Georgia Tech Basketball: Is Travis Jorgenson ready to run the show?

By James Fitzgerald | Jun 17, 2014

This upcoming season in the Flats is going to be a lot like last season when it comes to the uncertainty at point guard for Brian Gregory’s Georgia Tech club. Fortunately, last season, the Jackets were bailed out when Trae Golden decided to transfer from Tennessee to Georgia Tech, so the point guard was steady for at least a season.

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If Golden did not transfer last season the point guard pool was going to look rather thin and inexperienced with Solomon Poole, Corey Heyward and young Travis Jorgensen being the headliners of that group.

With no veteran point guards transferring to Georgia Tech amongst all the transfers during the spring, the position is looking thin this year. There is going to be a lot of inexperience and vying to run the show this year in the Flats with Travis Jorgenson, Corey Heyward, incoming freshman Tadric Jackson, and possibly South Florida transfer Josh Heath in the mix.

Out of this group only Jorgenson and Jackson can say that they were hand picked by Brian Gregory to run the show for the Jackets. But out of those two you would think that Gregory would want Jorgenson to emerge as the guy to be the floor general for the Yellow Jackets this fall.

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Jorgenson’s freshman campaign was short-lived because of an ACL injury four games into the season. He was putting up some decent freshman numbers averaging 4.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 19 minutes of work. Jorgenson showed flashes of what Gregory saw in him when he brought him into Georgia Tech.

Coach Gregory likes Jorgenson’s “basketball IQ and ability to create scoring opportunities for himself and others”, according to a quote Gregory gave the Atlanta Journal Constitution in April of last year.

Jorgenson is going to need to be that guy this year, though it is going to be tough for him coming off the injury. There is going to be a new look for the Yellow Jackets’ offense this season with Robert Carter transferring to Maryland and the offensive load more than likely falling on the shoulders of Marques Georges-Hunt, Quinton Stephens, and Chris Bolden now. Jorgenson is going to be counted on heavily to orchestrate the offense and put that high hoop IQ to use.

Jorgenson’s main responsibility is going to be getting high percentage scoring opportunities down in the blocks for freshmen centers Ben Lammers and Abdoulaye Gueye, as well as newly transferred forwards Demarco Cox and Charles Mitchell. Cox and Mitchell are bangers that are going to need to be fed around the basket and Jorgenson’s pick and roll game is going to have to be stellar this season with these guys. Especially since their offensive repertoire can be limited.

The main thing, though, is for Jorgenson to be confident in that knee of his. None of his talent or basketball IQ are going to matter if he is not confident in pushing off and putting torque on that knee. If he can come back healthy it is going to be fun to see what he does with the players he will have surrounding him.

All of this is contingent on whether he ends up being the starter at the end of the day. As we said, we don’t really know who is going to emerge as the starting point guard come November. Tadric Jackson is highly touted and can play both guard spots for coach Gregory. Josh Heath could be eligible this fall and factor into the competition at the point as well.

However, when you look at it, you can be pretty sure that Brian Gregory will want to see Travis Jorgenson come out on top as floor general for the Yellow Jackets. If Jorgenson was to win out, it would speak volumes about his character and ability to overcome adversity through his injury. He could be just the kind of leader Georgia Tech needs going into what could be a difficult season in the Flats.

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