Technical Tidbits 6/30

Just in case you were afraid that Paul Johnson was beginning to get too warm and affectionate, allow this great article from Athlon Sports to renew your faith in our resident stone cold stunner. While a post dedicated to Johnson's quotes alone would be perfectly acceptable, this particular piece of writing features both quotes and good background info from Johnson's early coaching days. What more could you really need on a Tuesday morning? Here's a quick excerpt of CPJ throwing shade at Duke's David Cutcliffe, consumer of feet.

When we got here, Demaryius was buried on the depth chart in a pro-style offense," Johnson says. "We asked him to block, showed him what he could achieve. The proof is out there — look at Stephen Hill. Yet now coaches in our league are telling recruits if they want catch any passes (not to come here), and we’ve had more receivers go to the (NFL) than his program. Recruiting is about the player, not the offense.

Despite having relatively low expectations heading into the 2015 season, the Georgia Tech basketball team will face one of the tougher non-conference slates in recent school history; games against Georgia, VCU, and Tennessee headline what should be a challenging 13-game stretch. It is worth noting that the upcoming out-of-conference slate could be even more grueling if the Jackets had not been left out of the annual ACC-B1G Challenge in favor of another ACC school; any given B1G opponent would be an obvious upgrade over another cupcake opponent. Even some opponents which were likely thought of as easy wins when they were scheduled, namely Wofford, could provide big challenges for the Jackets -- the Terrier basketball team is coming off of one of the best seasons in recent school history and will be a tough test.

Among Yellow Jackets in the NBA, forward Thaddeus Young is by far the biggest prize of the upcoming free agent class. Young, who was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Brooklyn Nets last season, will be seeking the largest payday of his career as he begins to enter his prime as an NBA player. Whether or not the Nets are equipped to give him that type of deal is questionable -- the team is still on the hook for $25 million of Joe Johnson's contract and will need to re-sign star center Brook Lopez as they fight for relevance in the Eastern Conference. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Young land a 1-year deal somewhere, which would allow him to experience free agency again next season after the salary cap skyrockets due to a lucrative television deal.

This season's race to the ACC Championship could be one of the most entertaining in a long time -- there are three teams in the Atlantic and a few more in the Coastal which appear to be in position to make a run at a conference championship. Over in the Atlantic, Clemson and FSU could be joined by Louisville as contenders. As always, the Atlantic will be a top-heavy division featuring three great teams, some awful teams, and then Syracuse and Wake Forest. Meanwhile in the Coastal, all eyes appear to be on Georgia Tech, which is utterly terrifying. Something must be off in the order of the universe. Can't be just go back to picking UNC and Virginia Tech to win the division? That's my comfort zone.

What do you make of Georgia Tech's 2015 OOC schedule?