Georgia Tech doesn’t land Marcus Thornton. Brad Sheehan gone too?

May 19th, 2010 by jefffann

Not a good week on the flats. Wednesday big frontline target Marcus Thornton committed to University of Georgia. This was an important recruit for Paul Hewitt. At 6-7 Thornton was the type inside player the Jackets sorely needed after the departures of Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal.

Thornton would never admit it, but I think the ACC’s intra-conference transfer rule that would have probably forced Thornton to sit a year played a role. It’s an out-dated rule and one that penalizes players under special circumstances. In Thornton’s case he committed to Clemson, and after former coach Oliver Purnell bolted for DePaul, Thornton was released from his letter of intent. That sounds like what should be an exception to the rule, but it isn’t and I believe Georgia Tech paid for it.

There’s more bad frontline news for the Jackets. It looks like 7-0 center Brad Sheehan is leaning towards leaving Georgia Tech. That will leave Jackets painfully thin inside. I sure hope Hewitt has a 7 footer that he’s hiding somewhere.

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Early, Early Picks for ACC Basketball–2010-11

May 13th, 2010 by Brandon Rink

Here’s a simulcast with my daily ACC blog at On The B. Rink…

Last couple weeks, we looked at the early entrants and the grads–but how about the ACC players coming back and how the ACC dominoes fall next season?

The News & Observer puts together an early projected starting lineup yearly with early entrants/graduation/new recruits factored in and here’s my early picks based off how the ACC is looking at this point.

1. Duke Blue Devils

2009-10: 13-3, first
G Kyrie Irving, fr.
G Seth Curry, soph. (20.2 ppg @ Liberty)
G Nolan Smith, sr. (17.4 ppg)
F Kyle Singler, sr. (17.7 ppg)
F Mason Plumlee, soph. (3.7 ppg)
Bench: G Andre Dawkins, F Miles Plumlee, F Ryan Kelly, F Josh Hairston

Outlook: Loooooooooooooooaded. They will be a unanimous choice for the ACC and one of the top teams in the country.

2. Florida State Seminoles

2009-10: 10-6, third
G Derwin Kitchen, sr. (8.1 ppg)
G Deividas Dulkys, jr. (8.7 ppg)
G Michael Snaer, soph. (8.8 ppg)
F Chris Singleton, jr. (10.2 ppg)
F Xavier Gibson, jr. (5.5 ppg)
Bench: G Luke Loucks, F Terrance Shannon, PG Ian Miller, F Okaro White, F Jon Kreft

Outlook: No Alabi, no problem? That’s what I’m saying–the cupboard isn’t bare at FSU and if there’s a year that Hamilton’s Noles make a run–it has to be this season.

3. Virginia Tech Hokies

2009-10: 10-6, fourth
G Malcolm Delaney, sr. (20.2 ppg)
G Dorenzo Hudson, sr. (12.0 ppg)
F Terrell Bell, sr. (6.1 ppg)
F Victor Davila, jr. (5.3 ppg)
F Jeff Allen, sr. (15.2 ppg)
Bench: F J.T. Thompson, G Erick Green, F Jarell Eddie, F Allan Chaney, F Cadarian Raines, F Manny Atkins, G Ben Boggs

Outlook: The time is now in Blacksburg as they return everybody. Greenberg needs to advance past simply making the ever-elusive NCAA Tourney, but win some games in said tourney.

4. North Carolina Tar Heels

2009-10: 5-11, 10th
G Larry Drew II, jr. (8.5 ppg)
G Reggie Bullock, fr.
F Harrison Barnes, fr.
F John Henson, soph. (5.7 ppg)
F Tyler Zeller, jr. (9.3 ppg)
Bench: F Will Graves, G Dexter Strickland, PG Kendall Marshall, G Leslie McDonald

Outlook: The Tar Heels are an interesting squad to watch this season because they had such a fall from grace last season. Heels are still young and Williams will have quite a coaching job to do to get UNC back to the top.

5. Maryland Terrapins

2009-10: 13-3, second
G Adrian Bowie, sr. (4.8 ppg)
G Sean Mosley, jr. (10.1 ppg)
G Cliff Tucker, sr. (5.7 ppg)
F Dino Gregory, sr. (4.2 ppg)
F Jordan Williams, soph. (9.6 ppg)
Bench: F James Padgett, G Terrell Stoglin, F Mychal Parker, PG Pe’Shon Howard

Outlook: Terps lose three of their biggest starters from last season with Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne, but they have a talented group coming back. Sean Mosley has to step into the go-to-guy role and Jordan Williams has to expand his role in the paint for the Terps to stay here.

