If anyone has seen Nate McCollum please contact your local authorities. He was last seen in Chapel Hill taking money from an old man but dropped a football while doing so. If you have any info, please reach out!!!

Tonight was definitely awesome. Homecoming, honoring Paul Johnson, picking up another win against a ranked team. But kind of like what Key said on the post game show, they have a game next week. Virginia seems to be definitely improved, but it's time Tech starts stacking wins up and I definitely believe they can do that. They gotta stop gaining a little momentum just to have it taken away from them the next game. Take it one game at a time and see what good things come of it.

It will be interesting to see the mindsets of each team as it sounds like the Heels are in the dumper after the UVA loss. GT who the hell knows?

The most GT thing ever.

Lose to BG

Beat Miami

Lose to BC

Beat UNC

Greetings from BDS

Derrik Allen being third string as a grad-transfer is not what I was expecting to see given the amount of chances/reps he was given at GT.

A lot of other familiar names on this list, particularly if you follow recruiting closely.

UNC is fully invested in recruiting the state of Georgia, so look for that trend to continue in the upcoming years.

JAMES J. PHILLIPS: Welcome to day two of this year's ACC tip-off. Before I get started, I wanted to say something about the passing of Tasha Butts. Some of you may know Tasha. Some of you may not. Tasha Butts most recently was an assistant and then associate head coach at Georgia Tech. Was a great player at Tennessee.

I had a chance my first assistant AD job, had a chance to meet Tasha. She was a student-athlete there. Had a great playing career at Tennessee, played professionally, and then became an assistant coach, and her dream was to be a head coach.

She got that dream last March when Georgetown hired her, and she passed away on Monday after a long battle with breast cancer.

I had not seen Tasha in nearly two decades after I saw her on the campus at Tennessee, and she was just so full of life and just such a special woman and a special person, and oh, too young.

I had a chance to talk with the women's coaches yesterday and said the same thing, so I appreciate you letting me start today. But I think it's a reminder of the frailties of life, but just how powerful people are, and I know Tasha leaves an unbelievable legacy, so our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Butts family.

Thank you for allowing me to say those words.

Listen, yesterday was a terrific first day of ACC tip-off, showcasing our 15 amazing women's basketball teams. During the summer, I think a lot of you know, Jackie Carson joined our team as a senior associate commissioner for women's basketball, and she's done a tremendous job in her first three months.

We also hired Barbara Davis from the Big East as our director of women's basketball, and we know their additions will be extremely beneficial to the ACC and its membership.

Yesterday we also welcomed Tory Verdi, who was named Pitt women's basketball coach last spring, and the day was a chance to celebrate what makes ACC basketball so special. Our student-athletes, coaches and programs.

We're extremely proud to head into the season with the nation's best seven teams ranked in the USA Today coaches' poll. The collective strength of ACC women's basketball has been well-established. Consider our postseason success.

First, we led all conferences in 2023 with eight NCAA Tournament teams. Last year marked the fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament in which eight teams were selected, also the most of any conference in that span.

ACC teams have made five trips to the Final Four in the last five NCAA tournaments with Virginia Tech representing us last year.

Nine different institutions have represented the ACC in the women's Final Four. The ACC is the only conference to have at least three teams in the Sweet 16 in each of the last nine NCAA tournaments.

Finally, the ACC also owns the most NCAA Tournament wins, 119, of any conference in the last decade of competition.

Pretty remarkable.

After spending a full day with our student-athletes and coaches yesterday, I assure you there's incredible excitement, and it's going to be a season for all of us to remember.

Today we turn our focus to ACC men's basketball, and we know there's never a shortage of anticipation for our teams and our conference. This year, we welcome three new coaches to the ACC sidelines: Georgia Tech's Damon Stoudemire, Notre Dame's Micah Shrewsberry and Syracuse's Adrian Autry.

Our men's basketball teams continue to excel. The ACC has captured three of the last eight NCAA championships with 99 NCAA Tournament wins in that span. Current ACC schools have won eight NCAA titles in the last 22 tournaments and own 17 National Championships overall.

