Luke Schenscher coming all the way from Australia and getting acclimated,” Hewitt said. “Michael played an awful lot for us last year, and we expected him to help us a lot in the front court this year before he got the bad news about his leukemia. Michael is still very close to us.”
Three managers also are working their final games Wednesday: Pat Harpring of Dunwoody, Ga., Zac Walsh of Atlanta, and Phil Williams of Marietta.
Akins Takin’ the Lead
Tony Akins, who made his 114th career start vs. NC State, has turned hot again, averaging 21 points in his last three games while hitting 10 of 18 three-point field goals, shooting 53.3 percent overall from the floor and 87.5 percent (21-of-24) from the free throw line.
The 5-11 senior, playing his last home game Wednesday night, has been Tech’s most consistent offensive player all season, scoring in double digits in 25 of 28 games and scoring 20 or more 10 times. He leads the Jackets in scoring at 16.4 points per game (8th in the ACC) while averaging 5.5 assists (5th in the ACC). He still ranks first in the the ACC in three-point field goals per game (3.07) and second in three-point percentage (41.0).
He is shooting 82.4 percent from the free throw line, which ranks fourth in the ACC. Akins is 40-for-46 (87.0 percent) from the line in his last seven games, including 9-for-9 Saturday at Virginia and 10-for-10 against North Carolina on Feb. 2.
Akins is the only ACC player to rank in the top 10 in scoring and top 5 in assists. In 14 ACC games, Akins has averaged 16.9 points and 5.6 assists per game.
The Lilburn, Ga., native is averaging career-bests in most offensive categories, including scoring, assists and shooting. His 5.5 assists per game are a full assist better than his career-best rate of 4.5 as a freshman. He has had three double-digit assist games this year after never posting one his first three seasons.
On the Rebound
When Tony Akins doesn’t score a three, he usually responds in a big way.
oAfter missing out against Duke and going 1-for-7 at Maryland, Akins is 10-of-18 in his last three games (16-of-30 overall).
oAfter not hitting one against Virginia on Jan. 22, he responded with 71 points, 23 assists and 14 treys in the next four games.
oAfter missing out from behind the arc against IUPUI, Akins went on a five-game tear in which he averaged 19.4 points and hit 20 of 35 three-point attempts (57.1 percent).
oLast year after going scoreless against Clemson last season, Akins averaged 18.1 points and hit 46.6 percent of his threes the rest of the season.
oAs a sophomore, Akins went 0-2 with nine points against Virginia. In the final eight games of that season, he hit 45.7 percent of his threes and 13.5 points, including a 33-point performance against Florida State in which he sank 9 of 14 three-point attempts.
Akins’ Career Numbers
oTony Akins has moved into a tie for fourth place on the all-time Tech list for assists with 538. He is tied with Brian Oliver (1987-90). Third place is held by Craig “Noodles” Neal (1984-88) with 659.
oAkins also ranks seventh in career steals with 163, and needs 6 to pass Kenny Anderson (168, 1990-91) for sixth place.
oHe has 1,589 career points, jumping to 12th place in Tech history after beginning the year in 28th. With his 23 points Saturday at Virginia, he moved past all-Americas John Salley (1,587 from 1983-86) and Bruce Dalrymple (1,588 from 1984-87). Roger Kaiser, a consensus all-America in 1961, is in 11th place with 1,628 points.
oWith his 114th start against NC State, Akins holds 10th place in career starts at Tech. Unless Tech advances in the ACC Tournament, he will remain 10th, because Alvin Jones is in ninth place with 118 starts.
oAkins ranks 12th at Tech in career minutes played (3,857). Alvin Jones played 3,880 minutes for 11th place.
oAkins 4.4-assist average ranks 7th in Tech history.
The Full Nelson
ACC Rookie of the Year candidate Ed Nelson has steadily grown more comfortable as the season has progressed, giving the Yellow Jackets some inside scoring presence and solid defense, almost always against taller players.
Beginning with Tech’s first meeting with Duke on Jan. 10, the 6-7 rookie has averaged 10.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in Tech’s last 13 games. Though he has posted just two double-digit rebound games since Nov. 19 (11 vs. North Carolina, 10 vs. NC State), he has been consistent on the glass.
