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& Dabo said he’d quit coaching.

My story on the loss to Pitt to close out the #GaTech 2022-23 season and what comes next for Josh Pastner and the Jackets' program.

I apologize for having to move the Q&A off of Tuesday’s moving forward, but due to practice not ending until 9pm on Tuesday’s, it just isn’t feasible any longer while the season is going on at the very least.

Beginning TODAY, the change has been made to have the Q&A every Thursday at 9:15pm.

I am still looking into the possibility of entering the world of a video format, but believe moving to Thursday moving forward will create the environment around the Q&A that you all know and love.

See you tonight.

- Russell

Wednesday, March 8, 2023


ATLANTA, Ga. – Georgia Tech’s 2022 WNBA Draft Pick, Lorela Cubaj has signed a training camp contract with the Atlanta Dream, the organization announced on Wednesday.

Cubaj was drafted in the second round (No. 18 overall pick) of the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm, and was acquired by the New York Liberty via trade, to become the ninth overall Yellow Jacket selected in the WNBA Draft in program history. Cubaj played in 11 games with the Liberty, averaging 8.0 minutes and 2.1 rebounds per game. She will return to Atlanta after playing with Umana Reyer Venezia this season.

Cubaj finished a storied collegiate career helping Georgia Tech to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022, including the program’s second-ever run to the Sweet 16 in 2021. The Terni, Italy, native was a two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2021, 2022), all-ACC first team selection and all-defensive team honoree. Cubaj was named the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Women’s College Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022, and was a two-time WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches’ All-America honorable mention. The standout was also one of four finalists for the 2022 Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The Yellow Jacket standout finished her collegiate career with 1,293 career points and 1,265 career rebounds to become the program’s all-time leading rebounder. She started 149 games and appeared in 153 (a program best), while averaging a double-double her final two seasons.

...and currently one of the TOP TEAMS for 2023 fundraising!! (and less than $7K away from $400,000 raised since 2008!!)
(and I'm still looking for my 1st $10K year!!) → https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/buzzfan2023

Josh Pastner, Ja'von Franklin and Kyle Sturdivant

Josh Pastner on the side

Miles Kelly

Kyle Sturdivant

Lance Terry

Deebo Coleman


Pitt's Jeff Capel, Federiko and Burton

Georgia Tech continued their early success in the mid-week department on Tuesday with a 10-5 win over Lipscomb. Noah Samol pitched effectively yet again. The biggest thing for him as his confidence grows is to limit his walks, and he did that on Tuesday with 0. Joseph Mannelly struck out the side in the 9th, but also gave up three hits and one run in the process.

The bats were able to put up 10 runs, but I continue to be a bit concerned overall by the amount of strikeouts, especially at the top of the lineup and the high-impact guys.

K Leaders-

Stephen Reid- 17
Jake DeLeo- 15
Jackson Finley- 13
Nicholas Romano- 12
John Giesler- 12

Only Angelo Dispigna among the regulars has more walks (9) than he does strikeouts (7)

Elsewhere around the conference, things got a bit weird in a few places...

No. 5 Wake Forest lost their first game of the season, falling to Coastal Carolina 13-11.
No. 9 Louisville didn't have any trouble with Morehead State, winning 11-1.
No. 11 Virginia Tech dominated their matchup with UMass Lowell, winning 22-4
No. 14 UNC took care of business in an 8-4 victory over Western Carolina
No. 17 Virginia came out on top against William & Mary
No. 19 NC State had some serious pitching issues in a narrow 15-13 win over UNC-Greensboro
No. 21 Florida State kept the momentum rolling with a 10-1 win over Bethune-Cookman
Duke and Clemson both handled their non-conference matchups with minimal issue.
Boston College knocked off No. 3 Tennessee. The Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 9 in a row.
Pitt lost to South Florida 2-1

Elsewhere in the Top 25. . . . . . .

No. 2 Stanford got doubled up 10-5 by Santa Clara
No. 10 TCU went down 8-7 to UT-Arlington

Sitting courtside awaiting the end of the WF-Cuse game. GT will play at 2:30 or 20 minutes after the conclusion of this game.