Our schools have combined for 67 men's Final Four appearances and a nation's best 664 NCAA Tournament wins, and the league owns the highest all-time NCAA tournament-winning percentage of any league, 618.

All 15 ACC league members own a staggering 1,000 or more all-time wins, including eight schools with 1,500 victories or more.

Finally, four of the top eight and six of the top 30 winningest programs in the NCAA Division I basketball history reside right here in our conference, the ACC.

We understand the bar is always set high for the ACC, including in men's basketball, and I'm incredibly confident our teams will once again rise to that occasion.

A lot has happened since we were together this summer at ACC kickoff. It's always terrific to see so many of you during my travels to our campuses and to our other events. The ACC and its membership continue to be national leaders.

Academically the ACC once again leads all FBS conferences in this year's U.S. News and World Report Rankings. Athletically no Power Five conference offers more than 28 sponsored sports, and our 15 women's offerings lead all.

Our programs have won more NCAA National Championships than any other conference in each of the last two years. Currently, six programs this fall are ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in their respective sports, the most of all conferences.

The ACC has won seven National Championships in football, men's basketball, women's basketball and baseball since 2015, and is the only conference to win each of those four titles over that stretch.

The ACC and its membership have so much to be proud of and the last two months have been monumental.

Our new conference office headquarters are just a few blocks away, and although we knew being a part of the Charlotte community would be incredible, it has exceeded our expectations.

I invite you to come and see our operation at Bank of America Tower on the 12th floor, see our state-of-the-art facilities.

As a league we launched the ACC's new brand campaign: Accomplish greatness. Amy Accola did an amazing job, and you're starting to see that pop up on our network and you'll see that throughout the year.

It's been embraced by our schools, and in the next week we will roll out our television spots and initiatives surrounding ACC basketball.

As all of you know, on September 1st, we welcomed three world-class institutions and athletic programs to the ACC family: Cal, SMU and Stanford joining us next summer.

The decision by the ACC board of directors strengthens the ACC both now and in the future, and it benefits each of our current institutions.

Throughout the entire process of exploring potential expansion, the priorities were to enrich and strengthen the ACC athletically, academically, and financially, while also enhancing the overall league stability and the board's ultimate decision achieves all of those priorities.

There's much more I could say with you this morning, but let me just tell you again, I appreciate all of you being here. I'll stop at this point and be happy to take any of your questions.

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech head baseball coach Danny Hall has been named an Honorary Georgia Tech Alumnus by the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, it was announced on Thursday.



Hall, in his 31st season heading the Tech program, will officially receive that honor on Feb. 15 as part of the Alumni Association’s 2024 Gold & White Honors Gala. Hall joins an elite list of honorary alumni from Georgia Tech athletics, including Bruce Heppler, Bobby Cremins, Homer Rice and Bobby Dodd.



“Words cannot describe how thrilled I am to be named an honorary alumnus at Georgia Tech,” Hall said. “My wife, Kara, and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and can safely call Georgia Tech and Atlanta home. My sons, Carter and Colin, have earned degrees for the Scheller College of Business and we are so proud to say that our sons are graduates and alumni. I have used the value of the Tech degree to lure some of the finest student-athletes in the country to The Flats. I’m humbled and proud to join this prestigious community.”



The ABCA Hall of Famer has compiled a career record of 1,378-749-1 (.648) in 36 seasons as a head coach, including an 1,170-632-1 (.649) record in 30 seasons at Georgia Tech (1994-present). Hall’s 1,170 wins are the most in Tech history and the most among any active NCAA coach in the country. His .649 winning percentage on The Flats ranks second among Tech coaches with more than 700 games coached, behind only Morris (.674). Under Hall, the Yellow Jackets have compiled 15 40-win seasons and four 50-win seasons, including the school record 52-win campaign in 2002.



