Sports movie legend.

Login to view embedded media

Interesting read and development based on what is being discussed about the future of the NCAA.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/02/02/big-ten-sec-advisory-board/

Greetings from Raleigh as the Jackets aim to finish the Triangle trifecta.

Dealing with some personal stuff around the house tonight.. not going to be able to do the Q&A as a result.

I thought things would settle down enough to have it, but they have not.

Let’s plan for Saturday night, assuming by then my house is back up-and-running and whatever this latest sickness is has run its course through my house.

-RJ

Per Damon he is ready to go for NC State. Message was simple Baye Ndongo is good to go for NC State.

Adding notes below from Damon's presser, I'll be more concise than usual because I'm a little tied up today.

Damon said he thinks it is good they are on the road and he said he always played better on the road as a player because there is less comfort and distractions on the road and the team gets to bond and focus on hoops.

He talked about how he actually heard some legit player leadership during the UNC game from some of the older guys like Miles Kelly and Kowacie Reeves. He said they can impact the game in more ways than just scoring.

He said that DJ Burns is a load, but what really impresses him is his passing out of the post (this is something I really noticed whenever GT has played them as well, he averages almost three assists a game) and between that and his ability to back down defenders it makes him a headache as a matchup.

Stoudamire feels like they are capable of playing with anyone when they are on and connected and he hopes they are ready to take the next step and go on a run now.

Damon said that he wouldn't mind a lineup with even three point guards like the one he plays with Nait George and Kyle Sturdivant and they did that in the NBA with the Celtics as long as they can defend on the other end. He is not afraid to have too many ballhandlers on the court together at the same time.

Miles Kelly said he feels like the UNC win was a corner-turning moment for this team and he expects them to play better. He said that everyone was doing their role more.

@Russell Johnson Any coaches make the rounds today?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Wake Forest has been selected as the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball preseason favorites by the league’s 14 head coaches.



The Demon Deacons collected 10 of the 14 possible first-place nods from head coaches. North Carolina tallied two votes, while Clemson and Virginia each received one vote.



Wake Forest was also the clear-cut winner of the Atlantic Division, receiving 12 of 14 first place votes. Clemson, who won the 2023 ACC Baseball Championship, picked up the two remaining first-place votes among the teams in the Atlantic Division.



With Wake Forest collecting 95 points to lead the Atlantic, Clemson finished with 79 total points to be slotted in second place. NC State picked up a third-place selection with 68 points, while Florida State (54), Louisville (48), Notre Dame (31), and Boston College (17) rounded out the grouping.



The Demon Deacons finished atop the Atlantic Division in 2023 before making a run to the Men’s College World Series championship series. Clemson won the ACC Baseball Championship and finished the year with 44 wins – the most for the Tigers since 2018.



The Coastal Division was nearly deadlocked between Virginia and North Carolina. The Cavaliers garnered seven first-place nods and 88 total points to inch past the Tar Heels, who received six votes on the top line and a total of 86 points. Duke picked up the final first-place vote among Coastal teams.



The Blue Devils accumulated 71 points to take third in the preseason poll, while Miami finished fourth with 56 points, followed by Georgia Tech (40), Virginia Tech (34), and Pitt (17).



The Cavaliers are coming off of a 50-win season in 2023, including 19 wins in ACC play, which cultivated in a trip to the Men’s College World Series. The Tar Heels won 36 games and made a trip to the Terre Haute Regional, while Duke capped its season one win away from Omaha in the Charlottesville Super Regional.



Wake Forest has been named the preseason No. 1 team in the country by D1Baseball, Baseball America, Perfect Game, and the NCBWA. The USA Today Coaches’ Poll has not yet been released. Six ACC schools – Clemson, Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, and Wake Forest – have each appeared in all three preseason polls thus far.



The ACC has placed at least one team in each of the last 17 College World Series and at least six teams in each of the last 19 NCAA tournaments.



All 14 ACC teams will open their seasons on Friday, Feb. 16, with conference play set to begin on Friday, March 8. The 2024 ACC Baseball Championship will be held May 21-26 at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACC Network will be on hand for the first five days of the tournament with ESPN2 set to carry Sunday’s championship game.



Full tournament ticket books are on sale now through the Charlotte Knights and the Truist Field box office. Fans interested in purchasing seats for all 15 games of the ACC Baseball Championship can do so by clicking HERE.



2024 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll

First-place votes in parenthesis



Overall ACC Champion

Wake Forest (10)

North Carolina (2)

Clemson (1)

Virginia (1)



Atlantic Division

1. Wake Forest (10) - 95

2. Clemson (1) – 79

3. NC State – 68

4. Florida State – 54

5. Louisville – 48

6. Notre Dame – 31

7. Boston College – 17



Coastal Division

1. Virginia (1) – 88

2. North Carolina (2) – 86

3. Duke – 71

4. Miami – 56

5. Georgia Tech – 40

6. Virginia Tech – 34

7. Pitt – 17

Login to view embedded media
30:50 for Janhmyr interview.

