Technical Tidbits 7/17: Georgia Tech Basketball Makes More News

Recently it seems like all of the major sports news outlets, such as ESPN, are mainly focused on the football team, and rightfully so. But for the first time in a while the basketball team gets a little love, but not in the best way. This article talks about how things have fared at Tech since Bobby Cremins left in 2000, and attempts to diagnose some of the problems. It is part of a series about how teams have fared after a legendary coach leaves the program. The series counts UNC, UCLA, and Indiana as some of the teams it has taken a look at, although these teams have had much more success than the Jackets have had after their legendary coaches left. We can only hope that this article will help provide Josh Pastner with a magic spark to turn the Jackets around after last year and bring them back to national relevance. I’ll take anything at this point.

In much lighter Tech basketball news, former player B.J. Elder has joined the staff. Elder comes on as an associate director of player personnel after a long career in Europe and subsequent assistant coaching at Clarkston High School in Clarkson, Georgia. What is also significant to note is that Elder has connections as an assistant coach to the Atlanta Celtics AAU organization, so hopefully that will benefit the Jackets in recruiting. As a former Jacket, Elder should definitely be able to relate and connect with players and recruits, sharing tips and other knowledge from his experiences as a college player and a pro. Congratulations to B.J. and good luck in your new position!

All of these questions are completely valid and some form of them will probably be asked at the ACC Kickoff event, so hopefully we’ll get some answers from Collins, Camp, and Curry. I’m hoping that Collins comes into his press conference wearing one of those Waffle House paper grill operator hats.

As much as Tech looks to potentially benefit from the hiring of Geoff Collins, for the next year or two it doesn’t look good on the financial side of things. The Georgia Tech Athletic Department will run a deficit of $1.7 million for the next fiscal year. This deficit is a lot smaller than it would’ve been however, as Associate Athletic Director Marvin Lewis got all of the athletic teams to downsize their budgets for this coming year. Whether or not that downsizing will have an affect on performance remains to be seen. The financial situation shouldn’t be dire for too long though as the beginning of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium games and the ACC Network should provide for a healthier financial situation in the next few years.

Following in his former teammate Keshun Freeman’s footsteps, senior Jahaziel Lee has been nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. This is a high honor for Lee as it shows his dedication to off the field endeavors and his commitment to helping others. Congratulations to Jahaziel and good luck this season and in making it onto the final Good Works Team!

Former Jacket star and 16th pick in the NFL draft Derrick Morgan has decided to call it quits on playing football professionally. Morgan had a great college career with the Jackets, being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a first team All-American by the AP, Pro Football Weekly, and Scout.com his junior year. As an NFL player Morgan played for the Tennessee Titans his entire 9-year career, recording a career high 63 tackles in 2014 and a career high 9 sacks in 2016. Good luck as you enter the next chapter of your life Derrick!

Interesting. I have no idea what Catapult Vectors are but I’m intrigued. Maybe this is the reason why they’re running a deficit this year.

Question of the Day: What are your thoughts on the ESPN article about life after Cremins?