“Congratulations to Coach Hall on this great, well-deserved honor,” Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt said. “His 1,100-plus wins and the incredible number of All-Americans and Major Leaguers that he has produced at Georgia Tech speak for themselves. But what makes this honor so appropriate for Coach Hall is how he has represented the Institute and its ideals on and off the field during his tenure. I’m very happy for Georgia Tech athletics’ newest Tech alumnus, Danny Hall.”



He has led the Jackets to its only three College World Series appearances (1994, 2002, 2006), 23 NCAA Regional appearances, and six NCAA Super Regional appearances. He’s been named ACC Coach of the Year four times, winning seven ACC regular season/divisional championships and five ACC Tournament championships. He was also named the Sporting News’ National Coach of the Year in 1997.



Hall’s student-athletes have achieved tremendous success, having 139 Yellow Jackets drafted, including 15 first-round picks, and 32 of them playing in the Big Leagues. His players have earned 120 all-America honors, 140 all-ACC selections, and 28 freshman all-America awards. Not limited to just success on the playing field, Hall’s Jackets have also earned 19 academic all-American honors with more than 200 student-athletes named to the ACC academic honor roll.

@Kelly Quinlan what’s the promotion you’re running (unless I missed it already) to give access to a guest till the UGA game? Have a few friends interested in trials before hopefully signing up.

Did a thread instead of DM so if others also did it might help get the word out. If you’d prefer handle via pm I’m happy to just DM and delete the thread.

CHESTNUT HILL, MA – No. 11 Georgia Tech volleyball (18-3, 9-2 ACC) went the distance with Boston College (14-11, 3-8 ACC), defeating the Eagles in five sets (20-25, 25-19, 25-18, 18-25, 15-9) on Friday night inside Power Gym. Tamara Otene recorded her 1,000th career kill as the Jackets delivered their ninth road win of the season.



QUICK HITS

• This is Georgia Tech’s fourth win in a row over Boston College dating back to the 2019 season.
• Tech improves to 9-1 on the road this season, tied for the seventh most road victories in program history.
• Senior outside hitter Tamara Otene recorded her 1,000th career kill in the third set, becoming the 9th Jacket in the 1,000-kill club in the modern scoring era (since 2008) and the 5th in the Coach Collier era (since 2014).
• She set a new season high with 24 kills tonight, bringing her career total to 1,009.
• Otene also managed 10 digs, her team-leading 12th double-double of the year, bringing her season total to 257, the most by any hitter in the Power 5.
• Junior outside hitter Bianca Bertolino delivered her 8th double-double of the year, making 19 kills and 14 digs on .341 hitting.
• She has now hit 39 kills on .395 hitting in her last two matches.
• Senior libero Paola Pimentel secured a team-best 16 digs. She has made at least 10 digs in 20 of her 21 matches this year.
• Freshman setter Heloise Soares led the team with 35 assists with senior setter Bella D’Amico adding 21 of her own.
• Sophomore middle blocker Anna Boezi posted six blocks tonight (two solo, four assisted). She improves her average to 1.17 blocks/set over her eight career starts since taking over at middle blocker.
• Freshman opposite Larissa Mendes made 12 kills on .321 hitting, she has hit over .300 in four of her 10 ACC matches.
• Senior defensive specialist Liz Patterson made a pair of digs to go along with a pair of aces, as a serving sub. She has recorded digs in seven consecutive matches, the longest streak of her career.
• Patterson has now made at least one service ace in three straight matches. She has served five aces with just one error over that span.
• Tech has now played in four consecutive five set road matches, holding a 3-1 record in those matches.
• The White and Gold are 4-1 in fifth sets this season, the most five-set wins since 2018.
  

Set By Set



Set 1 (BC, 25-20): Boston College came out swinging on Alumnae day, taking advantage of a slow start defensively for GT and taking the opening set. The Eagles made a 4-0 run to go in front, 16-12, and managed to hold off the Jackets for the rest of the set. Bertolino made five kills and four digs to lead the team. But the defense wasn’t up to standard as Tech found itself a set down, on the road.