Login to view embedded media
24:05 for Calvin interview.

Good morning.

The dead period is OVER, and coaches from the staff are all over the state of Georgia today.

I'll use this thread for updates... and before you ask, YES, former Duke DL coach Jess Simpson is out, I'll cover his stops first.

I'll keep this locked, as I always do.

Jaylen Bell of Grayson said GT could be one of his first stops after the LSU decommitment this am

Latest info on injuries being studied by the NFL & NFLPA. Will this trickle down into the college game? Is similar data being collected from college games @Kelly Quinlan & @Russell Johnson?

Personally when Grant field is all grass it just looks better. Not a fan of what G**** C****** did coming in and paving it over with turf.

Georgia Tech hosted another rather large group of recruits, from both near and far on Saturday. With plenty of content to come in the coming weeks, similar to the "Rumor Mill" content, I've decided to debut a new format.

Updates will be in alphabetical order, starting with the new offers and where things stand with each of them..part two to come tomorrow.

Login to view embedded media OFFERS- Penn State, Texas A&M, Stanford, others

Holly is the name that Georgia Tech fans likely know of the best on this new offer list. It is no coincidence that he is also the one with one of the stronger offer lists.

Holly has been on the national radar for quite a while now, and since arriving from Memphis, OLB coach Kyle Pope knew that if he was able to get Holly on campus, he would likely leave with an offer.

Holly visited Georgia Tech back in June, and has strong connections to the program. After getting the offer on Saturday, Holly mentioned that it started to feel real as he was putting on the uniform for the photo shoot.

The conversations with the coaches was re-assuring for both Holly and his family, and Georgia Tech immediately has emerged as a contender in his recruitment.

Login to view embedded media OFFERS- Ole Miss, Georgia Southern

Magwood is a good friend of RB signee Anthony Carrie, and while on campus at Georgia Tech over the weekend, Magwood both received an offer from the coaches and also had the chance to spend some time with Carrie.

Magwood’s recruitment is still in the beginning stages, but this offer from Weinke and GT has led to multiple other schools getting in-contact in the last day.

Login to view embedded media OFFERS- Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, others

Murphy came into his weekend visit to Georgia Tech without an offer, but as he left Atlanta with an offer in-hand, he also left with Georgia Tech as his new leader. Murphy was extremely impressed by the program that head coach Brent Key has been able to build in such a short time.

No other visits have been scheduled, but QB coach Chris Weinke will be in Arkansas this week to watch him throw.

Login to view embedded media OFFERS- Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio State, others

The son of Hall of Fame LT Orlando Pace, Landon mentioned on Saturday that his recruitment hasn’t really picked up much lately, but that he was hopeful an offer was in the works.

While he thought it would likely be weeks or months away, the coveted offer from GT came over the weekend. His schedule this month only allowed for him to make one visit, and for him to pick GT without an offer is telling of his level of interest in the school.

The Yellow Jackets have his attention, and the Buckeyes appear to be fading.

Login to view embedded media OFFERS- Duke, NC State, Virginia Tech, others

Strong originally had planned on visiting last weekend, but pushed it back a week to head over to NC State. He was impressed by the visit in Raleigh, and was also impressed by the visit to Atlanta and Georgia Tech. Strong knew the offer was coming (Santucci was recruiting him at Duke) but said that it was still a great feeling.

Strong was blown away by the vision of Brent Key’s program, and what life outside of and after football looks like. Strong will return to campus for spring practice.

I’m in Athens tonight helping my Bama site covering their game against UGA.

Well.... we may now know why they have struggled so much this year. 🤣

Login to view embedded media

What is going on with all of these plane issues?

Login to view embedded media
Delta 982 for Dallas.

JOLers,

I had the privilege to come back to campus yesterday as a former Letterwinner and speak to current student athletes and help answer career questions they may have. It was a real blessing and I just want my JOL family to know that we all should be super proud of the quality and character of the student athletes at GT. I was really impressed. I spoke to probably 50 different SA’s from Haynes King and dozen or so other football players to kids playing tennis or doing the triple jump.

Kevin Cone, who some will remember as a WR during 2008(?) is Assoc AD in charge of student development. I met numerous SA’s that I would hire and overall, they will do very well going “pro” in something other than sports.

We all get so wound up in who the next 4 star will be that signs, that I just thought I would share that we have so much more to be proud of as well, they represent us very well!!!

Go Jackets!!

story from Hunter

Will be joining Ferrari after the 2024 season.