Nelson scored 17 points last to lead Tech against Duke, and had 18 (6-9 FG, 6-10 FT) in the first meeting between Tech and Maryland. Against NC State a week ago, he posted his second double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) of the year.
He has made 53 of 104 field goal tries (51.0 percent) and scored in double figures seven times in the last 13 games. In his first 15 games, he had just three double-digit scoring games. He has also gotten to the free throw line for 52 attempts, making 33 for 63.5 percent, a vast improvement over his first 15 games (46.5 percent).
Tech Rookies Getting Noticed
With B.J. Elder’s selection as ACC Rookie of the Week this week, three of Tech’s five freshmen have earned the honor this season. He joins Ed Nelson (Feb. 11) and Luke Schenscher (Feb. 4) on the list of ACC Rookies named this season.
Nelson and Elder, in particular, have distinguished themselves enough to contend for ACC all-Freshman honors, and Nelson is in line for Rookie of the Year honors.
The 6-7 Nelson, who has started 25 of Tech’s 28 games, tops ACC freshmen in rebound average (6.8) in all games and ranks 10th overall, and also ranks fifth among the ACC’s rookies in scoring average (8.2). In ACC games only, Nelson tops the league’s freshmen in scoring (10.3), rebounding (6.8) and field goal percentage (52.4).
Elder, who has started Tech’s last 10 games, is the ACC’s third-leading scorer among freshman and is tied for third in steals. In ACC games, the 6-3 freshman averages 9.9 points and is shooting 38 percent from three-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.
What Goes Around …
There is no better measure of the improvement Georgia Tech has undergone since December than in five return engagements against Saint Louis, North Carolina, Clemson, NC State and Virginia.
Those teams all defeated the Yellow Jackets the first time the teams met, but Tech turned the tables and squared the season series against each by an average of 12.8 points. In each case, Tech used a different starting lineup in the second meeting than it did in the first, and 7-foot freshman Luke Schenscher did not play in either of the first meetings (except Virginia, his first game back) but had returned from his injury in the second meeting. Here is a statistical comparison:
Result FG% Opp. FG% 3FG% Opp 3FG% FT Opp FT Reb.UNC L, 77-83 .456 .509 .409 .500 6-9 18-33 +5 W, 86-74 .444 .375 .462 .452 18-25 18-22 +2
Clemson L, 76-83 .385 .508 .276 .318 18-22 16-30 -8 W, 74-50 .519 .340 .473 .190 7-9 12-24 +2
SLU L, 54-67 .339 .500 .294 .182 11-16 13-18 +10 W, 60-40 .389 .311 .467 .176 11-17 9-15 +11
NC State L, 71-84 .467 .456 .458 .360 12-19 23-30 -4 W, 65-59 .407 .364 .278 .409 16-20 10-11 +5 Virginia L, 65-69 .382 .474 .263 .182 8-11 13-16 -12 W, 82-80 .553 .439 .600 .273 15-17 16-22 -4
Tech in the Thrillerdome
Georgia Tech is playing its 46th season at Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald’s, and the Jackets have a record of 453-158 (.741) in the building, which opened Nov. 30, 1956 with a 71-61 Tech loss to Duke. Since the beginning of the 1981-82 season, Tech is 215-57 (.791) in its on-campus home.
Tech played its 600th men’s game in the facility on Nov. 28, defeating Wisconsin 62-61 after trailing by 20 in the second half. Tech’s win over Cornell Jan. 2 was the 450th for the Yellow Jackets at Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald’s Center since the facility opened for the 1956-57 season.
The Yellow Jackets improved to 7-7 at home after defeating NC State on Feb. 20. With a win in its final home game of the season against Wake Forest, Tech will avoid being only the fourth team to post a losing mark in the Coliseum since it opened – 1972-73 (6-7), 1973-74 (4-10) and 1980-81 (4-11).
Georgia Tech is 120-8 against non-conference opposition at Alexander Memorial Coliseum since the beginning of the 1981-82 season, an impressive mark indeed. But three of those eight losses have occurred this season to Penn, Tulane and IUPUI. From 1981 through last season, the only non-ACC teams to win at the Thrillerdome were Georgia (Dec. 6, 2000), Penn State (March 18, 1998), the College of Charleston (Jan. 16, 1993), Louisville (Jan. 15, 1989), and Richmond (Dec. 22, 1987).
