Technical Tidbits 7/15: Georgia Tech Basketball News in the Middle of July

When I first saw Georgia Tech’s draw for the Diamond Head Classic, I thought, “They get a nice easy couple of games until the championship with Washington.” Then I remembered that Houston is a very good team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament this past year and Boise State is an extremely experienced team. A consolation game against Portland might be in the cards come December if the Jackets struggle offensively like they did this past season.

The Big3 is one of those things that you see once and you think is cool, and then forget about 5 minutes later. However, it is very nice to see former Jackets getting more opportunities to play and continue their professional careers. The former Jackets (Dion Glover, Will Byrum, Anthony Morrow, and player rep Mario West) are clearly enjoying themselves and playing well. 3-on-3 is a completely different game than normal basketball, but hopefully their great play will get them all another NBA chance.

Jeremiah Smith is one of the most forgotten members of the incoming Georgia Tech recruiting class, as he was the first one to commit over a year ago and he wasn’t highly ranked coming out of high school. However, this article should help to change all of that as it provides an insight into his strong relationship with his father. They have done almost everything sports related together, and even ate lunch together each day while Smith was in high school. It is almost certain that his father will be at each and every Tech game and will be supporting him along his college journey. The series about Tech’s incoming freshmen by Ken Sugiura is one of the best I’ve read in a long time and provides great insight into the lives of people we will hopefully be seeing for the next few years.

Bullpen catchers are like the aglets of baseball, you never really think about them but they’re essential to the smooth operation of the game. It’s great to see a former Jacket doing so well and hopefully moving up the MLB managerial ladder quickly.

Although the Tech Swimming and Diving teams have not had the most success over the past few seasons, with the exception of Caio Pumputis, Ilgenfritz’s performance is a step in the right direction. Congratulations to Emily and good luck with the upcoming season and trials!

A lot has been made about Nell Fortner and her first season coaching Georgia Tech’s Women’s basketball team. This article furthers the idea that Fortner was the right hire for the program and that the culture will be changing after the Machelle Joseph regime. Fortner brings experience from a long time in the women’s game and many different experiences around the world. Let’s hope to see her perform well even with the turnover that ensued after Joseph’s firing.

So far, former Jacket Joey Bart has lived up to the hype in the San Francisco Giants’ organization. His high ranking in the organization and in the MLB as a whole shows how well he’s been doing in the MLB farm system, and hopefully bodes for some big promotions in the near future.

I’m back from vacation. Thanks to CK for all of his help the past few weeks.

Question of the Day: Does the Grand Canyon live up to the hype?