By any measurement of Paul Hewitt’s record the last 5 years, it’s been bad. 1 NCAA tournament appearance in 2007 has been it. They haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2005. Georgia Tech hasn’t had a season over .500 in the ACC since 2004. The ACC road record is atrocious, 6 wins in 5 years. That’s the third straight losing ACC conference record. Over the last 5 years, that is 52 ACC losses and counting.
Today marked the end of another regular season of disappointment and underachievement by Paul Hewitt and the Jackets. In an 88-82 loss to Virginia Tech, the Jackets showed all the heart of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. There was none. At home with an NCAA bid on the line the Jackets were outplayed on both ends of the floor by the Hokies. Even without their second leading scorer Dorenzo Hudson, the Hokies controlled this game from start to finish. Only a late flurry by Georgia Tech made the score appear closer than really it was.
The Jackets finished the regular season 19-11 (7-9), and may still appear on some bubble lists, but they aren’t going anywhere but the NIT. I suppose Georgia Tech fans can still hinge their hopes on a deep run in the ACC tournament, but I can’t fathom this team putting together any kind of run the way they are currently playing.
It all starts with head coach, Paul Hewitt. Paul Hewitt has failed to build this team into a cohesive unit in a disturbing trend that has been going on for years. Georgia Tech Athletic Director Dan Radakovich now has a lot work ahead of him. What is he going to do with Paul Hewitt? I expect he’ll wait until the ACC tournament is over to make any decisions. In addition, there’s the issue of Hewitt’s $7 million buyout. Can Tech even pay that?
As I said anything can happen in the ACC tournament, but Hewitt doesn’t inspire any confidence in me that this season will end any different than that of the recent ones. I’d like to be wrong, but we all know that the closest Georgia Tech will probably get to a NCAA tournament site is if they buy a ticket.
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