Thanks to our sponsor Inteleca for helping bring back Q's Take my weekly look at things around GT and college sports from my vantage.
As I sit in my hotel in Los Angeles preparing for the CFB Playoff game tomorrow between Alabama and Michigan I am reminded of other big moments and games I've covered at Georgia Tech including a pair of Orange Bowls and three ACCCG appearances as well as two NCAA Tournaments. I missed the prime basketball era of Tech with Bobby Cremins and Paul Hewitt's good teams by a few years. I think Brent Key is in the right track to get football where it needs to go. With a 12-team playoff a couple of PJ's teams would've been in there and at least one of O'Leary's squads as well in 1998.
It was great covering a bowl game again, but the level of attention, media coverage and the energy that a big game brings for the fan base is something I would love to cover again for the program I have dedicated so many years of my life to now. I know it goes without saying the people reading this feel the same way.
With basketball, my excitement was actually much higher when I started covering Georgia Tech because of the recent basketball history. I had seen plenty of successful football teams covering UGA including multiple SECCG and big bowl games, but the basketball team was not great and it started well my first year and then no tournament for like 12 years or whatever it was and then it wasn't even the real thing because it was a bullshit covid year and Tech had to play without their best player and a team that should've won two games in the NCAAT was bounced in the first round.
I think Damon Stoudamire has figured out how to find and land talent, the development piece will be the key for him getting back to the Cremins/Hewitt level of being a team expected to compete in the top half of the ACC and getting to the tournament regularly again as well.
I hope everyone has a great New Year and it is a great one for the Jackets. I'm keeping this a little short because I'm a bit under the weather after some bad food. I did include some photos from this week for your enjoyment.
This is from the Lawry's Beef Bowl at Lawry's Prime Rib in Beverly Hills. It was tremendous
View attachment USATSI_22196760.jpg
View attachment USATSI_22196680.jpg
As I sit in my hotel in Los Angeles preparing for the CFB Playoff game tomorrow between Alabama and Michigan I am reminded of other big moments and games I've covered at Georgia Tech including a pair of Orange Bowls and three ACCCG appearances as well as two NCAA Tournaments. I missed the prime basketball era of Tech with Bobby Cremins and Paul Hewitt's good teams by a few years. I think Brent Key is in the right track to get football where it needs to go. With a 12-team playoff a couple of PJ's teams would've been in there and at least one of O'Leary's squads as well in 1998.
It was great covering a bowl game again, but the level of attention, media coverage and the energy that a big game brings for the fan base is something I would love to cover again for the program I have dedicated so many years of my life to now. I know it goes without saying the people reading this feel the same way.
With basketball, my excitement was actually much higher when I started covering Georgia Tech because of the recent basketball history. I had seen plenty of successful football teams covering UGA including multiple SECCG and big bowl games, but the basketball team was not great and it started well my first year and then no tournament for like 12 years or whatever it was and then it wasn't even the real thing because it was a bullshit covid year and Tech had to play without their best player and a team that should've won two games in the NCAAT was bounced in the first round.
I think Damon Stoudamire has figured out how to find and land talent, the development piece will be the key for him getting back to the Cremins/Hewitt level of being a team expected to compete in the top half of the ACC and getting to the tournament regularly again as well.
I hope everyone has a great New Year and it is a great one for the Jackets. I'm keeping this a little short because I'm a bit under the weather after some bad food. I did include some photos from this week for your enjoyment.
This is from the Lawry's Beef Bowl at Lawry's Prime Rib in Beverly Hills. It was tremendous
View attachment USATSI_22196760.jpg
View attachment USATSI_22196680.jpg
