Robert Godhigh Interview – November 18, 2013
AB Robbie Godhigh speaks to Wade Rogers about his tremendous offensive performance in loss against Clemson.
Ramblin' WREK Sports Show
Monday Mornings from McCamish: 11/18
Welcome to another edition of Monday Mornings from McCamish. This weekly segment will be released on Monday mornings throughout Georgia Tech’s Men’s Basketball 2013-14 season. We will revisit the previous week’s action as well as look ahead to the upcoming week’s games.
Last Week Recap:
Monday 11/11: Delaware State 50 Georgia Tech 68
Friday 11/15: Georgia Tech 80 Georgia 71
The Jackets moved to 3-0 with a pair of wins this week over the Delaware St. Hornets and the rival Georgia Bulldogs.
The Monday night win over Delaware State wasn’t exactly what was expected. The Jackets seemed to lack energy and focus at times which could be attributed to the lackluster matchup and Monday night “crowd.” Regardless of the explanation, the most visible concern was on the glass. Tech outrebounded the Hornets 30-28, but gave up eleven offensive rebounds. Admittedly the Hornets missed a lot of shots (37 of 56 to be exact), but had they been able to shoot better this could have been a much closer game. As we suggested last week, the best chance for Delaware State was to shoot and make three’s. They shot plenty, but they just couldn’t knock them down (six for 22 including nine straight misses to start the game). As for the positives, Tech played well offensively – shooting over 50% from the field and 90% from the free throw line in addition to individual highlights from Trae Golden (16 points) and Robert Carter (11 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 blocks).
As for Friday night’s victory over UGA, it’s the third win over the Bulldogs in as many years and second straight in Athens. But what was most impressive was the play from Jacket seniors Trae Golden, Daniel Miller, and Kam Holsey.
While freshmen dominate the college game more than ever before, on Friday night in Athens the Jackets were led by a trio of seniors. Trae Golden led all Tech players with 18 points and 36 minutes of playing time. Daniel Miller turned in his best performance of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Kammeon Holsey also notched his second career double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. But aside from the sum totals, when the Jackets needed a run to close out the first half those three were at the center of it. Trailing 33-31 with less than four minutes remaining in the first half, Tech made a 12-3 run in which Golden, Holsey, and Miller combined for eight points and two rebounds. Given all of the energy surrounding Tech’s underclassmen (albeit well-deserved), Golden, Holsey, and Miller supplied a friendly reminder that senior leadership is much more than just a trendy intangible.
Looking Ahead:
Wednesday 11/20 7:00pm: Dayton (3-0) at Georgia Tech (3-0)
Both Dayton and Georgia Tech will enter Wednesday night’s matchup 3-0, although the Flyers three wins have been slightly more adventurous.
The Flyers are coming off of a 17-14 (7-9) season that concluded without a postseason tournament appearance for the first time since 2007. But this season the Flyers have reason to believe that their depth will give them a fighting chance in the deep Atlantic 10.
After hitting a buzzer beating three pointer to defeat IPFW (Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne) 81-80 in their home-opener, the Flyers defeated St. Francis (PA) 70-56 after being tied at 54 with four minutes remaining. But aside from the nail-biting wins against Summit League and Northeast Conference opponents, the Flyers are coming off their best game of the season in a 78-58 win over St. Francis (NY). In the win, four Flyers reached double digits in addition to a nine point, six rebound, and five assist effort from team captain Devin Oliver.
Dayton is a balanced team that has several players that are capable of scoring on any given night. In their three games, they have had three different leading scorers – Dyshawn Pierre, Devin Oliver, and Vee Sanford. Keep in mind, that group does not include sophomore guard Khari Price who is second on the team in points per game with 14.7.
Wednesday night’s meeting between the Flyers and the Jackets will be the third all-time and first in Atlanta. Dayton leads the series 2-0 with close wins in 1977 and 2009.
Tip-off is at 7:00pm and will be broadcast on 106.7 FM and streamed live on ESPN3.
Sunday 11/24 2:00pm: North Carolina A&T (1-2) at Georgia Tech
The Aggies of North Carolina A&T will come to McCamish Pavilion this Sunday afternoon in the first of four games associated with the Barclays Center Classic for Georgia Tech.
The Aggies are coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1995. An improbable run in the MEAC championship resulted in NC A&T’s first NCAA tournament berth since 1995 which ended abruptly with a second round loss to eventual National Champion Louisville (it should be noted that North Carolina A&T defeated a fellow 16-seed in Liberty in a first round game).
This season the Aggies are 1-2 with a win over D-III Greensboro and road losses to Utah Valley and Rhode Island. In both losses, A&T was close late but succumbed to fatal runs including a 16-0 surge from URI.
As a team, the Aggies are led by a 1-2 senior punch in the backcourt in Lamont Middleton and Richaud Pack. The two are tops in points per game (19.7 and 19.0) and in minutes played (both above 30 per game). Pack has been particularly impressive by shooting above 65% from the field and 75% from beyond the arc.
If the Jackets can keep the veteran guard tandem at bay, then Tech should pick up an easy win against another MEAC opponent.