Come crack a cold beer, sit back, and relax to the latest DWTJ Episode with special guest Jared Johnson! Jared details he journey from a small 1A Georgia high school to a PWO walk on DT at GSU as an engineer and how he fought the infamous Man Bearpig. Besides some GT cross over from playing under Jeff Monken and tackling Jaybo Shaw. The bois also dive deep into Tech's hot start this Beesball season (sans the dwags) and GT Men's nice run to end of the season for Basketball. Crack those crispy bois and dive in!

Right here:

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

Honestly had never heard of them before. Won the conference but can’t go to the Dance due to reclassification.

Also, Northern Arizona one win shy of the Tournament at 12-22 overall.

Lipscomb heads to Atlanta on Tuesday in a mid-week game looking for a chance to re-gain the positive momentum and resume building that they had to start the year.

Lipscomb kicked off the 2023 season with a big series win vs. Notre Dame at home (!) before taking a series 2-1 again UIC, losing to Tennessee Tech, and then getting swept by Auburn over the weekend. They come into Tuesday's matchup having won just two of their last seven games.

THREE TO WATCH

3B Trace Willhoite- .297/.426/.703 with 4 HR, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 11 K in 37 AB

1B Mason Lungrin- .357/.440/.452 with 0 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB, 8 K in 42 AB

P Alex Brewer-
3.0 IP vs. Notre Dame with 0 hits, 2 R (0 ER) 1 BB, 5 K
2.0 IP vs. SI with 1 hit, 0 R, 4 K* (only start thus far)
1.1 IP vs. UIC with 3 hits, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
2.2 IP vs. Auburn with 5 hits, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Not a single batter on the Lipscomb roster has more walks than they do strikeouts, so throwing strikes will be paramount for Dalton Smith and anyone else that pitches. It isn't right to call their offense a one-man show, but Trace is about as close as one can get to that in baseball, leading the team in RBI by 7, and .292 more of an OPS than anyone on the roster.

First pitch at 4PM

Always enjoy talking with Kylan and his family. GT is in the mix for the long-haul here.

Recruiting update with McCant; he is visiting The Flats this weekend.

Greetings from the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill. GT just arrived, will check and see who is with the team because they are going straight from here to Greensboro.

Yes, these are predictions, but it is usually close to accurate barring tourney upsets..and definitely gets in the heads of the talking heads and others.

If these come to fruition, It would be laughable. No one can explain the continued push for the Big 10 this year. Last year they looked stupid not taking 5th place Wake Forest who was 13-7 in ACC play and 25-10 overall....and Virginia who was 6th place, 12-8 in conference, and 21-14 overall. This year, they want to leave out a 3rd place ACC double-by finisher in Clemson who is 14-6 in conference and 22-9 overall...and instead take a team that is in 12th place in the Big 10 with a losing conference record....3 teams with losing conference records overall. At the least, they could start with requiring a team to have a winning record in conference play...heck, at least.500.

Big 10 - 10 teams
SEC - 8 teams
Big 12 - 7 teams
ACC & Big East - 5 teams

Here are the head scratchers to me that jump out...I am sure there are others.

IN the tourney
Wisconsin - 12th place in Big 10; 9-11 in conf, 17-13 overall, 78 in .NET...Why not just take the entire conference at this point?
Penn State - 10th place in Big 10; 10-10 in conf, 19-12 overall, 56 in .NET
Rutgers - 9th place in Big 10; 10-10 in conf, 18-13 overall
Mississippi State - 9th place in the SEC; 8-10 in conf and 20-11 overall.
West Virginia - 8th place in the 10-team Big 12; 7-11 in conf and 18-13 overall. Being 24th in .NET is a problem.

OUT of the tourney
Clemson - 3rd place in the ACC; 14-6 in conf play and 22-9 overall, 61 in .NET
UNC being out is less shocking...but at least they had a winning 11-9 record in conference play...unlike Wisconsin, Miss. State, and West Virginia who could not even get to .500.
I would even stack the 10-10 ACC teams in Syracuse and Wake Forest again the 10-10 teams from the Big 10 in Rutgers and Penn State.

Greetings from Greensboro. Simple game today, make shots and survive, don't and the season ends.

Same group from the last few games no Deivon, Rodney or Tristan as expected they all stayed home.

Josh Pastner, Miles Kelly and Kyle Sturdivant

Deebo Coleman

Ja'von Franklin

Lance Terry

Figured we could have a thread to post live updates of the combine.

DL and LBs are about to run the 40. Here at 3:30.