ATLANTA- Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Damon Stoudamire and new transfers Javian McCollum and Luke O'Brien spoke to the media on Friday as the Jackets prepare for the season opener against West Georgia next Wednesday.
According to sources, the Jackets played secret scrimmages against LSU in Atlanta and Mississippi State in Birmingham, winning the first game and falling in the second one. Stoudamire and his players didn't share a lot about the two scrimmages, keeping them secret, but he did share some thoughts on what they learned.
"It helped a lot," Stoudamire said of the secret scrimmages. "We got to see different lineups and then in the second game Javian played, he didn't play in the first and trying to get him up to speed and get him in rhythm with the main guys was something we needed to do. I was definitely encouraged and I liked what I saw."
Running a two-point guard lineup with McCollum and returning starter Nait George will be one of the big storylines this season and in the second scrimmage, the Jackets had too many turnovers for Stoudamire's liking.
"One area we have to do better in is turnovers; unforced turnovers are a killer. For me as a former point guard, we can't have that. We've got to get those numbers down. For me, I'd love to play with 15-plus assists and under 11 turnovers and we'll be fine and we've got to box out and get a little better collectively at rebounding and not giving up timely rebounds," Stoudamire said.
Along with improving depth and overall talent, the Jackets' big focus this offseason was improving defense and defensive rebounding. Stoudamire is monitoring that closely as the season begins.
"Our season last year to me was based on not being able to get stops when we needed to and then when someone missed a shot getting it off the glass and a lot of games came down to that. We've improved, but are got to keep getting better."
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Stoudamire said he fights the idea of doing two secret scrimmages vs playing one exhibition and getting a dry run that doesn't count and getting the cobwebs out. He felt this year it was important to play two SEC schools as a measuring stick to see where they are at and two teams with different styles of play and there are pros and cons. He said the pro now is they can come out on Wednesday with the excitement of playing in front of fans for the first time.
Stoudamire said there is no doubt that they are better defensively now and he is watching their habits when they get fatigued and the good habits have to kick in on D in those moments and not the bad. They lost a lot of games last year that came down to two or three possessions needing a stop to get a win and they couldn't get those stops or getting the stop and not getting the defensive rebound so that is really been a focus for him.
On the team's health they've had guys banged up, but Damon says they are pretty healthy going into Wednesday's opener. He thinks they also have depth this year and if they can keep everyone healthy they will be in good shape.
Stoudamire said adding McCollum and O'Brien helped with the leadership piece and he always wants more leadership on the team and they didn't have that last year and having a bigger voice in the locker room to hold everyone accountable and that is a key to winning.
I asked about the starting five, Damon says he knows what he wants to do and he feels like they are 10-deep now and they can just pull guys when they get tired now.
Stoudamire was asked if Lance Terry will start and he said he isn't tipping his lineup, but he talked about how James Posey came off the bench at Xavier and he was a first-round pick in the NBA draft. He said Kentucky just had two guys picked that were not starters last year in the top 8, so it doesn't mean as much to him as it sometimes does to kids, you have to star in your role.
Stoudamire said the roster is more versatile 1-5 and they've got more length from guys like O'Brien who can guard 1-5 on the court and do it well. He has done it in games and that is one of the things that made him very valuable as a transfer along with knowing how to win.
I asked how Jaeden Mustaf is doing after his dad passed this week. Stoudamire said he is holding up as best he can. You only get one dad and his father was around a lot since he was living up in Charlotte close by. They are here for him just like they are for Ryan Mutombo who is going through something similar. It is bigger than basketball and it has brought them all together going through two tragedies like those passing. He as the CEO of the program ahs to understand each kid and what they need and they are there for both Ryan and Jaeden.
On how they played last year winning some big games with a flawed team, he said it gives him some confidence going into this season but they also had no expectations last year and he said they won games they shouldn't have on paper last year and lost games they should've won on paper last year and that the season could've been completely different if they just won more games against teams like GT to go with the big wins. He said finding consistency is a big thing they are focused on because they showed they can be a good team at times last year.