6. Clemson Tigers

2009-10: 9-7, sixth
G Demontez Stitt, sr. (11.4 ppg)
G Tanner Smith, jr. (8.7 ppg)
F Milton Jennings, soph. (3.2 ppg)
F Devin Booker, soph. (4.5 ppg)
F Jerai Grant, sr. (7.2 ppg)
Bench: G Noel Johnson, G Andre Young, G Donte Hill, F Bryan Narcisse

Outlook: The Tigers are in transition between philosophies with a new coach in Brownell and lose star forward Trevor Booker, but this team still has the guns to compete in a wide-open(past Duke) ACC.

7. N.C. State Wolfpack

2009-10: 5-11, 11th
G Javier Gonzalez, sr. (9.5 ppg)
G Lorenzo Brown, fr.
F C.J. Leslie, fr.
F Richard Howell, soph. (4.9 ppg)
F Tracy Smith, sr. (16.5 ppg)
Bench: PG Ryan Harrow, G Scott Wood, G C.J. Williams, F DeShawn Painter, F Jordan Vandenberg

Outlook: Expectations should be high in Raleigh with a talented crew coming in and back. If Lowe can capture the magic of the ACC Tourney run to the semis, the Pack can go far, but I’m staying a bit skeptical on them.

8. Miami Hurricanes

2009-10: 4-12, 12th
G Durand Scott, soph. (10.3 ppg)
G Malcolm Grant, jr. (9.6 ppg)
G DeQuan Jones, jr. (5.7 ppg)
F Julian Gamble, jr. (3.5 ppg)
F Reggie Johnson, soph. (6.4 ppg)
Bench: G Rion Brown, G Garrius Adams, G Antoine Allen, F Donnavan Kirk

Outlook: Miami will be a trendy pick this season, but I’m on the fence with them. I  like Scott and Johnson, but Miami has a lot to prove right now.

9. Virginia Cavaliers

2009-10: 5-11, ninth
G Jontel Evans, soph. (2.4 ppg)
G Sammy Zeglinski, jr. (8.9 ppg)
G K.T. Harrell, fr.
F Mike Scott, sr. (12.0 ppg)
F James Johnson, fr.
Bench: PG Billy Baron, F Will Regan, F Assane Sene, G Joe Harris, G Mustapha Farrakhan, F Will Sherrill

Outlook: I had the ‘Hoos at ninth in my early, early picks last season and that’s where they finished–completely new team coming to play next season with Bennett cleaning house, but they have some talent.

10. Boston College Eagles

2009-10: 6-10, eighth
G Reggie Jackson, jr. (12.9 ppg)
G Dallas Elmore, jr. (3.9 ppg)
F Corey Raji, sr. (11.4 ppg)
F Joe Trapani, sr. (14.1 ppg)
F Josh Southern, sr. (4.4 ppg)
Bench: PG Biko Paris, F Courtney Dunn

Outlook: New system, several transfers, and a squad of mostly unproven, consistently, players at this level–hard to get behind the Eagles at this point.

11. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

2009-10: 7-9, seventh
G Moe Miller, sr. (3.9 ppg)
G Iman Shumpert, jr. (10.0 ppg)
G Glen Rice Jr., soph. (5.4 ppg)
F Kammeon Holsey, r-fr.
F Brad Sheehan, sr. (1.2 ppg)
Bench: G Brian Oliver, PG Mfon Udofia, F Daniel Miller

Outlook: The Jackets return all of their primary guards, but the problem falls with losing the three best players off last year’s team with Favors, Lawal, and Peacock in the paint. I will stay cautious on Georgia Tech because I’m not sure the Jackets’ guards can carry them.

12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2009-10: 9-7, fifth
G Tony Chennault, fr.
G C.J. Harris, soph. (9.9 ppg)
F Ari Stewart, soph. (7.3 ppg)
F Tony Woods, jr. (4.6 ppg)
F Carson Derosiers, fr.
Bench: F Travis McKie, F Melvin Tabb, G J.T. Terrell, F Ty Walker, G Gary Clark

Outlook: New coach Jeff Bzdelik has a project on his hands, but the cupboard isn’t totally bare. If he can get the Deacs back to the NCAA Tourney, Bzdelik did a great coaching job.

Who’s too high? Who’s underrated? Can anyone knock off Duke? Early NCAA Tourney bid predictions?