Set 2 (GT, 25-19): The Jackets responded right away in the second as kills from Boezi and Otene gave GT a 3-0 lead. BC managed to tie the match, 4-4, only for Boezi to deliver two more blocks, thanks to some great serving from Patterson, to send the Jackets on a 4-0 run, re-establishing the cushion at 9-5. Coach Collier subbed in Soares as the Eagles looked to be getting back into the set, 16-14, and she led the offense on 4-1 run, putting Tech back up by five, 20-15. Otene ended the set with her team-leading seventh kill, ending a bounce-back set for the Kiwi who shouldered much of the offense (7 kills, 17 attacks). The Jackets made five blocks in the set, led by the three by Boezi. DeAndra Peirce recorded two blocks in the set, including a crucial solo block to spur the late, 4-1 scoring run.



Set 3 (GT, 25-18): Boston College seamed poised to take momentum right back to start the third, going in front, 7-4. But the Jackets weathered the storm, tying things back up at 10-10, before going on a long, 11-3 scoring run to rip the set out of the Eagles’ talons. Otene and Soares handled the bulk of the serving duties throughout the run as Bertolino rattled off six late kills, including four in a row from 19-17 to 23-17, to secure the set. Tech’s offense was humming, making 18 kills on .516 hitting in the third. Soares made 17 assists in the set, distributing the ball to Otene (seven kills on .500 hitting), Bertolino (six kills on .600 hitting) and Mendes (four kills on .667 hitting) with tremendous success throughout. Pimentel led the back row with four digs as Boezi, once again, led the effort at the net, adding in two more blocks.



Set 4 (BC, 25-18): The Jackets couldn’t find an answer for the early BC rally in the fourth, falling behind 9-3, and never getting back within four. The GT passing was substandard as the Eagles forced a fifth set by seven points. Otene made six kills on .308 hitting but it wouldn’t be enough.



Set 5 (GT, 15-9): Pimentel’s second ace of the night tied the fifth at 5-5 after BC got out to a 5-3 lead. Both sides traded points until the Jackets delivered an 8-1 scoring run off the serves of Patterson and Soares to silence the crowd and send Georgia Tech into the win column once again. Tech stood its ground defensively, making seven digs, led by three from Pimentel, while siding out at an impressive 80 percent clip in the deciding set. The final point of the night was won via a block from Boezi and Mendes and the Jackets escaped with their ninth road win of the season.



UP NEXT
Georgia Tech will be fighting for its 10th road victory of the season on Sunday afternoon at Syracuse (2-18, 0-10 ACC). The match will begin at 1 p.m., inside the Women’s Building, and will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

Just one coach on the road tonight..

RB coach Norv McKenzie is at North Cobb HS.

Home of four-star RB David Eziomume, currently committed to Clemson.
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WGW


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Section 108. PM me if you want them. Tech fans only, no Heels.

Go jackets!

This weekend it is a great honor that Coach Johnson is coming back and we can honor him for his HOF induction and I’m appreciative of everything he did here as the head football coach and his pride in being here. It’s fortunate to have him back here and it is a credit to what he did here and the players he developed and the success he had. His first year as a coach and his guys have graduated and they are becoming very successful in their own right. It is great to see your former players and what they are up to.

Good game this Saturday and excited to play a challenging opponent and a great opponent and two teams that are QB-driven in what they do. Drake is a heck of a QB. It is a different play caller on offense and it is a little different, but it all goes through the QB.

Defensively they’ve made a lot of improvements with a lot of the same players back and they play together under the same coordinator.

Coaches and players make sure they are all on top of things. I'm excited to play on Saturday night and it will be a big atmosphere and a good one surrounding the game.

ON UNC’s Receivers, we want to stop them and stop what they do and stop what they do and some of the bigger plays they do. One of the bigger things is we want to stop them and they’ve got several good receivers and two good running backs. We want to limit explosive plays and limit things on the field.

