This is a 40,000 foot viewpoint type of question that I would love to hear your informed perspective on:
It seems like the athletics department as a whole is trending in a positive direction. President Cabrera‘s hire of J Batt looks like a strong one so far. The Competitive Drive Initiative was successful not only to raise a fair amount of funds, but perhaps even more importantly, it displayed a willingness of the Georgia Tech Foundation to contribute to athletics. The hire of the new executive associate athletics director/chief revenue officer looks like a great decision by Mr. Batt on paper, and the arrival of the Tech Way collective allows us to compete with other universities in the NIL arena.
While us fans wish for all the various Tech athletics programs to succeed, from a financial standpoint, it’s pretty clear that the success of the department hinges on the success of the football program and perhaps, to a lesser degree, men’s basketball. (I promise, I’m getting to my question.)
To me, it looks like Brent Key has a solid and realistic vision for the football program without the smoke and mirrors of the previous regime. This comes at a crucial time when the football program needs to demonstrate success by results on the field, attendance at games, and increased revenue.
The game of musical chairs with conference realignment has already begun, but it will still be another ~4-8 years before the game is over, which is at least my understanding based on buyout clauses.
With all this in mind, what do you think the chances are that the football program and, consequently, the athletics department as a whole can find enough success in these next few years to be one of the programs that finds a seat before the music stops? And why?
KQ- So the timeline is 2030 before there will be any movement with the ACC unless there is some sort of massive breakoff entirely from the NCAA and I think there are so many legal issues with that, it is unlikely as well.
GT needs to position itself to be competitive in major sports and even willing to spend money and add sports if necessary way down the line if they want a seat at certain tables. Cabrera seems interested in that as well and I'm sure J Batt would be if football can get back to where it was say 2016 and before in ticket sales/draw. Can they do that? If they win yes. Hoops, baseball and other sports can move the needle a little, but the majority of the conference stuff has been 100% about football and football only.
Saw you mention CJP would like to have Sturdy come back for another run to consume his final eligibility. I know a few weeks ago that wasn't on most's radar but given his last few games do you think it's a chance? Seems like him and Blue could be a nice tandem as we season the freshman.
KQ- Kyle I think wants to come back. Kyle has a choice on his hands because he could move down to a mid-major and be probably an all-conference-level guy. He is likely going to be a role player at this level, but he is a good leader and when he plays within himself a very solid rotation piece and very valuable in the ACC as that. I'll be curious to see what he does. I think he comes back.
If Pastner is gone do you think that could be the day after the last game? If no announcement by when do you think means he is back?
KQ- Typically that would happen sometime after they are eliminated and selection Sunday/that following Monday. There isn't a hard timetable that Batt has to follow like that. It is not like football where you have a signing class stacked against you each day you wait to do something immediately after the ACCT run is over. He can take a week if he wants to figure it out and see what the marketplace looks like. That is a big key in all of this as well beyond just the measuring of Josh. If he doesn't know for sure he can hire an upgrade it is an easy decision to sit pat. You can't go hire another Brian Gregory or Jim Christian or Danny Manning or some of the other oddball ACC hires in the last 15 years, or Sidney Lowe. You can't hire an assistant elsewhere either without head coaching experience those dudes get killed in the ACC, James Johnson, and the aforementioned Sidney Lowe come to mind.
This is not a training ground for a HC.
Question(s): Are NIL programs beginning to take some normative form? More like Notre Dame’s, $ once you’re on board but not as a recruiting inducement? Other than being late to launch, what’s your take on GT’s NIL ability to be competitive with the UNCs, Va Techs and NCStates of the world? And will we have time to upgrade ourselves or will it be too little too late? Highly speculative, yes, but your speculation is credible.
KQ- I think this has been explained a few different ways, but GT's set up is performance-based and not inducement based so if you perform you get money and the guys who are top performers get the most NIL money. That is how it is supposed to work and it allows you to retain players hopefully and incentivize others.
New question. Pastner talked about guys doing more to stay warm during the half. Even using guns to stay loose.
How does our S&C budget compare to other schools? Seems like we are always hobbled by key guys being injured or slow to recover for large stretches of games. Is it just bad luck or could we be doing a better job with injury prevention and early diagnosis or treatment?
KQ- To be honest, I have no idea when it comes to basketball in this context. Key just invested heavily in S&C and Geoff actually did as well. I'll see if I can find out anything more on that topic relative to hoops.
People talk about using better data science with conditioning but I don’t know that I have ever seen it work for us?
KQ- It is a mixed bag because it always comes down to other factors like raw talent, player development (that has been very good with basketball) and staying healthy (luck is a component of that).
Any worries about Deivon’s ongoing injury history at this point, and if similar to Jeff Sims it may start to affect him mentally? Also like Sims, he will also be going into his 3rd year here with the pressure of a coaching staff facing their own do or die season.
KQ- Deivon is a different cat and very talented so I see your Sims comparison. Deivon's primary problem is he plays at 150% all the time and that leads to weird injuries. He just landed funny on his ankle in practice and that shut him down for weeks. A lot of more active point guard types deal with that throughout their career. Derrick Rose is one that comes to mind immediately. Rose played 80+ twice in 14 years and one other season at 78 games and all of those came in his first three years in the NBA. He has probably missed as many games in his career as he has played.
For all his other issues, Todd did seem to have at least a moderate interest and engagement in the baseball program. Any idea from sources yet how Batt views the baseball program here and how he views college baseball in general as a line-item?
KQ- No idea at all. Here is what I'll say, baseball does matter to some important people who Batt needs help from so it will matter to him even if it is not a big priority yet.
Do you think Kelly and Deebo will be on the roster next year. Just seeing if they are happy and if we have the money to keep them. I assume Kelly is a guy that other schools will want.
KQ- Miles is an Atlanta kid, he wants to be here. I think Deebo has bought in, but his value is not where it needs to be yet for him to make a jump IMO. Deebo needs a year of being fully healthy. He has played this entire season with a pretty messed up Achilles that bothers him game to game. Coleman has played hurt all year basically.
As always, I’m curious about our recruiting at the LOS. Do you expect us to get any commitments from any talented OL and DL this Spring? If so, who are our top targets that you think could commit?
KQ- I'll let @Russell Johnson handle that
