Georgia Tech Basketball: Yellow Jackets Have Depth and Versatility in 2014-15

Everyone saw it last year with Yellow Jackets basketball — the team was in traction all year long.

Travis Jorgenson went down leaving Trae Golden and Corey Heyward to run the point.

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Then Trae Golden pulled a groin and was limited leaving the point guard duties to Heyward and walk-on Ron Waymer until Golden’s return.

Robert Carter Jr. hurt his knee and the frontline rotation was thrown out of whack.

Everyone knows that injuries happen, but the way that the Yellow Jackets were constructed last season, one or two injuries pretty much sent the season into the gutter and quickly.

Given those circumstances, the 16-17 mark that coach Brian Gregory guided the Yellow Jackets to in 2013-14 is truthfully a solid coaching job done on his part.

The 2014-15 version of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is going to be without Robert Carter this season who transferred to Maryland.

However, the players that are coming in via transfer, eligibility, or recruiting, is going to give Coach Gregory arguably his deepest and most versatile line up since coming to The Flats.

This team has the potential to go 10 to 12 players deep in the rotation and be able to matchup depending on whether the team needs to play big or small.

The Yellow Jackets frontcourt has more interchangeable parts than last year because of Demarco Cox and Charles Mitchell transferring and gaining eligibility.

Ben Lammers and Abdoulaye Gueye are going to be in the rotation as freshman. Robert Sampson is eligible to play ball this season and help out on the wing. Quinton Stephens will be coming into his sophomore season with experience as well.

The amount of versatility this group brings is going to play a huge role this season in The Flats.

Brian Gregory is going to be able to put in a defensive lineup that can feature length with Stephens or Sampson guarding the small forward, with Cox, Mitchell, Lammers, and Gueye all being interchangeable on the block.

Cox and Mitchell will bring the muscle against ACC frontlines that are slight in stature and have a hard time holding their position in the paint. Lammers and Gueye can bring the length to be disruptive and redirect shots inside.

Sampson and Stephens will be able to play between the small forward and power forward positions depending on matchups. Cox, Mitchell, Lammers and Gueye are all interchangeable between the power forward and center spots.

Cox, Mitchell, Lammers and Gueye are 20 solid fouls in the frontcourt. Tech should be able to keep some kind of size on the court in most games which is a luxury that the Jackets did not have in 2013-14.

The backcourt also has versatility and depth. Travis Jorgenson, Corey Heyward, Tadric Jackson, Josh Heath, Chris Bolden and Marques Georges-Hunt will all be interchangeable.

Georges-Hunt will be able to play the two-guard or the swingman depending on matchups. Tadric Jackson is said to have the skill to play either the point or the two-guard.

There should be no problem with Josh Heath being at the point or two-guard depending on the situation. Jorgenson and Heyward are more than capable of holding down the point guard duties and Chris Bolden should be able to be a three-point specialist if he is knocking the trey down with some consistency.

The depth and versatility of the 2014-15 Jackets should be a big asset to Coach Gregory and is a big reason why a postseason spot whether it is the NIT or NCAA’s is not out of the question.

The only question will be,”How fast can all these interchangeable parts mesh together?”. The faster they mesh together, the faster tech fans will be able to see wins.