I think personnel driven the passing game will be better getting guys healthy and playing full speed and help the timing in the pass game and helping things all around. I think I said it on Tuesday, we have to get an efficient running game going and there have been some big yardage numbers but a lot of that has been on QB runs and scrambles. We need to alleviate that. Help out in the run game.

Key said that he made some interjections into the run game better and you don’t want to remake the whole game plan at halftime, you want to practice things and there are other ways to do things with a different shift or motion and take what they are doing and how does that compliment what we are doing as well. Those are things we worked on as well to implement going forward.

On Avery Boyd, You will see a lot of Avery regardless of who is healthy, he will be on the field a lot regardless of who else can play.

On Kyle Efford, he has to continue to improve, but what he brings on that side of the ball is he brings some leadership and it is two-way leadership and doing what you are supposed to do and the respect he has and the way he carries himself and not arrogance. When he speaks up people listen because he has backed it up on the field. His knowledge of the game has improved from playing this year and he is quicker to the ball and quicker in coverage. He didn’t get quicker, it is his true knowledge

Key said they addressed being locked in, people chose not to hear them as much after you win a game, they think you are focusing on the negative. You show them the things that are right and wrong, but they get magnified on your block or your fit on the run game. The same thing took place and someone didn’t get caught in the point of attack. It is about identifying those things in practice. It is not about a loaf in practice, you have to correct it. We have pursuit and takeoff drills and perfect plays. That is the beauty of playing with tempo offensively. It doesn’t allow you to stop and think. That tempo allows you to stay fast and it forces guys to do that. We call them out and peers call them out, if they continue to happen you replace those guys and they don’t play. You don’t have one player playing too much at a position where we need to sub, you don’t want them playing too many snaps as well. We need to do a better job of rotating guys at the right spots and not playing guys too much that we will need in the 4th quarter. That is on coaching, the players and even recruiting because we need to build depth. We have to work to improve on to keep those things from happening.

Key said they are healthier this week as well.

THE FLATS – Caleb Currier has been appointed to the role of assistant coach for the women’s basketball team, head coach Nell Fortner announced. Currier will also retain his duties as director of recruiting operations.

“Caleb has been such a great addition to us as our director of recruiting operations,” said Fortner. “He’s an incredibly hard worker, a grinder and is very detailed and organized. He deserved this opportunity to transition to the coaching world. We’re looking forward to seeing how he elevates us this year.”

Currier begins his second season on Fortner’s staff in 2023-24 after arriving on The Flats as director of recruiting operations last season. He brings a wealth of basketball knowledge, having worked with elite programs before joining the Yellow Jackets. From 2019-21, Currier served as a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee. In that role, he implemented and maintained recruiting strategies, while supporting the coaching staff in all recruiting operations. Additionally, Currier assisted with the daily operations of the program.

A 2019 graduate from the University of Tennessee, Currier also served as a student manager from 2016-19. He immediately arrived at Georgia Tech from the University of North Carolina where he worked in ticket operations.

Earlier this year, the NCAA Division I Council changed its rules for coaching limits, adding two additional assistant coaches to men’s and women’s basketball.

Georgia Tech women’s basketball opens the season with an exhibition against Georgia College on Nov. 2 and officially tips-off the campaign on Nov. 6, welcoming Coastal Carolina to McCamish Pavilion. Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are currently on sale. To purchase season tickets, please click here or call the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 888.TECH.TIX.

Buzzer Beaters
Fans also have the option to purchase a Buzzer Beaters membership for just $35. Membership includes eight (8) pre-game Chalk Talks with snacks and beverages, locker room tour and an exclusive invitation to an open practice. Please click here to purchase a Buzzer Beaters membership.

Ellis “Buck” Shamburger passed yesterday. Buck played at Tech in the 50’s under Coach Dodd and was a founder of a club called “Dodd’s Boys.” He won a National Championship under Dodd as a backup QB. I met him at a 4th of July celebration at Newtown Park. I had on a Tech t-shirt, thankfully, and he inquired if I went to Tech. We struck up a conversation, traded phone numbers and became great friends. He attended my son’s high school lacrosse games, invited me to the Dodd’s Boys events and I visited him in his box at the BG game. His son Ellis “Bucky” Shamburger is also a Tech legend, playing football at Tech in the mid-70’s. A very sad day for the Tech family. Prayers up!