According to sources, the Jackets played secret scrimmages against LSU in Atlanta and Mississippi State in Birmingham, winning the first game and falling in the second one. Stoudamire and his players didn't share a lot about the two scrimmages, keeping them secret, but he did share some thoughts on what they learned.
"It helped a lot," Stoudamire said of the secret scrimmages. "We got to see different lineups and then in the second game Javian played, he didn't play in the first and trying to get him up to speed and get him in rhythm with the main guys was something we needed to do. I was definitely encouraged and I liked what I saw."
Running a two-point guard lineup with McCollum and returning starter Nait George will be one of the big storylines this season and in the second scrimmage, the Jackets had too many turnovers for Stoudamire's liking.
"One area we have to do better in is turnovers; unforced turnovers are a killer. For me as a former point guard, we can't have that. We've got to get those numbers down. For me, I'd love to play with 15-plus assists and under 11 turnovers and we'll be fine and we've got to box out and get a little better collectively at rebounding and not giving up timely rebounds," Stoudamire said.
Along with improving depth and overall talent, the Jackets' big focus this offseason was improving defense and defensive rebounding. Stoudamire is monitoring that closely as the season begins.
"Our season last year to me was based on not being able to get stops when we needed to and then when someone missed a shot getting it off the glass and a lot of games came down to that. We've improved, but are got to keep getting better."
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Stoudamire said he fights the idea of doing two secret scrimmages vs playing one exhibition and getting a dry run that doesn't count and getting the cobwebs out. He felt this year it was important to play two SEC schools as a measuring stick to see where they are at and two teams with different styles of play and there are pros and cons. He said the pro now is they can come out on Wednesday with the excitement of playing in front of fans for the first time.
Stoudamire said there is no doubt that they are better defensively now and he is watching their habits when they get fatigued and the good habits have to kick in on D in those moments and not the bad. They lost a lot of games last year that came down to two or three possessions needing a stop to get a win and they couldn't get those stops or getting the stop and not getting the defensive rebound so that is really been a focus for him.
On the team's health they've had guys banged up, but Damon says they are pretty healthy going into Wednesday's opener. He thinks they also have depth this year and if they can keep everyone healthy they will be in good shape.
Stoudamire said adding McCollum and O'Brien helped with the leadership piece and he always wants more leadership on the team and they didn't have that last year and having a bigger voice in the locker room to hold everyone accountable and that is a key to winning.
I asked about the starting five, Damon says he knows what he wants to do and he feels like they are 10-deep now and they can just pull guys when they get tired now.
Stoudamire was asked if Lance Terry will start and he said he isn't tipping his lineup, but he talked about how James Posey came off the bench at Xavier and he was a first-round pick in the NBA draft. He said Kentucky just had two guys picked that were not starters last year in the top 8, so it doesn't mean as much to him as it sometimes does to kids, you have to star in your role.
Stoudamire said the roster is more versatile 1-5 and they've got more length from guys like O'Brien who can guard 1-5 on the court and do it well. He has done it in games and that is one of the things that made him very valuable as a transfer along with knowing how to win.
I asked how Jaeden Mustaf is doing after his dad passed this week. Stoudamire said he is holding up as best he can. You only get one dad and his father was around a lot since he was living up in Charlotte close by. They are here for him just like they are for Ryan Mutombo who is going through something similar. It is bigger than basketball and it has brought them all together going through two tragedies like those passing. He as the CEO of the program ahs to understand each kid and what they need and they are there for both Ryan and Jaeden.
On how they played last year winning some big games with a flawed team, he said it gives him some confidence going into this season but they also had no expectations last year and he said they won games they shouldn't have on paper last year and lost games they should've won on paper last year and that the season could've been completely different if they just won more games against teams like GT to go with the big wins. He said finding consistency is a big thing they are focused on because they showed they can be a good team at times last year.
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