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Meet WR Stephen Hill, Georgia Tech’s next offensive star. – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

May 10th, 2010 by jefffann

I’ve written here before on the Georgia Tech Raycom Sports Blog, that I believe WR Stephen Hill would be Georgia Tech’s breakout offensive star in 2010. It will be no small task for Hill to replace 1st round pick Demaryius Thomas. Thomas playing in Paul Johnson’s triple option offense was the primary and in many cases the only deep pass catching option.  He caught 46 passes with 1,154 yards receiving and 8 TDs. Thomas at 6-3 229 lbs proved to be a big target for quarterback Joshua Nesbitt. Thomas also had the speed to outrun most secondaries. Throw in that a couple of years before that Biletnikoff award winner WR Calvin Johnson was roaming the Tech sidelines and Hill has some huge shoes to fill as a Georgia Tech wide receiver.

Hill is from Miller Grove HS in Lithonia Ga.  Coming out of HS he was rated one of the 25 best receivers in the country by Scout.com. He was a 4 star player whose final decision came down to Georgia and Georgia Tech. Consider if he had gone to Georgia how good a pair of WR’s they would have had with Hill and A.J. Green. I bet Georgia coach Marc Richt would have loved to have that pair of wideouts.

By choosing the Jackets though, Hill has already disproved one the great myths of Paul Johnson’s offense. That he wouldn’t be able to recruit HS All-Star receivers. With Thomas getting drafted in the 1st round Hill can even feel better about his decision. He knows that he can become the next go to receiver in the offense, and that can result in a high draft choice.

Last year in limited opportunities Hill caught 6 passes for 137 yards and touchdown. The TD catch was a catch in stride. A 32 yard pass from Nesbitt where Hill displayed his speed and pass catching abilities. In the spring game he caught a 70 yard TD looking every bit the 4 star HS receiver.

I hope this has given everyone a little background on Stephen Hill, because you can expect to hear his name plenty come the fall.

For more articles about Georgia Tech, the ACC, and other sports topics visit my blog at

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Georgia Tech’s Spring Game notes and other Jacket tidbits. – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

April 30th, 2010 by jefffann

The Yellow Jackets had their spring game on April 24th. Two things were evident from the game that was stopped at halftime due to the weather.

1) Tevin Washington has firmly established himself as the backup to Joshua Nesbitt. He was 6 of 7 passing for 122 yards. That’s darn near Peyton Manningesqe for the Georgia Tech Triple Option offense. He also ran for the 3 TD’s and threw for another.

2) Jonathan Dwyer’s and Demaryius Thomas’s positions RB and WR looked to be filled by ready replacements. RB Anthony Allen had 15 rushes for 91 yards.  Last year he ran for 618 yards at nearly 10 yards a run. I really think the drop off from Dwyer to Allen will be insignificant. 6-4 WR Stephen Hill caught a 70 yard TD in the spring game. I’m telling you Hill is going to be a big part of the Georgia Tech offense in the fall. He will be the man at WR, and nothing from the spring game has changed my opinion from previous posts. He is a star in the making.

How about the new 3-4 defense installed by former Virginia Coach Al Groh? It’s far too early to say, but according the AJC, the players are raving about how much fun the defense is having.  The white team led by Washington won the game 27-7 over the blue team.

In other Georgia Tech news, hot basketball recruit Marcus Thornton still hasn’t decided where he will play. He and his family are giving no indication who he is favoring either. They’ve been very complimentary of every team they’ve visited.

Yellow Jacket fans can feel good about the baseball team. Georgia Tech swept hated the Georgia Bulldogs in 3 games, 6-5, 25-6, and 6-4. They outscored the Dawgs 37-15. Wow I’m sure Paul Johnson will take that score in November! Keep an eye on the baseball team. Coach Danny Hall has had top 20 teams before, only to fall flat in the post-season. Could this year be different? The Jackets sit 34-7 on the season.

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Georgia Tech and Paul Hewitt await Marcus Thornton decision. – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

April 19th, 2010 by jefffann

In my last article for Georgia Tech’s Raycom Sports Blog, I discussed who could play on the frontline for Georgia Tech with the departures of Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. We offered 6-8 Kammeon Holsey and 6-11 Daniel Miller as possibilities. 7-0 senior Brad Sheehan could also see minutes inside. When Oliver Purnell left Clemson and bolted for DePaul, previous Clemson commit 6-7 Marcus Thornton became available.

Thornton was the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Mr. Georgia Basketball. Purnell and Clemson got a commitment from Thornton way back in November of 2008. They were on him early and did good of realizing the player Thornton would become. This season he averaged 26.5 PPG, 7 RPG, 4 blocks and shot 64 percent from the field. From Westlake Highschool in Atlanta, Paul Hewitt and his staff appeared to be caught a little off guard, losing on a player from their own backyard.