Tech Trends and Anomalies
oTech has won six of its last eight games, with five of the wins coming against teams that had defeated the Jackets earlier in the season – North Carolina, Clemson, Saint Louis, NC State and Virginia (see statistical comparison elsewhere in this notes package). Tech’s only losses during this stretch were to No. 1 Duke and No. 3 Maryland.
oIn the six wins, Tech has allowed an average of 58.2 points and 36.8 (120-326) percent shooting from the floor. Tech has permitted just 54 field goal attempts per game over those six wins.
oSince Jan. 10, Tech’s losses have come to teams ranked, in order: #1, #4, unranked, #21, #1, #3. The unranked team was NC State, who rose to No. 24 in the AP poll the week prior Tech’s win against the Wolfpack.
oTech’s last eight opponents have shot a combined 31.0 percent from three-point range (54-of-174). Duke and North Carolina combined to make 27 of 55 attempts (49.1) percent, the other five shot 22.7 percent.
oTech has averaged just 67.0 points over its last five games. Tech’s 82 points against Virginia was its most since scoring 86 against North Carolina on Feb. 2.
oTech has won three times this season when shooting less than 40 percent from the floor – Eastern Illinois, Davidson and the second meeting with Saint Louis.
oTech has held 10 opponents under 40 percent shooting this season, winning all of those games. Only four of those are ACC opponents.
oTech’s freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 78 percent of the Yellow Jackets’ points scored and 90 percent of the team’s rebounds.
oTech is 12-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than its opponent. The only loss: the first meeting with NC State. Tech is 1-14 when the opponent shoots a higher percentage.
oTech’s 55.3-percent shooting from the floor Saturday at Virginia was its highest mark since canning 57.6 percent of its field goals at Clemson on Jan. 24 of last year. The 60-percent effort from three-point range was the best for the Jackets under Paul Hewitt.
oIn fact, Tech has reached 50 percent overall in a game only twice in its last 34 contests. By contrast, Tech has shot 50 percent from three-point range four times this season.
oTech has attempted more field goals than 9 of 14 ACC opponents thus far. Overall, Tech has tried as many or more field goals than 22 of its 28 opponents this season. oConversely, Tech has attempted more free throws than its opponent in only 10 games, and has won eight of those.
oTech has yielded 50 percent shooting nine times this season, compared to just three times last year. Tech is 1-11 under Paul Hewitt when allowing an opponent to shoot 50 percent.
oTech is averaging 8.79 steals per game (second in the ACC), compared with 7.9 per game a year ago. At its present pace, which is the best average in its history, Tech will finish with 272 steals for the season, which would be the second best total in its history. Tech averages 9.1 steals in ACC games.
oIn all 13 of Tech’s victories this season, the Yellow Jackets have outscored their opponent in the second half. Tech is 13-2 when doing so, losing only to Duke and Maryland.
oTech has outscored the average yield of each of its ACC opponents in 10 of 14 games.
Lineup Shift Pays Off
Tech has settled on Tony Akins, Marvin Lewis, Clarence Moore, Ed Nelson and B.J. Elder for its starting lineup in each of the last 10 games, going 6-4. Tech has outscored those teams on average, 71.1-68.5.
Not coincidentally, 7-foot freshman Luke Schenscher returned from injury at the same time and has made a difference defensively in those games, especially on the defensive end. With the present lineup, opponents have shot 41.9 percent (236-562) overall, 31.0 percent (63-203) from three-point range.
Facing a roster with five new scholarship players, head coach Paul Hewitt has used six different starting lineups this season, tinkering to find that right combination or match up better against its opponent. Akins and Lewis are the only players to have started every game this season.
Nine different players have started games this season, and seven have started an ACC game. Despite who starts the game, however, Hewitt is still using a 10-man rotation with each member averaging 9.5 minutes a game or more.
Like an Elder
He is only a freshman, but he’s beginning to play more like an Elder, B.J. Elder, that is. The 6-3 rookie from Madison, Ga., has been in the starting lineup for the last 10 games, averaging 9.7 points. He has made 16-of-37 three-point attempts in those games, including 4-of-8 in Saturday’s win at Virginia.
