WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some 18-loss seasons feel a lot better than others. No, Georgia Tech didn’t improve on its win-loss record in its first season under Damon Stoudamire, landing at 14-18 a year after going 15-18 in its final season with Josh Pastner at the helm in 2022-23. The program’s one-in-the-last-14-years tournament drought will continue after Tuesday’s season-ending 84-80 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC tournament.
Nonetheless, this year felt like perhaps the first year of something different. If you told Yellow Jackets fans before the season that they would beat both Duke and North Carolina, for instance, they would have been thrilled. Tech also beat three other potential tournament teams (Mississippi State, Clemson, and Wake Forest).
That résumé leaves Tech with a 4-1 record against Quad 1A teams, and thus the amazing distinction of being one of only five teams in the history of the NET ratings to have at least four wins against Quad 1A with only one or fewer losses.
Of course, there’s the little problem of losing to UMass-Lowell, Louisville, Georgia, and Tuesday, for the third time, Notre Dame. Tech’s freshmen flashed their promise in some of those landmark wins, most notably when center Baye Ndongo dominated Duke All-American Kyle Filipowski in the stunning December upset of the Blue Devils. But on too many other nights, the youth was, well, a rambling wreck.
Tuesday’s loss was a perfect example, as the troops took too long to get out of the gate in the noon start and fell behind by double figures before the coffee kicked in. A late Tech second-half rally flamed out thanks to a poor transition defense sequence and two late turnovers.
Looking back, the start was the biggest problem. Tech trailed 17-5 just six minutes into the game and spent the rest of the game trying to claw back.
“The moment,” said Stoudamire. “I’m big on that. I’ve played a lot of basketball, and I’ve coached a lot of basketball. I’ve really been in high-level games. I just thought the moment when we started the game, we weren’t locked in.”
Tech also failed late. The Jackets were up 1 with just over a minute left when they got caught with three players deep in the backcourt following an Irish rebound, opening the floor for speedster Markus Burton to get the go-ahead layup. The final two offensive trips ended with turnovers on attempted Naithan George-to-Ndongo pick-and-roll passes.
Although the threat of roster poaching is ever-present in the NIL era, Tech’s young core is the biggest reason to believe in the program’s future. Its two best players on Tuesday were freshmen, Ndongo and George, and only two of this year’s top nine players were seniors.
Despite the dud ending, the pick-and-roll chemistry with George and Ndongo looks promising; they combined for 46 points and 10 assists on Tuesday. George picked on the tiny Burton in Tech’s late rally, cruelly hunting him in ball-screen action when he got his fourth foul in the second half.
The following montage generously sprinkles in George and Ndongo highlights:
The young stars shined bright in their first ACC tournament game 🌟@NDmbb | @GTMBB | #ACCMBB pic.twitter.com/joMbXvGteW
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) March 12, 2024
Stoudamire pointed to that Burton-hunting stretch of the second half as an example of the cerebral, pro-style game he’d like to play, and how it was hard to implement that with young players in Year 1. It likely contributed to this year’s inconsistency.
“Picking on matchups,” said Stoudamire. “Most college guys just run 1-5 ball screens. Burton got four fouls. Everybody stay flat, whoever you’re guarding, come set a screen, set a real screen, come off, let’s see what we got. I just think that once (we get) the mindset and the terminology and the fluidity of what we’re doing, we won’t have the inconsistent play.”
“I think the future is really bright just because we showed glimpses of what we could actually do,” said George. “I felt like we were able to do it this year, but we fell short. But I feel like the young guys and everyone that’s stepped up like Tafara (Gapare), Baye and just seeing everyone come today, even Kowacie (Reeves) as well. Just seeing us build, I feel like the future is really bright.”
Meanwhile, Ndongo made several “short roll” passes to the weak side in this game that weren’t necessarily in his bag at the start of the season. Ndongo had three assists and, more amazingly, zero turnovers against Notre Dame, and 12 assists in the final eight games. Baby steps and all, but his dimes were a one-every-lunar-eclipse event for much of conference play, and he had a whopping 74 turnovers coming into Tuesday. Versus the Irish, He made multiple passes like this one:
💦 SPLASH 💦@GTMBB | ACCNpic.twitter.com/9jII90a5Nu
— ACC Men’s Basketball (@accmbb) March 12, 2024
If those two are back, Georgia Tech has more reinforcements on the way; four-star wing Jaedon Mustaf and four-star guard Brandon Stores have already committed. Developmental investments in Gapare and Ibrahima Sacko might also pay off next season, if they’re back.
That said, you don’t roll up big win totals in the ACC with freshmen; Stoudamire was already putting his offseason GM hat on ahead of transfer portal season. With transfer activity starting (checks watch) roughly now or so, he’ll have to figure out where the holes are in his roster and which of his own players might be leaving for greener pastures.
“I learned a lot this year,” said Stoudamire of his first season in the ACC. “As we move forward, being in this conference and being where I’m trying to go, where we’re trying to go as a program, you learn how to recruit. You learn the different styles of play within the conference.
“There’s a lot of intel taken. From being in the pros — I study coaches a lot, so I was studying coaches, studying philosophies, looking at the way guys play — and now I can construct my roster accordingly. I look forward to moving forward. For me, it really starts now. It’s time to try to go reconstruct the team and look at players. That’s part of it.”
So now, we wait on portal season (it officially opens for business on Monday and lasts 45 days). But if Stoudamire the GM can give Stoudamire the coach just a couple more reinforcements, this might the last time Georgia Tech plays an ACC tournament game on Tuesday for a while.
(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