Here’s their chance to get back in it. Already Hewitt has apologized to the  family for failing to recruit Thornton harder when Clemson signed him. Recruiting is Hewitt’s strength though and when he wants someone he’s pretty successful at getting them. I think this would be a tremendous get if Hewitt can land Thornton. There’s isn’t any doubt due to Tech’s frontline losses that Thornton would have a great opportunity for early playing time. The Jackets also have a good reputation for landing players in the NBA as well. Favors and Lawal will be NBA picks this year. With the returning guard play, if the Jackets get the 230 lb Thornton I would give them a pretty good chance of getting into NCAAs next year. That gives them a young but solid frontline. Thornton is also considering Georgia, Clemson, and Alabama in addition to Georgia Tech.

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Despite losses Georgia Tech basketball might be better next year. – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

April 9th, 2010 by jefffann

If you haven’t followed Georgia Tech basketball since the NCAA tournament ended, the Jackets have been going through some big changes. Frontline star players Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors have declared  for the NBA draft. Seniors De’Andre Bell and Zachary Peacock are gone. De’Andre Bell was one of Tech’s best defenders and Peacock provided off the bench scoring. Despite 23 wins Paul Hewitt still isn’t winning any popularity contests in Atlanta, things look a little bleak in Atlanta or do they?

Georgia Tech’s own history provides hope. At the end of  the 2002-2003 season the Jacket’s lost future NBA all-star Chris Bosh and one of their top players Ed Nelson. In 2003-2004 the Jackets went to the final 4. Even this past year many felt after Gerald Henderson left Duke, the Blue Devils wouldn’t be athletic enough to compete for a National Title. Not only did they compete for  the national title they won it. I’m not saying the Jackets will get to the final 4, I do think an NCAA tournament bid is an attainable goal and here’s why.

In college basketball it’s all about guard play. The Jackets will have more quality experience in their backcourt than they have had in years. Iman Shumpert will be a junior and freshmen Glen Rice Jr, Brian Oliver, and Mfon Udofia are all back. Maurice Miller will be a senior. Those 5 players will give Tech its best ball handling team since 2005. This year the backcourt was inconsistent but next year they should be much better. Explosive 4 star HS SG Jason Morris will be joining the Tech team. I like how the backcourt is shaping up and it should allow coach Paul Hewitt to play the switching defense he prefers. Inside Tech will be inexperienced and smaller, but Butler proved you don’t have to be huge to be good.

I expect 6-8 Kammeon Holsey, who sat out his Freshman year due to injury to be a starter, to be key in what looks like a 3-4 guard offense. At center the other possibility is 6-11 Daniel Miller or 7-0 Brad Sheehan. If Georgia Tech can get positive contributions from their inside guys, a decent season is not out of the question.

For more articles about Georgia Tech, the ACC, and other sports topics visit my blog at

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What are Georgia Tech’s biggest questions heading into Spring Practice? – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

March 30th, 2010 by jefffann

As spring practice is just beginning for Georgia Tech, I want to put a short article together that looks at some of the Jacket’s biggest questions heading into Spring Practice.

Doug Roberson over at the AJC details some of these questions in his article

“Georgia Tech spring football: 5 storylines”

As Roberson wrote, the biggest questions for the Yellow Jackets will be

1) How they adjust to new defensive coordinator Al Groh’s 3-4 defense.

2) How they will rebuild an offensive line that lost 3 starters.

3) Who will be Josh Nesbitt’s backup at quarterback after the transfer of former backup Jaybo Shaw?

4) Who will replace the departed WR Demaryius Thomas?

5) Who will play in the secondary?

Looking at some of the questions, I think any change to the defense is a good thing, so the 3-4 can’t hurt. Georgia Tech’s defense last year was certainly an Achilles Heel. When you run a 3-4 defense you need monster nose tackle that can eat up space. Look for 6-7 345 lbs T.J. Barnes to likely fill that role. The quarterback situation is too early to call, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out during the spring. I was little surprised that there was even a question about who would replace Thomas at WR, as I figured it was a done deal for Stephen Hill to take over that position. At 6-4 he has the height and enough speed to dominate at that position. He was also highly touted coming out of high school. If he can be anywhere as physical as Thomas was, he’ll be a star.

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Just how good was the Georgia Tech basketball season? – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

March 21st, 2010 by jefffann

The 2009-2010 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets featured 3 McDonald All-Americans and 2 likely first round picks in the NBA draft. They finished the year 23-13 with a 2nd round finish in the NCAA tournament and a run to the finals of the ACC tournament. So was it a good season in Atlanta? If you are a Georgia Tech fan are you satisfied that coach Paul Hewitt got everything out of this team or frustrated that the team never fully reached it’s potential?