Anyone follow F1? Silly season starting before the season even starts.

Login to view embedded media
“11” has reportedly entered hospice care. A college baseball legend. Prayers and peace to his family.

THE FLATS – Former Georgia Tech women’s basketball associate head coach Tasha Butts has been added to the upcoming induction class for the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

Butts, who served four years at Georgia Tech under head coach Nell Fortner, is one of four individuals that were added to the class as part of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame’s annual “legends” honorees. They join eight inductees that were announced in September, a group that includes former Georgia Tech football head coach Paul Johnson. The full class will be enshrined during the Hall’s annual induction ceremony on Feb. 23-24, 2024 in Macon.

Butts was announced as the 11th head coach at Georgetown University on April 11, 2023 after a long coaching and professional WNBA career. She served four years at Georgia Tech under head coach Nell Fortner, arriving in April 2019 as an assistant coach. She was promoted to associate head coach in April 2021. During her time on The Flats, she helped the Yellow Jackets to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, two 20-plus win campaigns, nine wins over ranked opponents and the program’s highest outright Atlantic Coast Conference finish in program history.

A Georgia native, Butts had an illustrious coaching career that included stints at LSU, UCLA and Duquesne University. Butts helped her programs make 10 NCAA Tournaments appearances, including six at LSU, and was part of three Sweet 16 appearances between Georgia Tech and LSU.

A four-year letterwinner at Tennessee, Butts helped the Lady Vols to a 124-17 record from 2000-04. Tennessee made a run to the Sweet 16 her freshman campaign and advanced to the 2002 Final Four in her sophomore season. She then helped the Lady Vols to back-to-back National Championship games her junior and senior seasons (2003, 2004). As a senior, Butts earned All-SEC Second Team honors after averaging 10.4 points per game and ranking second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (43.0).

Additionally, Butts was part of four SEC regular season championship teams, as Tennessee compiled a 55-1 SEC record in her four years. She left UT ranked fourth all-time in games played (141) and tied for seventh in three-point shots made (103). Butt’s career-high 37 points against Vanderbilt on Feb. 16, 2004, tied for 11th on the Lady Vols’ single-game scoring list.

Butts was chosen by the Minnesota Lynx with the 20th selection in the 2004 WNBA Draft and saw action in all 30 games as a rookie, helping the club equal a franchise record with 18 wins and earn a spot in the playoffs.

A standout basketball player at Baldwin High School in Milledgeville, Ga., Butts was named the Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year in 2000. She is still the all-time leading scorer for the Bravettes and her number 23 jersey was retired. On October 22, 2023, Butts passed away after a two-year battle with breast cancer. “Tasha Tough” became a rallying cry and continues as an initiative to bring awareness to early cancer screenings and detection.

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.




I know everyone is anxious to find out who Brent Key will hire as defensive backs coach. As I've maintained all along it is a process. I posted this in another thread, but there is a lot that goes into this and guys will interview or get into the mix for different reasons and fall out of the mix as well. Some use interview opportunities to get raises or for the experience as well so there is a lot to sort through. Most of the people interviewed by Key have jobs right now and a couple that didn't are on buyouts with very specific language as well so that factors into all of this. I am pretty confident that there will be a DB coach in place this coming week. Heading into the weekend it appeared to be a two-horse race and I assume that Key has been working to finalize the one he wants to hire.

Like anything, a lot goes into these hires including family situations, cultural fit and everything else. Key is very demanding on his staff and with time and that is a little different than other coaches in the business so he is very honest and thorough with his process.

In addition to the DB coach, Key has been working to finalize his off-the-field staff as well and the timeline for those hires to be finalized is after NSD 2.0 so probably the week of Feb. 12th at this point as contracts get sorted out and people finish out their prior assignments.

If Key pulls off some of the off-the-field hires I think everyone will be very pleased with the process and the fact it took some time. Like with the DC search, he cast a very wide net and was aiming very high with the moves he is making. I'm shocked honestly at the caliber of some of the people interested in working for him in a good way.

I would love to share names, but I'm really not interested in helping some coach get fired because Key opted to not hire him and his coach is pissed he interviewed at GT. I'm sorry but I wouldn't want people posting if I was interviewing with another company either if I was in negotiations or trying to get a raise. There have been several false alarms where someone spoke to Key and used it to leverage their current job as well and again I'm not going to play that game either.

George Godsey and Kerry Dixon who are on the Baltimore Ravens staff had Coach Key up for the game today. I thought that was pretty cool. Maybe he will get to meet Taylor Swift! lol

CDS will be on at 10 with Steak to talk about the big win. Steak is hopeful that CDS is going to bring back GT hoops to prominence and make it the elite program in the city again.