Let's do this. Standard day, standard time. Fire away.

I made an annoyed tweet while sitting in dead-stop traffic on I-85 today going up to Charlotte near Spartanburg. I-85 thanked me by shredding a perfectly good rear tire about 20 minutes from my hotel near the Charlotte airport and then giving me an over-torqued lugnut That I spent 20 minutes trying to take off before a good samaritan dude with a toolbox pulled over and helped me get it off and put the spare on.

Don't mess with I-85

Here are a few gifs i decided to breakdown to give an idea of what happened on field vs. BC. These are used to give others a different perspective on how to watch football. I don’t do this to disparage players or coaches, but to give insight to GT enthusiast on what I’ve learned as a player and avid football fan.

This is game was the antithesis of what Coach Brent Key sold it as. We lacked discipline, structure, and the aggression that we all believed CBK was going to deliver. What made this review so frustrating was we made it easy for BC with our mental mistakes not their scheme or talent




King didn’t have a good day passing but Blaylock left him out to dry quite a bit with his poor route running. This RPO was the perfect call but with Blaylock not flattening this slant, it allows the DB to get an angle to undercut the ball and break the play up. Blaylocks lazy route running also contributed to the pick 6 imo




When we do play aggressive and attack blockers on defense. Good things happen. Good job by Tatum flowing and making the tackling for minimal gain



This type of stuff drive me nuts!! You put 8 people in a zone multiple guys at the sticks. You force Castellanos to run out the pocket. #9 Kennard must rush him as soon as he’s outside the pocket. No need to back up or worry about at the TE. GO HIT THE QB!!!




You can make the perfect call and still not execute. This was a big momentum shift in the game to me. This was a forced ball into double coverage. I’m not sure what #5 CPL is doing here as the lurker. He has no threat of a crosser and all other routes shallow. This should’ve been an easy INT



Again, right call poor execution by King. We have a goalline pinch called which should allow the 2nd level to flow to the outside unblocked. #97 Eddie Kelly does great job taking on the block and eliminating 2 blockers. Unfortunately, King leaves his responsibility as the force/contain guy and sticks his nose in the pile of players and loses the edge

We need a lot more this. Players making plays. Poor throw by Castellanos. Ball should be in the middle of goalpost or left upright. The throw to the right upright gave Harvey the opportunity to make this play



Us being aggressive again and being rewarded for it



Formationing yourself into a win. 3x1 set - if the boundary cb travels to the 3 WR side, that is dead give it’s man coverage. Good job the WRs creating pick and good ball by Haynes for the way score



Special teams being special. A low snap screws up the hold and forces an extra point. Our margin for errors are too thin for these mishaps to continue



You want your coach to do this??? Come out of a TV timeout to start the quarter on a crucial play with only 10 players on the field. Based on other replays, it appears Kennard was missing




Even with 10 players, this should’ve been bottled up. Under no circumstances, Miles Brooks should be rushing the QB unless Sherrer wants to tell us that #11 should man up the TE which i doubt




Over the past few weeks, one of past few weeks I’ve noticed some sloppiness in King footwork. Here the ball sails on him on a wide open throw that he’s made all year due to him being balance. The DT shouldn’t have influenced this throw. He be stepping into in not back.



Here BC Running QB counter. We crashed the DL right to the formation strength. 2 issues.

#8 Makius Scott on the left has to continue his pursuit to the right and cross that OT face. By him trying to swim back left gets him sealed and creates a lane.

#1 Mile has to slow play this. There is no need to be in a hurry until you see the QB going to the edge. Him overrunning the play allows Castellanos to hit his head on the goalpost

Every time I use the GT app to listen to the coach’s show or the game the opening ad (not radio ad) is a Brock Bowers or one of their DBs talking about uga football. I thought surely someone would know that this is not the place for that. Anybody have JBatt’s number? Literally giving our rival’s players NIL money.

Like Derrick Moore Said in 2015. Saturday Night in Bobby Dodd Stadium we send a message and We Ain’t Dead Yet!!!!

Stoudamire jumped in immediately when I got over to him on NIL. He said that with pro sports there is a responsibility to get paid. These are kids and you can't give them a pass because now they are getting paid too. Then the NCAA hasn't implemented any rules and he said he feels like they did that on purpose. You can't just implement NIL and not put in any rules. They put a bunch of money in the neighborhood and then told everyone to just go get it with no rules. I'll shoot you to get the money.

I asked about how the fundraising piece is going. He said that J Batt and his team do a great job of handling the heavy lifting part of getting alums engaged with the NIL people and he is mostly brought in to talk to them. He is all for getting kids paid and the model is bad and it is not sustainable and everyone is going to go out of business and go bankrupt. You can't ask people that help build the buildings and put holes in the ground and come around and ask for $100k. They didn't get rich by giving away money like that and then on top of that you tell them it is not tax deductible either.

Stoudamire said that whenever you ask for money from someone you are going to get a lecture, but if you come with a plan they are usually going to ask how much do you need but at the end of the day it is hard to raise money and you've got to go out and just do it and hope that people understand why and what NIL is about and what it looks like. We've been doing well and J and those guys have done a great job and will continue to do it, but they've got to make it easier on institutions and the people asked to fundraise to generate the interest to want to donate and give and that it is for a better cause but right now we are in a pay-for-play environment and then we are telling them they can't write it off. Also what no one is saying is the NCAA is still not giving any of their money up either. They are getting all that money. This isn't a sustainable model.

Stoudamire said there is nothing tying the kid either and they can go in the portal whenever, but also they can choose to not pay them if they are not good enough either. It is like a movie.

Stoudamire said there are no rules and they are just giving them money and they have people talk to them about money but there are no safeguards in place to protect the kids and he thinks they are setting him up for failure. He said if he had access to this type of money at their age he would've spent it all and the kids are doing that. He thinks they should be putting 70% of the NIL money away for the kids and letting them have 30% and it shouldn't be a choice so they have something left at the end of the day. They are getting hired like pros but not given the support even pro sports get from the NCAA.

Stoudamire said that him and Bonzi share horror stories of guys they know in the NBA who went broke but he said he still had a player walk in the other day with a Louis Vuitton pouch and the Maury sweats that cost $1500

Stoudamire said he would put rules that you can only get paid if you did something to earn it. Like if your initial ranking said this you are tiered money on the initial signing and then moving forward how you play dictates who much you get. This is pay-for-play if you out play your money then you get more and there is no limit on how much the school can give you after that but it is on the school, but for the initial signing. They don't know what that looks like nothing is a given with any signing. "For me, I can't lead with money. I need to know somebody wants to play for me. Because if we lead with money it becomes a transactional relationship and I don't want that because I can't coach you." He isn't against NIL and kids should get some money, but the implementation has been poorly done.

On why he came to GT, GT is an institution and in the ACC and he had a really good job and he tended to lean toward being a pro coach rather than a college coach. After his first year in the NBA as a coach he thought he would never come back to college unless it was the right job. GT checked a lot of boxes and made it easier for him.

On recruiting the ATL, he said it is not easy recruiting Atlanta and there are a lot of kids who just want to leave and see something else. He said he has done a pretty good job of recruiting in Atlanta and the first kid he ever signed at Memphis was from Atlanta and he maintained a lot of relationships and already knew a lot of people here so that helped him. He is a big relationship guy.

Stoudamire said his favorite part of practice is teaching. Breaking it down on offense or defense, he likes the teaching aspect because these guys don't know and that is the most important thing for him is the attention to detail.