On the surface it appears an easy question. The Jackets featured a NBA front line in Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. They had a 6-5 McDonald’s All-American Iman Shumpert running the point. They had upperclassmen Zachary Peacock and De’Andre Bell on the team, so they weren’t that young. Dig deeper and maybe this team came closer to it’s potential than first thought.

First this team made the NCAA’s. It was touch and go for awhile but they made it and that’s the bottom line. That was a minimum goal for this team. I felt before the season this team had sweet 16 ability maybe elite 8. They fell one game short of my expectations. By the end of the year this team had gotten it defensively, and they were one of the country’s 25 best teams.

In their last 6 games they won 4, with their only losses being to ACC Champions Duke and Big 10 Champions Ohio State. Those two teams are in everyone’s top 6 or 7 teams. There is no shame losing to either. In the Ohio State loss once Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors got into foul trouble the Jackets had almost no chance to win the game.

Even during the last two weeks, the Yellow Jackets were still too careless with the basketball. They simply turn it over too much. It’s a young backcourt. Glen Rice Jr is a freshman. Brian Oliver is a freshman. Mfon Udofia is a freshman. Iman Shumpert is a sophomore. De’Andre Bell was a senior but he was coming off a year without playing basketball.

This backcourt was Georgia Tech’s Achilles heel. They were talented, but just too inconsistent, and I think that was due in part to their youth. I still think Tech failed to reach their potential, but overall I felt the Jackets had a pretty decent season, and ended up one of the better teams of the Paul Hewitt era.

We’ll have to wait during the next few weeks to see whether Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors return. That will play a large role in how far the Jackets can go in the 2010-2011 season. Like their football counterparts though, I expect both to be gone. Paul Hewitt bought some good will this year. He can’t afford a big step back next year.

For more articles about Georgia Tech, the ACC, and other sports topics visit my blog at

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Paul Hewitt fights back. – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

March 18th, 2010 by jefffann

Its official Georgia Tech is headed to the NCAA tournament, but Paul Hewitt isn’t a happy man. Oh he’s pleased his team made the Big Dance, but he’s steaming mad about how he’s been portrayed in the Atlanta media.

For some background this recent article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, titled “Hewitt fires back at criticism“, details Hewitt’s displeasure that it’s been suggested that the only reason he’s still the Georgia Tech head coach is because of a near $7 Million buyout.

Obviously since Georgia Tech just made the NCAA’s for the 5th time in Hewitt’s 10 years he isn’t going anywhere, but what about Hewitt lashing back to defend himself? First I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Paul Hewitt fan. His teams turn it over too often, typically shoot free throws poorly, and especially in recent years have underachieved given their talent level. That said Hewitt has every right to defend himself. Who wouldn’t?

Even I said if Hewitt gets Georgia Tech to the NCAA’s this year, the talk of dismissal should end. He made it to the NCAA’s and (I can’t believe that I’m going to say this) he deserves a break. His team just completed an improbable run in the ACC tournament getting to the finals where the Jackets fought their way off the bubble.

Let’s see here the team showed fight to get to the NCAAs. Now Hewitt is fighting to defend his reputation. What do they say? Beware the wounded animal? I’m getting a sense this team and this coach have something prove. When you get that you might just have a team that’s ready to make a little NCAA run. It starts Friday night against Oklahoma St.

We know Lawal and Favors will be strong inside. It will all depend on the guard play how far Georgia Tech will go in the NCAAs. Battle tested with an attitude; we’ll see how far the Jackets can go.

For more articles about Georgia Tech, the ACC, and other sports topics visit my blog at

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Georgia Tech crashes the big dance party! – Jeff Fann of All About Sports

March 13th, 2010 by jefffann

If you want to know what Georgia Tech basketball is go back and watch the Jackets 69-64 ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over co-league champion Maryland. The Jackets in the first half displayed all their incredible athleticism and talent in running out to a 41-25 half time lead.

The second half you saw Georgia Tech struggle to inbounds the ball, and commit turnover after turnover against a Terp team that is accustomed to winning.

A funny thing happened on the way to a Yellow Jacket disaster, Georgia Tech showed a resolve  rarely seen the last several years to hold off Maryland and win this game. The victory will put Georgia Tech in the NCAAs. Mark it down they are a lock, and they earned their way in.

Do you like Paul Hewitt? Do you hate Paul Hewitt? If you are a Georgia Tech fan put that aside for another day and time. Get behind these Jackets and cheer them on. The Jackets have a very real shot at winning the whole darned ACC tournament.

Thanks to Raycom Sports and some tickets they hooked me up with, I’ll be headed to Greensboro this weekend to root the Jackets on, and I can’t wait.

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