Technical Tidbits 2/9

Georgia Tech notched its second ACC win of the season over the weekend when the Jackets defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by a final score of 73-59 in Atlanta. Tech, which has looked like a totally different team since that 28-point embarrassment at the hands of Virginia, finally appears to be getting their offense on track while maintaining some consistency on defense as well. One of the biggest contributors to the win was guard Chris Bolden, who appears to have turned a corner in his career as he becomes more and more comfortable behind the three-point arc while also picking up the defensive intensity. When he gets going, there aren't many people who can stop him. Just ask 2012 Miami. You can check out the FTRS recap of the game right here if you missed it.

Just two days removed from that win over Wake, the Jackets will make the journey up to Blacksburg to take on the ever-struggling Virginia Tech Hokies in a game which has the potential to be absolutely unwatchable -- it will feature two of the ACC's worst offenses, both on relatively short rest. If Tech can pull this one out, it would put the Jackets in good position to make a run at the end of the season -- the remaining ACC slate features a number of winnable games which would go a long way in boosting a possible NIT resume.

National Signing Day itself may be in the rear-view mirror, but some of the controversies which came about as a result of it are just now gaining momentum. One of the biggest of these issues is that players who signed with their schools in order to work with a specific position coach (and were then reassured that said coach would be back next season) are finding that they were actually deceived by the schools they signed with -- many of the assistants pursued other jobs. This is affecting many big-name players at big-name schools, including four-star running back Mike Weber at Ohio State, but goes much deeper than the highly publicized names from the above article; it is a problem faced by dozens of recruits across the county. Is it a good idea to decide where to attend school because you like an assistant? No. Is it right to lie to recruits? Absolutely not.

Former North Carolina head basketball coach Dean Smith, who led the Tar Heels from 1961 until 1997, passed away yesterday at age 83 in his North Carolina home. Smith was universally regarded as both an outstanding basketball mind and fantastic overall individual -- he coached some of the best players in the history of the ACC, including Michael Jordan and Vince Carter, during his time in Chapel Hill. Over his 36 year head coaching tenure, he led North Carolina to an amazing 879 wins which included 13 ACC Championships and 11 Final Four appearances, two of which ended in national championships. It is safe to say that while Smith's time on earth may have unfortunately ended, his legacy will be immortal for fans of both college basketball and all sports across the nation.