Georgia Tech Basketball: The Panic Button is Flashing Red for Yellow Jackets’ Nation
It is not so much that Brian Gregory’s Yellow Jackets are 0-3 in ACC play right now. It is that the predictability of the team does not give fans confidence that things are going to get better.
Now we can’t lie! After Tech lost to Notre Dame in double-overtime 83-76, we felt that this team was going to be okay with two winnable games against Syracuse at home and on the road to Wake Forest.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
However, after watching the Jackets lose to Syracuse 46-45 because the team could only muster five points in the final 8:15 of the game, and seeing the Demon Deacons beat Georgia Tech at their own rebounding game with some three-point shooting added to it, the panic button is flashing red.
Another thing that is not giving fans much confidence is the next three games on the docket.
The Jackets are playing at home against Notre Dame, and then away versus Pittsburgh and Virginia in the next three games. This could amount to an 0-6 start in ACC play before they play against Boston College at home January 25th.
We know in order for the Jackets to win they have to defend well and rebound even better, particularly on the offensive end for points.
With that approach, though it is a good one, it does not leave much flexibility and frankly makes Georgia Tech easy to prepare for.
It is accepted that this team does not shoot well from outside, and the team cannot play up-tempo ball to win games, rebounding and defense is all they have.
Jan 10, 2015; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets forward Charles Mitchell (0) knocks the ball away from Wake Forest Demon Deacons center Andre Washington (31) during the first half at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Most of the time that would be enough if a third attribute could pop-up, but we have not seen that third attribute show up.
There is no X-factor, whether it is a player, or team trait, that makes fans think that a dramatic turnaround can happen.
All that fans can hang their hopes on is belief in the system. They must believe Coach Gregory has the pulse of his team and the ability to steer them in the right direction sooner rather than later.
Fans have to believe that Brian Gregory will be able to keep the morale of his players up as they try to right the ship.
Most of all, fans have to believe that Georgia Tech is going to win a couple of these games coming up.
The 0-3 start is a nightmare scenario in all honesty, and that is why the panic button is flashing.
In the ACC, you are going to have to get wins while you can, because there are going to be sections of the schedule where wins are going to be scarce for a team like Georgia Tech.
The team will not quit! The Yellow Jackets will continue to play hard. We just don’t want to see this team get discouraged early. That is why a couple of wins in the next three games is needed.
If the Jackets do not win two of these next three games, it is okay for fans to hit the panic button.
This is a good team although it has flaws. It is just a matter of them maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses.