College Basketball
The New Chief?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State men’s basketball head coach Leonard Hamilton made the announcement earlier in the month that his long career at FSU will officially conclude with the end of the 2024-25 season.
FSU is now in search of the program’s eighth head basketball coach after the head of their dynasty resigns.
While I don’t consider the below a hot board, I do believe several of these names mentioned could be near the top of the list as the hiring process begins:
The first name played for Hamilton and helped the program win an ACC Championship in 2012, former guard Luke Loucks.
Loucks is currently an assistant with the Sacramento Kings. Loucks has worked in the NBA for several years also having stints with the Suns and Warriors doing a variety of jobs as he has worked his way up the ranks. He was a part of multiple NBA Championship squads as a coach with the Warriors.
He has worked on the international basketball scene as well, most recently with Nigeria.
He played internationally in Germany, Belgium, Cypress, and Latvia, as well as spending some time in the NBA Developmental League.
He is a Florida native and has a good understanding of the current environment surrounding the program.
The second name is a former Seminole and member of the FSU Hall of Fame, Sam Cassell. Cassell was drafted 24th overall in the 1993 NBA Draft out of FSU. He played for eight different teams during his 15-year career. He was selected to the NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA Team once, both in the 2003–04 season.
The former NBA point guard, who is originally from Baltimore, is currently an assistant coach for the Celtics. He has also had extended coaching stints with the Wizards Clippers and 76ers.
Cassell has won NBA Championships as a player, multiple times, and as an assistant coach.
Both former players have been around FSU in recent years and have connected with current Athletics.
Third on my list, a huge piece of FSU’s best years under Hamilton, former assistant coach Dennis Gates.
While Alan Huss is only in his second season as the head coach of High Point, he could be a very intriguing option. He led the Panthers to a regular season conference title and the championship game of the CBI during his first year.
In year two, he’s got his team in second place in the Big South. While he can improve as a coach on the defensive end, Huss’ squad currently ranks No. 27 in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom after rating among the top 40 last season.
No, he’s not recruited to the ACC before, but Huss was known as an ace recruiter during his time as an assistant at Creighton. Additionally, he knows the landscape of the loaded prep academies as well as any coach out there after helping to build La Lumiere (Ind.) into a national power.
There are definitely more candidates than I’ve listed above. Hamilton constructed five straight, NCAA Tournament teams from 2016-21.
In my opinion, he is the best basketball coach in FSU history, leaving big shoes to fill for his successor.
Leaving The Tribe
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton is resigning after the Seminoles’ season, ending one of the winningest tenures in ACC history.
Hamilton’s 434 wins over 22+ seasons are the most in program history and the fifth ever in ACC records.
The only four ahead of Hamilton: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Dean Smith and Roy Williams and Maryland’s Gary Williams.
Hamilton, 76, took over the Seminoles in March 2002 after stints as the head coach at Miami, Oklahoma State and the Washington Wizards.
His Florida State career includes a dozen 20-win seasons, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and three ACC coach of the year awards.
He peaked late in his tenure. His 2018 team went to the Elite Eight. The next season, Hamilton led the Seminoles to a school-record 29 games and the Sweet 16 — only the second time ever that Florida State had back-to-back Tournament runs that deep.
Hamilton’s 2020 team was even better; they won the ACC’s regular season title and, at 26-5, was expected to be a national championship contender before March Madness was canceled due to COVID-19.
The program has slipped since 2020. The Seminoles are 56-62 since the start of the 2021-22 season.
On Saturday, Florida State blew an 8-point lead in the final minute to lose 77-76 at Boston College. It was the Eagles’ second conference victory and dropped Florida State to 13-9 overall (4-7 ACC).
University president Richard McCullough called Hamilton “one of the most respected and beloved ambassadors of FSU.”
Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said, “Coach Hamilton’s personal character and integrity, and his leadership, set a tremendous standard for all of FSU Athletics Few people have been as important in building the positive reputation of Seminole Athletics. FSU’s stature as one of the leading brands in college sports has been possible, in part, to his leadership of our men’s basketball program. He steadily developed a culture of excellence that reflects his personal values: commitment to academic success, competitive success, community service, leadership, and ongoing personal excellence. The success of the men who have been part of our basketball program is proof of that legacy.”
In late December, six former players sued Hamilton in Leon County circuit court, saying he failed to fulfill $250,000 in promised name, image and likeness money per player. Hamilton has not yet filed a response in court.
With Hamilton’s pending resignation, the ACC’s old guard is officially gone.
Add Hamilton — the oldest active coach in men’s college basketball — to the storied list of coaches who have retired from the ACC since the end of the 2020-21 season: Roy Williams, Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Mike Brey, Tony Bennett, and Jim Larrañaga. That doesn’t even include Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, who was fired by Louisville a month before the start of the 2017-18 season.
Hamilton’s departure means that the longest-tenured coach in the league is now Clemson’s Brad Brownell, who is midway through his 15th season with the Tigers. Is Hamilton’s retirement the nail in the coffin for how College Basketball used to be? Is this the dawn of a new era?
While Hamilton never reached the Final Four in 37 seasons as a head coach, he did take the Seminoles to only their third Elite Eight in program history, while also establishing Tallahassee as a legitimate professional breeding ground.
From 2016 to 2021, Hamilton had six players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, including top-10 selections Jonathan Isaac (No. 6 in 2017), Patrick Williams (No. 4 in 2020), and Scottie Barnes (No. 4 in 2021).
This announcement leaves a lot of questions that will hopefully be answered soon.
Not Just For Football
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Preseason chatter suggested that as many as 11 SEC schools could make the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
While it’s too early to confirm or dispute that bold prediction, recent rankings hint at the conference’s strength.
Currently, nine SEC programs are listed in the latest NCAA Men’s Top 25 basketball rankings:
No. 4 Auburn
No. 7 Tennessee
No. 8 Kentucky
No. 9 Alabama
No. 18 Florida
No. 19 Arkansas
No. 20 Texas A&M
No. 23 Ole Miss
No. 25 Mississippi State
No other conference boasts more than six teams in the Top 25, underlining the SEC’s depth. Still, claiming it as the strongest league isn’t a given.
The Big 12, while having fewer ranked teams, features three in the top seven: No. 1 Kansas, No. 5 Iowa State, and No. 6 Houston.
As the season unfolds, on-court performances will ultimately determine which conference reigns supreme.
So far, though, the SEC has been dominant, posting a collective 77-10 record with notable wins over powerhouses like Houston, Baylor, Duke, Ohio State, and Illinois.
While this doesn’t guarantee Final Four representation in April, it underscores the league’s potential to send teams deep into the tournament.
The red-hot Kentucky Wildcats are off to a 5-0 start, jumping three spots to No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
While they haven’t received first-place votes, they’re building momentum after commanding wins over Lipscomb and Jackson State. The Wildcats now prepare for tougher opponents, with matchups against Western Kentucky, Georgia State, Clemson, Ohio State, and Gonzaga in the weeks ahead.
Auburn remains the SEC’s top-ranked team at No. 4, followed by Tennessee at No. 7, making Kentucky the conference’s third highest-ranked squad. Overall, the SEC has an impressive four teams in the Top 10, part of the nine in the Top 25.
Closer to home, the Georgia Bulldogs rebounded from a tough loss to No. 15 Marquette with a thrilling 66-63 victory over No. 22 St. John’s at the Imperial Arena in Nassau, Bahamas.
This marked Georgia’s first win against a ranked opponent since January 2023, when they defeated No. 22 Auburn, and their first ranked non-conference win since December 2021 against No. 18 Memphis.
Freshman standout Asa Newell led the Bulldogs with 18 points and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Silas Demary Jr. added 15 points, including two clutch free throws to seal the win.
Graduate guard Tyrin Lawrence contributed 11 points and a season-high nine rebounds, nearly achieving a double-double.
The Bulldogs return to Athens to host Jacksonville on Saturday, Nov. 30, at Stegeman Coliseum, tipping off at 7 p.m.
As the season progresses, the SEC’s early success suggests it will be a league to watch when March rolls around.
Hardcourt Sting
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college basketball season just started so I suppose anything can happen the remainder of the season.
We’re only five games in for Georgia Tech but I do have to wonder, are they cooked? If you are not aware that’s slang to say “struggling” or “done for”. Why would I pose that question so early on?
Last season was Damon Stoudamire’s first season as the head coach in Atlanta. If you are not aware he’s a former NBA player. He played at Arizona from 1991-95 where he was a consensus First-Team All-American (1995), Pac-10 Player of the Year (1995) and three-time First-Team All-Pac-10 (1993-95). He was drafted 7th overall in the 1995 NBA Draft and he’s the first pick in the Toronto Raptors franchise history. He was NBA Rookie of the Year (1996) and he played in the NBA from 1995-2008.
I love to see former players become coaches. He was an assistant coach in the NBA for many years and he was also an assistant at Arizona. He got his first head coaching job at Pacific in 2016 and coached there until 2021.
During his time there he had one winning season and a 71-77 overall record. He returned to the NBA to be an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics from 2021-23.
That is a lot of basketball knowledge and experience that he can pass on to players. Also, it should help with recruiting since he played and coached at the highest level. So, has it translated thus far? Last season the Yellow Jackets were 14-18. So far they are 2-3. It does not look like this is resonating.
All of their games so far have been at home at McCamish Pavilion.
The season started with an 85-62 win over West Georgia. They lost the second game to North Florida 105-93. Losing to the Ospreys is not a great look.
They followed it up by beating Texas Southern 81-62. Tech has lost their last two games to Georgia and #18 Cincinnati. The most recent game against the Bearcats was an 81-58 blowout. Cincy had a 45-29 lead going into halftime.
“From the jump Cincinnati just did a good job of bringing the game to us. I didn’t think that we matched any of their energy on the initial,” said Stoudamire. “A lot of the execution you can’t get to in a game because of the way the game was being played on the initial. I thought we played hard in the first half in spurts, but we couldn’t put enough good minutes together. And every time we would get things withing striking distance, something would happen. We turned the ball over. A lot of live-ball turnovers, a lot of indecision. Things that we had talked about, but you’ve got to give them (Cincinnati) credit as well.”
Tech has four players that average double digits in scoring; Baye Ndongo, Javian McCollum, Lance Terry and Kowacie Reeves Jr.
They have two more home games against Charleston Southern and Central Arkansas. On paper those should be easy wins but I’m sure they thought that about North Florida.
In December they play at Oklahoma, at #12 North Carolina, Northwestern (neutral site), UMBC, #11 Duke, Alabama A&M and Boston College. In these next nine games I think the Yellow Jackets have to go 7-2 in order to set themselves in the mix to make the NCAA tournament.
I’m not sure they will do that but we will see.
Golden Future
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the 2023-24 basketball season in the rear view, Florida coach Todd Golden and his assistants will now turn their attention to the transfer portal and adding more pieces to the roster for next year.
The Gators must replace graduate transfers Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel and will have at least one more scholarship opening to fill. Here’s a look at UF’s returning roster and recruiting needs for 2024-25.
Priority No. 1 for Golden is recruiting Walter Clayton Jr. back to Florida for his senior year. He was the team’s top playmaker this season, hitting several clutch 3-pointers and leading the Gators in scoring at 17.6 points per game, ranked No. 5 in the SEC.
Clayton also had the fifth-best single-season scoring total (633 points) in Gator history. His return for 2024-25 would help maintain Florida’s high-powered offense and give Coach Golden a dynamic shooter to attract a top point guard in the portal.
Clayton plans to make a decision on his future after taking some time to weigh his options on declaring early for the 2024 NBA Draft or returning to UF.
Will Richard returns at the 3-spot as a senior, which will be his third year in the starting lineup for Florida. He averaged 11.4 points in 2023-24 up from 10.4 a year ago and had a few standout performances, including a pair of 23-point games in home wins over Alabama and Mississippi State.
Florida’s backcourt could also bring back Denzel Aberdeen and Riley Kugel for their junior years and Kajus Kublickas as a sophomore. Kugel has decided to transfer, no surprise especially after Kugel was relegated from a starting job to a backup position.
The Gators lose one of their two starters in Samuel, but sophomore center Micah Handlogten has a long rehab process ahead of him. He will spend the offseason recovering from a fractured lower left leg in the SEC Tournament final.
Golden didn’t have a timetable on Handlogten’s return after his injury.
The 7-foot-1 Handlogten was one of the best rebounders in the country this season, ranking in the top five nationally for offensive rebounding percentage (17.8%). He had four double-doubles, including a 23-point, 17-rebound performance vs. Georgia, and averaged 3.5 points and 6.9 rebounds.
Florida’s frontcourt returns Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. They outperformed their recruiting rankings (although On3 did rate Condon as a four-star and the nation’s No. 124 overall prospect).
Condon, an SEC-All Freshman selection, led the league’s freshmen in rebounding (6.4) and blocked shots (45). He also averaged twice as many points (7.7) as Handlogten and more minutes played (20.3). Haugh averaged 3.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 14.7 minutes.
.The Gators lose at least three scholarship players in seniors Pullin, Samuel and Julian Rishwain. One of those scholarships goes to 2024 signee Isaiah Brown, a four-star shooting guard.
Golden and the coaching staff will look to fill the other two roster openings with a point guard and big man from the portal. Finding a replacement for Pullin will be another top priority.
Given the uncertainty of Handlogten’s status and when he’ll be available, it’s also important for UF to land an impact power forward to join the frontcourt of Condon, Haugh and Szymczyk.
After Pullin posted one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the nation and Samuel led the SEC in field goal percentage, Florida will be able to sell point production on the transfer market.
The Gators also need to improve defensively, so it will be key for Golden and his staff to add some transfers who are strong defenders and can make a difference on that end of the court.
Coach Golden has built a culture that players like and a style of basketball fans enjoy watching. He has the Gators on the right path to be top program in the SEC and the country.
Gator Basketball fans: the future is Golden.
Final Four
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college basketball season will be over by next week. The 2024 Final Four is this weekend in Glendale, Arizona and we are going to take a look at those matchups.
The first game is No. 11 NC State vs No. 1 Purdue. This is a matchup of a Cinderella team versus a dominant team that’s expected to be here.
The Wolfpack (26-14) are the lowest seed remaining and this is their first Final Four since 1983. They would not have advanced this far if they did not win the ACC Tournament.
They beat Duke 76-64 in the Elite Eight to get here.
The 6-foot-9, 275-pound DJ Burns scored a season-high 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting and DJ Horne had 20 points.
“These guys are so special,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “Nine elimination games or you go home.”
“I’ll say like I’ve been saying the whole tournament. When I stop having fun with basketball, I’ll stop playing,” said Burns, who was voted the South Region’s most outstanding player. “There’s just been a total switch in our commitment. Nobody’s being late to things. Nobody’s being a problem on the court. Everybody’s come together.”
They head to Glendale with the most losses ever for a Final Four team. Now they will face 7-foot-4 All-American Zach Edey and the Boilermakers (33-4). He averages 25 points per game and 12.2 rebounds per game.
NC State is a great story but I believe their run will end in this game.
The game is No. 4 Alabama (25-11) against No. 1 UConn (35-3). This is the Crimson Tide’s first Final Four appearance in program history. This is very impressive because they beat top seed North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen, 89-87.
They beat 6 seed Clemson 89-82 to get here. Mark Sears made seven 3-pointers in the game and the team made a total of 16 threes.
“Man, just feeling a lot of emotion,” said Sears, the only Alabama native on the team. “Being from the state of Alabama and to do it with this group of guys, it’s amazing.”
He finished with 23 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament’s West Region.
Freshman Jarin Stevenson airballed a couple of 3s in the first half and Alabama missed 12 of its first 13 from downtown. He ended up making a career-high five 3s and had 19 points off the bench.
“We don’t win this game without him,” Sears said. “Jarin hit 3 after 3 after 3 and kept us in this ballgame. He was huge.”
“I live for those moments. This is what March Madness is about,” Sears said. “When you’re a kid, you want to be in these moments. It feels like my dream came true today. My dream definitely came true today.”
The Huskies have been steamrolling through teams in the tournament and they have not lost a game since February 20. The closest margin of victory was 17 points against No. 9 Northwestern.
UConn is looking to repeat as champions and the media has already crowned them. They are very good but any team can be defeated. With that said, I do expect the Huskies to win and advance to the championship game.
How Sweet It Is
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are moving to the second week of the NCAA Tournament and some questions have been answered.
The SEC and Big 12 had eight teams make it to the tournament. This has been considered a down year for the ACC, which has been the best basketball conference for several years. They only had five teams make it in.
Four of them have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The league’s only loss was Virginia’s defeat by Colorado State in the First Four.
“So, I guess the narrative that the ACC was down should be revisited huh???” Danny Kanell asked.
NC State (24-14) is the only double-digit seed still remaining. The Wolfpack won the ACC Tournament to make it here. They finished 10th in the conference after the regular season.
They are the No. 11 seed in the South region. They beat No. 6 Texas Tech 80-67 in the first round. They faced off with No. 14 Oakland in the next round. Oakland got there by beating No. 3 Kentucky. The game went to overtime but they beat the Golden Grizzlies 79-73.
This is their first time advancing to the Sweet Sixteen since 2015.
Forward DJ Burns Jr. led the team with 24 points. He’s 6’9 and 275 pound big man.
“I think that’s what March is about,” Burns said. “Some teams got here by winning their conference just like us and that doesn’t mean they’re a bad team.”
The next game is against No. 2 Marquette.
North Carolina (29-7) is the top seed in the West and it’s no surprise that they got here. They beat 16 seed Wagner 90-62 in the first round. In the second round they trounced No. 9 Michigan State 85-69.
The Spartans started off with a 12-point lead.
“We came into the huddle and said, ‘Look, we can’t talk about any basketball stuff until we join the fight,'” Hubert Davis said. “Once that started, the level of play in terms of the energy and effort, the attention to detail rose. Then that’s when things started to change.”
Senior guard RJ Davis led the Tar Heels with 20 points. Fifth-year center Armando Bacot had 18 points and 7 rebounds.
The next game is against 4 seed Alabama.
Clemson (23-11) started the season 11-1. They struggled in conference play, finishing 11-9 in the ACC.
The Tigers beat No. 11 New Mexico in Round 1, 77-56. They next game was an upset of 3 seed Baylor, 72-64. The Bears average 80 points per game so Clemson did a good job of defending them and slowing down the pace.
Senior guard Chase Hunter had 20 points and 6 assists.
Clemson is playing No. 2 Arizona next.
Duke (26-8) is a blue blood program that is expected to be here. By their standards this has not been a great season prior to advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.
In the opening round No. 4 Duke beat No. 13 Vermont, 64-47. In the second round they dominated No. 12 James Madison, 93-55.
Freshman guard Jared McCain scored 30 points and made eight 3-pointers.
“I feel like every game, I’m always ready to see if I’m going to go off,” McCain said.
They play Houston next, the top seed in the South region.
I believe one of these teams will advance to the Final Four.
March Madness 24
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament starts this week.
Let’s take a look at the teams around the Southeast that have a chance to win a national championship.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels (27-7) are the No. 1 seed in the West region. They have an easy path to the Final Four as the top seed and the first round of games is in Charlotte.
They will play the winner of Wagner/Howard, which is a game they should win by at least 30. The next round they will play No. 8 Mississippi State or No. 9 Michigan State.
UNC is led by upperclassmen, which is a big advantage in March. They advanced to the national title game in 2022 so they know how to play in big games.
Senior guard RJ Davis leads the team with 21.4 points per game. Grad student center/forward Armando Bacot averages 14.1 ppg and 10.2 rebounds per game. Junior Harrison Ingram averages 12.1 ppg and grad student Cormac Ryan averages 11.2 ppg.
Alabama: The Crimson Tide (21-11) are the No. 4 seed in the West and they play No. 13 College of Charleston (27-7) in the first round. Bama was 13-5 in conference play but they lost their first game of the SEC Tournament to Florida, 102-88.
Their leading scorer is senior guard Mark Sears, with 21.1 ppg. I think the best case scenario for them is a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Tennessee: The Vols (24-8) are the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. They will play No. 15 Saint Peter’s (19-13). This should be an easy win. The second round they will face No. 7 Texas or No. 10 Virginia/Colorado.
UT was very good this year and they were 14-4 in the SEC. They were the best team in the conference and the top seed in the SEC Tournament. They lost their first game in the conference tournament to No. 9 Miss. State, 73-56.
Senior guard Dalton Knecht is their leading scorer with 21.1 ppg.
I’m not sure what to make of their early exit from the SEC Tournament. I think they have the talent to make a deep run but they have to focus and play great basketball.
Auburn: The Tigers (27-7) are the No. 4 seed in the East. They start the tournament against No. 13 Yale (22-9). I expect Auburn to beat the Ivy League champs.
They won the SEC Tournament Championship against Florida, 86-67. The next round they would face No. 5 San Diego State or No. 12 UAB. I think they could potentially get to the Sweet Sixteen.
Junior forward Johni Broome is the leading scorer with 16.2 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
Duke: This is considered a down year for the Blue Devils (24-8). They are the No. 4 seed in the South.
We are accustomed to seeing them as a top seed with a realistic chance to win a national championship. They are going to play No. 13 Vermont (28-6).
Sophomore center Kyle Filipowski leads them with 17.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
If they win they will face either No. 5 Wisconsin or No. 12 James Madison in the second round. I think they may advance to the Elite Eight.
Kentucky: The Wildcats (23-9) are in the same category as Duke. We expect more from them with the talent they have on the roster. They are the No. 3 seed in the South and they play No. 14 Oakland (23-11).
If they win, they will face No. 6 Texas Tech or No. 11 NC State in the next round.
Barking Up The Right Tree?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We all know Georgia is a football school. The Bulldogs have had a tough time finding consistent success on the hardwood for men’s basketball. Let’s take a look at UGA and see if they can turn that around this season.
Mike White is in his second season as the head coach in Athens. He coached at archrival Florida previously from 2015 – 2022. He replaced Billy Donovan but he did not have the same level of success. His record for the Gators was 142 – 88 with four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Last season the Bulldogs went 16 – 16 in his first season. They are losing their top three scorers from last season but the team was 190th in offensive efficiency. Former four-star prospect Jabri Abdur-Rahim is the best returning player. He was the most efficient player for the Dawgs last year but he played the role of a non-creator.
Point guard Justin Hill transferred to UGA from Longwood last year. He started ten games but his offensive impact was inconsistent. He is expected to be better this season.
There are some new faces that are expected to make an impact. Senior guard Noah Thomasson played at Niagara the last two seasons. He averaged 19.5 points per game last year. We will see if he can make the jump from the MAAC to the SEC.
White brought in four freshman, all are four-star players. They are point guard Silas Demary Jr., wing Blue Cain, power forward Dylan James and wing Mari Jordan.
They also have four more transfers, headlined by seven foot senior center Russel Tchewa (South Florida).
The season opener was against Oregon in Las Vegas in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series tournament at T-Mobile Arena. The Ducks won 82 – 71. It is impressive that they fought to get this game within single digits.
“I loved the fight down the stretch,” coach Mike White said after the game. “The press was really effective for us, and this is really not a pressing team. But we fought to the bitter end. If we get the ‘pick 6′ at the end it could have been a little more respectable than that. But we fought to the end.”
Abdur-Rahim showed new-found offensive aggression and led the Bulldogs with 18 points, including three 3s. RJ Melendez overcame a slow first-half start to finish with 12 points and Cain scored 12 and had a pair of steals in his first collegiate game.
The Dawgs shot 30 three-pointers, only making ten of them.
“I liked our spacing and I like that this team got off 30 3s. That’s what this team needs to do. Sixteen turnovers was too many and we broke off our some of our execution on four or five possessions, which bled us a little,” White said.
The next two games are at home against Wake Forest and North Carolina Central.
After that they travel to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. The first game is against No. 13 Miami. Depending on the outcome the next round is against Kansas State or Providence.
I think Georgia will have another .500 season. If they do better than that I would consider it a success.
A New Buzz
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The NBA season has started and college basketball is right around the corner.
We are going to take a look at Georgia Tech and see what we should expect this season.
Former head coach Josh Pastner was finally relieved of his duties after last season. He coached at Tech from 2016 – 2023 with a record of 109 – 114. He was replaced by Damon Stoudamire.
You might remember Mighty Mouse from his playing days. He was a point guard at Arizona and was a three-time First-team All-Pac-10 player (1993-1995). He was also Pac-10 Player of the Year (1995) and a consensus first-team All-American (1995). He was drafted No. 7 in the NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors and he was the first player drafted by that franchise. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1996.
Stoudamire played in the NBA from 1995 – 2008 for the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies and Spurs. He has been coaching since he retired. He was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics from 2021 – 2023. He was the head coach at the University of Pacific (2016 – 2021) and his record was 71 – 77.
I think he has done a good job of putting together a good coaching staff that consists of veteran and young coaches.
“I’m excited about the people we’ve been able to bring in to this program,” said Stoudamire. “This is a versatile group, and it’s a youthful group. I wanted some younger guys for the most part, but we do have some experience on the staff as well. I like the diversity, I like the different basketball minds that we have. We have a mixture of college and pro backgrounds that will serve us well.”
Karl Hobbs was a great hire. He was the associate head coach at Rutgers from 2016 – 2023. He was the head coach at George Washington (2001 – 2010) and he was an assistant at UConn for two separate stints.
Terry Parker, Pershin Williams and Nate Babcock were also hired. He also hired his former Portland teammate, Bonzi Wells.
The Yellow Jackets return their leading scorer, junior guard Miles Kelly. The 6’6 Stone Mountain native averaged 14.4 points per game last season. They also have returning players Dallan Coleman, Kyle Sturdivant and Lance Terry.
A transfer player expected to make a big impact is big man Tyzhaun Claude. Last season at Western Carolina he averaged 15.4 ppg and 8.6 rebounds per game. They also have transfer point guard Amaree Abram (Ole Miss) and small forward Kowacie Reeves (Florida), who have major upside.
Tech has only made the NCAA Tournament once since the 2009-10 season so the program is trying to change that.
At ACC media day Stoudamire was asked what his goals were this season:
“You know what, I haven’t made any goals. Honestly, I don’t know what a successful season looks like, but I do know this, I think this team is just going to keep getting better and better. I can see it. It’s probably the first team that I’ve ever been a part of where the offense is ahead of the defense.”
The season begins November 6, at home against Georgia Southern. They have two more home games after that, against Howard and UMass Lowell. They should get off to a fast start.
I do not expect them to make the NCAA Tournament this season but I think their record will be around .500.
