2011-2012 Season in Review: Georgia Tech

11-20 overall, 4-12 ACC

The jury's still out on Brian Gregory as head coach at Georgia Tech.  He came into his first year with a pretty bare cupboard.  This team had as little talent as any in the ACC (besides Boston College), and played like it.  They really struggled to form any kind of consistency or momentum.  At times their offense was absolutely horrible.  Four times they failed to score 50 points.  Their best player was Glen Rice, Jr., who averaged 13 points per game.  The only problem was, he was injured, suspended and then kicked off the team.  That left no players who averaged double figures for the year.

One of the problems Georgia Tech had was not really having a home.  Alexander Memorial Coliseum was closed for renovations, so they had to play most of their games in Philips Arena.  It's hard enough playing in an NBA arena, but when they draw as small crowds as Georgia Tech draws, there is no home court advantage.  Hence the Yellow Jackets only went 3-5 at home.

Biggest Win:

82-71 at N.C. State (January 11)

This was a bit of a head-scratcher, and the only win Georgia Tech had against a team in the top half of the league.  N.C. State certainly wasn't at their peak, but there was nothing in the season so far to suggest they would lose by double digits at home to Georgia Tech.  This was a rare offensive explosion for the Yellow Jackets.  In fact, there were only three other ACC games in which they scored in the 70s or 80s, and all of those were losses.

Worst Loss:

56-37 vs. Clemson (February 21)

Losing to Clemson at home isn't terrible.  But losing by 19 points, and only scoring 37 is pretty bad.  Take a look at the shooting percentages for Georgia Tech in this game: 31% from the field, 18% from 3, and 36% from the line.  Two of their starters didn't score a single point.  Yikes.

Postseason Play:

There wasn't much of a postseason for Georgia Tech.  They took on Miami in the first round of the ACC Tournament, and managed an even worse offensive performance than that Clemson game.  The Yellow Jackets were leading at halftime but were outscored 35-16 in the second half in a 54-36 loss.  As a team the Yellow Jackets shot 32% in this one.

Next Year:

The departure of Rice certainly leaves a big hole for the Yellow Jackets offensively.  The good news is they don't lose a whole lot else.  Mfon Udofia is the returning player with the best numbers.  But I think Kammeon Holsey is due for a big year.  He had some games in which he looked really good down low.  Gregory is bringing in a pretty decent recruiting class, headlined by a forward named Robert Carter.  If he can find someone who can pick up the slack offensively Georgia Tech has the potential to be an NIT caliber team.  I'm not willing to go any higher than that with the team pretty much being the same as it was this past season.

2011-2012 Season in Review: Boston College

9-22 Overall, 4-12 ACC

It's time to take a look back at the season for all of the ACC teams, now that we've had some time to digest what happened and track any departures from programs.  I'm going to start at the bottom of the standings and work up.

It's hard to imagine a fan base being optimistic about a last place finish in the ACC.  But about a month into the season, things looked very bleak for Boston College.  Like they might not win an ACC game bleak.  We were coming off a year in which Wake Forest won only one ACC game, and on paper BC looked worse than that.  But they managed to work through a very young lineup to win four games in conference.  Now a lot of that has to do with the fact that the bottom of the conference was very weak, and those teams beat up on each other.

BC was a decent home team, going 4-4 in conference.  Where they really struggled was on the road, not winning a game.  They weren't blown out in all their games, though: they lost by 1 at Virginia Tech and by 4 at Georgia Tech.  I was at the game they lost in Blacksburg and actually thought the Eagles played pretty well.

The main problem BC had was just the lack of experience.  They didn't have anyone they could really count on to produce on a regular basis.  Their team was made up almost exclusively of freshmen.  As a result, there was a lot of sharing the wealth.  Five players averaged between 8 and 11 points per game.

Biggest Win:

64-60 vs. Florida State (February 8)

This is an easy one.  This game was probably the most surprising result of the year in the ACC.  Florida State came into this game winners of seven in a row, including three against ranked teams.  Boston College came in losers of six in a row.  It was a 23-3 run in the second half that proved the difference.  This is the only game Boston College won against a team from the top half of the league.

Worst Loss:

78-72 vs. Rhode Island (January 2)

It's hard to pick the worst loss for BC, but I decided to go with a home loss in double overtime to a team that went 7-24 and won four games in the Atlantic 10.  The Eagles really struggled in the early part of the season, with a number of bad losses to teams they had no business losing to.

Postseason Play:

The postseason was very brief for BC.  They went into the ACC Tournament with the worst seed, had to play a motivated N.C. State team, and lost easily, 78-57.  The players were probably just relieved to have the season over.

Next Year:

So after a 9-22 finish, is there room for optimism in Chestnut Hill?  I can offer a definitive maybe.  At times, sure, the Eagles looked absolutely awful.  But they also managed to put together some solid games, and at times looked better than their record.  They don't have a lot of talent, but at least the players they have will have another year under their belts.  They do suffer a pretty big loss, with Matt Humprey deciding to transfer.  He was the team's second leading scorer. Gabe Moton is also leaving the team, although he only averaged about two points per game.  The recruiting class they are bringing in is not overwhelming.  I do like Steve Donahue as a coach, and I hope the athletic department at BC is patient.  Because next year it will be a real accomplishment if they don't finish with a losing record.

Offseason News

Another season is over.  Congrats to Kentucky, which grew to be one of the most dominant teams we've seen in recent years.  The Wildcats never really looked close to losing a game in the Tournament.  Of course Kentucky will look completely different next year.  At this point of the year, there are two main topics: coaches changing jobs and players leaving early.

After two years where we saw a total of seven new ACC coaches, this year has brought stability (so far).  No ACC coaches have been fired.  That should bode well for the conference next year.

What does hurt the quality of play in the conference, however, is players leaving school early.  The deadline to enter the NBA Draft is moved up starting this year.  So players have until April 29th to make up their minds.  So far there hasn't been much attrition besides on Tobacco Road.  At North Carolina Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall are all leaving school early.  Barnes and Henson I can completely understand.  I'm not sure there's great NBA potential with Marshall.  I can understand him wanting to go pro with his buddies, but I think Marshall could definitely benefit from another year in college working on his shot.

The other big name to announce he's jumping ship is Austin Rivers at Duke.  That's not a big surprise at all.  He will make an impact in the NBA.

More updates on that as they come in.  I will also have season recaps for each of the teams when I get back from vacation.