Tip-off is at 2:00pm and will be broadcast on 106.7 FM and televised on ESPN3.
Be sure to check back next week for a new edition of Monday Mornings from McCamish, but in the meantime follow @WREKSports on Twitter and like us on Facebook (under “WREK Sports”) to receive in-game updates and analysis.
Kammeon Holsey Audio – UGA Preview
Click below to hear Robert Carter Jr.’s take on tonight’s rivalry game in Athens!
Robert Carter Jr. Audio – UGA Preview
Click below to hear Robert Carter Jr.’s take on tomorrow night’s rivalry game in Athens!
JACKETS TAME CATAMOUNTS BY 40, 87-47
Michelle Joseph’s lady Jackets continued on Sunday to be impressive as they defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts 87-47 Sunday afternoon at McCamish Pavilion. Georgia Tech improved to 2-0 while Western Carolina still remains winless on the season at 0-2.
It was both a great offensive and defensive effort by the Jackets as four players finished in double figures. They were led in scoring by freshman Kaela Davis, out of Suwanee, GA, who finished with a double -double, and a game high 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Sydney Wallace finished with 16 points. Roddreka Rodgers finished with her first double-double of the season adding 10 points and a game and team high 11 rebounds. In a reserve role, Aaliyah Whiteside scored 13 points, and shot 60% (3-5) from 3 pt. range. Jackets as a team shot 54% from the game from beyond the arc (13-24), and they were led by Sydney Wallace who was 4-5 from distance.
Western Carolina, out of the Southern Conference, were led in scoring by Lindsay Simpson, who finished with a team high 19 points. Jackets locked down on Simpson defensively as she had 14 points at the intermission, as well as hitting a team high four 3’s in the first half. In fact, Simpson did not score her first bucket in the second half until the 8:14 mark. As a team, Western Carolina shot 28.8% from the field, 24% from 3, including an 0-11 effort in the second half, and 46.7% from the charity stripe.
Western Carolina started the game with an early five point lead over GA Tech, but that would be their biggest lead of the game as the Jackets would use a 6-0 run with two 3’s one by Aaliyah Whiteside and Kaela Davis and take a 9-8 lead at the 15:24 mark of the first half and never look back the rest of the game. Jackets went into the locker room at the end of the first half, with a 43-29 lead. Jackets used a lot of energy off the bench by Senior Dawnn Maye, who finished the first half with only 2 points, but had 6 steals in the half to go along with 3 assists.
Even though Tech was up 43-29 at the break, they would pick up their defensive intensity in the second half. Western Carolina shot 39.3% from the field in the first half, including 42.9% (6-14) from the 3 point arc. Jackets shut down the SOCON Catamounts in the second half where they only shot 6-31 (19.4%) from the field, but more impressive held Western Carolina to 0-11 from three point range. Not to mention, Georgia Tech won the rebounding battle 52-26, including 17 offensive rebounds compared to 10 for the Catamounts. Jackets also did a great job distributing the ball as they had 25 team assists, including a team high 5 assists from Jackets senior AP Honorable Mention All-American candidate Ty Marshall.
Georgia Tech will have the whole week off before they return back to the court to face Tennessee in Knoxville on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Here are my three keys to the Jackets vicory:
Sharing the ball: Georgia Tech did a great job of sharing the ball. Jackets had 25 assists as a team, with Ty Marshall with a team high 5 assists. Western Carolina ran a 1-2-2 zone the entire night, and the jackets were outstanding at moving the ball. They distributed the ball very well, and were able to get great open looks, and knocked down shots. They had great looks from 3 all game long. Jackets actually finished the game shooting a higher percentage from 3 54.2% (13-24) than they did from the free throw line at 50% (10-20). A stat that Coach Joseph said that they have never done before in her 11 seasons as Tech’s head coach. Great ball movement and unselfishness on the offensive end is a great sign for the jackets early. They have a ton of scorers on the field, and everyone is starting to play their role.
Team Defense: Jackets did a great job of clamping down defensively. They completely shut down the Catamounts in the second half having them only shoot 19.4% from the field in the second half, including 0-11 from 3 pt range. Jackets destroyed Western Carolina in the rebounding column with a plus 26 advantage, outrebounding the Catamounts 52-26. They were able to shut down Lindsay Simpson in the second half holding her to just 5 points in the second half after she had 14 in the first half. I love the effort from Roddreka Rogers who grabbed 11 rebounds, including 7 offensive rebounds. Great rotations on their man defense, which included 17 Western Carolina turnovers.
Consistent 3 point shooting: IF Georgia Tech can shoot the 3 ball as consistant as they did against Western Carolina, they will cause a lot of hart ache’s for opponents. Team’s will play a lot of zone against the jackets this season due to their style of play and their athleticism. Jackets shot 13-24 (54.2%) from the 3, with Kaela Davis, Sydney Wallace, and Aaliyah Whiteside combining for 12 of the teams 13 3’s. What’s most impressive is how Whiteside was just as consistent as Davis and Wallace off the bench hitting three 3’s. With great ball movement, it makes sense that the jackets hit so many 3’s, but they did a great job of hitting their open looks that the defense gave them.