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Georgia Tech Basketball: Five takeaways from Jackets exhibition against Alabama

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 01: James Banks III #1 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a basket against the St. John's Red Storm during the first half of the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 01: James Banks III #1 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets reacts after a basket against the St. John's Red Storm during the first half of the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Tech took on the Alabama Crimson Tide in their final exhibition game prior to the 2019 season on Sunday and here are a takeaways from the “preseason” finale.

Georgia Tech fell in their final exhibition game before the 2019-20 regular season gets underway this Friday when they traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Jackets fell to the Tide 93-65 in a game where the Rockets took 37 shots from beyond the arch, making 17 of them in the process.

1) Evan Cole in for a breakout season?

This is classic overreacting to one game but it was a great game for junior forward Evan Cole to say the least. Cole had a phenomenal performance against the Crimson Tide, scoring 15 points while also bringing down three rebounds in the game. Cole was 6-for-9 from the field including one-for-two from beyond the arch. Cole did all that despite just being on the court for 14 minutes. Last season, Cole averaged 4.1 points per game for the Jackets after averaging 3.2 points as a true freshman.

2) Moses Wright and James Banks have strong showing

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Both Moses Wright and James Banks will looked upon to be major offensive pieces this season and on Sunday afternoon, they both played well. Wright scored 12 points for the Jackets while also collecting one rebound, one block, and two steals. James Banks, the Jackets primary center in 2019 was a block machine against the Crimson Tide with four blocks. He also had six points and eight rebounds in the game.

3) Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe play to expectations

Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe will be the Jackets top two scoring options in all liklihood in 2019-20. Against Alabama, the two guards combined for 23 points, seven rebounds, and three steals.

Alvarado played 26 minutes in the game, scoring 11-points in the game. He did struggle in shooting, hitting just 4-of-12 attempts in the game including 1-for-5 from beyond the arch. He’ll be a volume shooter for the Jackets this year which means he’ll get plenty of points but bringing up his shooting percentage will be a must if the Jackets hope to make some noise.

Devoe, on the other hand, scored 12-points in a much more efficient manner. Devoe was 5-for-8 from the field including 2-for-3 from beyond the arch. He has the chance to be a dynamic and dangerous scorer for the Jackets once he puts it all together.

4) Three-point shooting was the difference

During the Josh Pastner era, Georgia Tech has never been a great shooting team from beyond the arch. On Sunday against, Alabama, three-point shooting was the difference. The Jackets weren’t horrendous from three, but weren’t great either, hitting 5-of-18 attempts, a shooting percentage of 27.8%. The Crimson Tide, on the other, shot 37 three-point attempts and made 17 of them. Despite missing 20 three-point attempts, their volume shooting from beyond the arch ultimately made the difference with 51 of their 93 points coming from long distance shooting. The Jackets’ don’t need to be volume shooters from three but they’ll need to begin a higher percentage of their limited attempts if they hope to keep up with those volume shooting teams.

5) Lost the points off turnovers and rebound battles

By the end of the game, Alabama had 18 more attempts than the Jackets from the field. There are two major reasons for those 18 extra attempts. The first is the fact that the Crimson Tide won the rebound battle 43-31 including 12 offensive rebounds to the Jackets mere four offensive rebounds. The second reason is the fact that the Jackets turned the ball over 22 times throughout the exhibition. Alabama turned the ball over 19 times themselves but the Tide were able to turn those 22 turnovers into 21 points while the Jackets turned their 19 forced turnovers into 14 points.