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.