Head coach Paul Hewitt first inserted Elder into the starting lineup for Tech’s Jan. 10 game at Duke, and Elder responded with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with two assists before fouling out. He has scored in double figures 10 times in Georgia Tech’s last 18 games, including 31 points in 34 minutes of play in Tech wins over North Carolina and Clemson.
Elder played just 16 minutes at Clemson before fouling out, but led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor (3-of-5 from three-point range) with three assists. Elder has scored more points per minute than any other Tech player (0.47) except Tony Akins.
Marv on the Mark
Marvin Lewis has established himself as one of the top three-point shooters in the ACC, hitting 42.3 percent of his attempts this season, which would rank second in the ACC except he falls shy of the ACC minimum.
The 6-4 sophomore burned the nets with 5-of-6 three-point shooting Saturday at Virginia, including the game-winner with 1 second remaining, breaking out from a slump in which he had hit just 3-of-17 in five games.
He also is one of the ACC’s top marksmen from the foul line, hitting 88.6 percent from the stripe. He would rank third in the ACC in free throw percentage, but also falls short of the league minimum. He hit 8-of-9 in Tech’s first meeting with Clemson and has had three games where he was 6-for-6 (Illinois, Davidson, Wofford).
Though he has not been to the line much in his last 10 games, he is a perfect 11-for-11 in those games.
In his two-year career, Lewis has missed just 15 free throws, going 108-for-123 (87.8 percent).
Akins For Three
Tony Akins has made his mark as one of the top three-point shooters in Georgia Tech history. Only Dennis Scott (351-for-831) ranks ahead of Akins on Tech’s career lists for three-point field goals made and attempted.
Akins, who is 289-for-779 in his career (37.1 percent), has risen to 6th place on the all-time ACC list for three-point field goals made.
The 5-11 senior has already shot 210 three-point attempts this season, an average of 7.5 per game which is well above his career average of 6.2 attempts per game. But with an increase in frequency has come an improvement in accuracy. He has made 41.0 percent of his attempts this season, compared with 35.7 percent for his first three years combined.
Georgia Tech (13-15, 5-9) vs. #24/22 Wake Forest (18-10, 8-6)February 27, 2002 o 7:30 p.m. ETAlexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald's Center o Atlanta, Ga.
TV: ESPN2, Brad Nessler, pbp, Brad Daugherty, color Radio: WQXI-AM (790), WMAX-FM (98.1), WSNY-FM (100.1), WLKQ-FM (102.3), Wes Durham, pbp, Randy Waters, color, also on Ramblinwreck.com Tech Record: 13-15, 5-9 ACC (H: 7-7, A: 3-6, N: 3-2) Series vs. Wake Forest: WF leads, 26-24 Vs. Wake Forest at AMC: Tech leads, 16-7 Vs. WF since joining ACC: WF leads, 24-23 Last meeting: Jan. 26, Wake Forest d. Tech, 87-74, in Winston-Salem Head Coach Paul Hewitt: 96-55 (.636), 5th season overall, 30-28 (.517), 2nd season at Tech Last game: Feb. 23, Tech d. No. 22 Virginia, 82-80, in Charlottesville Next game: Mar. 2, at Florida State [RSN], 12 noon, in Tallahassee
Probable Starters F 1 B.J. Elder 6-3 Fr. 9.4 ppg 2.0 rpg F 5 Clarence Moore 6-5 So.-R 9.1 ppg 5.4 rpg C 32 Ed Nelson 6-7 Fr. 8.3 ppg 6.8 rpg G 3 Tony Akins 5-11 Sr. 16.4 ppg 5.5 apg G 24 Marvin Lewis 6-4 So. 11.6 ppg 4.1 rpg
Top Reserves C 34 Robert Brooks 6-8 So. 3.6 ppg 4.5 rpg F 33 Halston Lane 6-5 So. 6.6 ppg 2.9 rpg F 55 Anthony McHenry 6-6 Fr. 1.8 ppg 1.2 rpg F 2 Isma’il Muhammad 6-5 Fr. 6.9 ppg 3.1 rpg C 12 Luke Schenscher 7-0 Fr. 4.3 ppg 3.1 rpg