Stoudamire said his least favorite part of coaching is yelling at someone or cussing someone out but he will do it if they are not doing the right thing over and over again (I've seen this myself and it is interesting because he is so laid back most of the time). He doesn't understand that part because when he grew up you just did what you were supposed to do and didn't get a pat on the back, you just became a creature of habit and did the right things instinctively.

I asked him what he learned in the secret scrimmage and he said that they can shoot with the lights on. Now he wants to see it with some fans in the stands. They also didn't turn the ball over, but he feels like they have a lot of work to do defensively.

On what he will have learned six months from now about this team, he is a process driven guy and he tells his kids they cannot skip the process it doesn't matter if they are 11-4 or 4-11 at that time, you have to honor the process. He is the CEO and he has to manage that. If they jump out and are 11-4 then he is managing success and if they are 4-11 he is managing expectations so you have to be ready for both, but the process never changes.

Damon said he does not eat the day of a game and fasts. He said he has always been like that and he will eat a little something after the game, but he doesn't like eating late so if it is a later game he will just have a little something. Even when he played he used to do that.

He was asked about the perception of the league post-Coach K and Coach Williams, he said that to the outside there is a lot of uncertainty about the ACC, but he would be lying if he didn't say the job is easier now than when Josh Pastner had it four years ago with so many new coaches now in the league compared to that time. He said Duke will be Duke and UNC will be UNC, he doesn't think that is changing but there has been change and seeing what Jim Larranaga is doing at Miami for example into a top program the last few years shows there is room for others teams to emerge now but you have to build it the right way. NIL has changed things a lot as well

I asked him his opinion on one and done, he said people think he is crazy but he loves one and done. He said he doesn't care about winning or losing, he isn't scared to be fired. He has had jobs and success so he isn't scared of that. One and dones are talented kids and if you bring them in you aren't going to be afraid of them because if they come you are going to win. At the end of the day he gets more excited about seeing kids succeed and he almost cares about that more than his own individual success as a coach. Coaches have good years and they get extensions but if you have a good team and none of those players turn into pros, who really won? At the end of the day he wants everyone rewarded in the same way. One and dones are a notch for the program and to him coaching is about everyone getting what they want out of it. He doesn't want raises or extensions and the kids not make it to the NBA.

On who is standing out to him right now on the team, Miles Kelly and Deebo Coleman are standing out. Deebo has probably been the MVP of the team so far because he is standing out and he is the guy they asked to change the most and do something different than what he was used to. He applauds him for what he has done and he is playing really well and he has done everything I've asked. He has said make it hard on me coach, don't make it easy on me. I think he has bought in. He is shooting the ball well. Also Kowacie Reeves has been the most consistent players every day, doesn't mean he is the best player, but he is doing his job and being in the right place at the right time. It isn't about him making or missing shots, he has been doing the right thing and so has Deebo.

Stoudamire said he used to look for clones of himself as a PG and he won't do that anymore because he doesn't see guys like that and he is looking for someone who wants to pass the ball and score.

He said the biggest difference between college and pros is the pros have a great feel for the game at that point and they know who they are as players and they are getting paid for that so they tend to better prepared for that. He said that college kids are all about the process and building them up to find that identity.

McMullen recently decommitted from Alabama. Nice late 2024 grab for Ramsey, Hall, and the rest of the staff.


From his PG profile-

Cooper McMullen is a 2024 OF, RHP, 1B/3B with a 6-2, 178 lb. frame from Bonaire, GA who attends Tattnall Square Academy. Recorded a 6.72 second 60-yard dash time. Long frame with a good combination of athleticism and projectability. Primary outfielder who glides to the ball staying behind it well, getting on top of throws. Threw 91 mph from the outfield with carry to bases. Right-handed hitter with a slightly open stance with a hover trigger and good shift into contact. The hands are very quick with loose wrists and whip in the barrel. Consistent line drive swings to middle and pull side with projectable juice. Outstanding student. Named to WWBA Underclass Workout Showcase TP list

Login to view embedded media His visit will be an official visit, I’ve confirmed.

Colorado is in heavy pursuit here as well. This is the recruit that goes by the nickname of “Megatron”