Good afternoon, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball fans.
Raise your hand if you had Georgia Tech with ACC men’s hoops wins vs. North Carolina, Florida State, and Notre Dame – unless you were the most homer Georgia Tech fan in the world, you didn’t have this at all. I myself had Georgia Tech at 14th in the conference like most of the media (I didn’t have Georgia Tech with zero ACC wins, though – even Virginia Tech during the James Johnson era got 1-2 ACC wins and that roster up and down was not nearly as good as Georgia Tech’s roster this year – I thought Georgia Tech would do much better than that Hokies team – and to say that an ACC team won’t win any conference games is something I’d never agree with – even BC has found a win this year). Josh Pastner has put himself in the picture for ACC Coach of the Year with Georgia Tech’s record of 5-4 in the ACC. The Jackets are a legitimate NCAA team.
Why are the Yellow Jackets winning? Josh Pastner is maximizing every ounce out of his roster. Georgia Tech clogs the lane, they don’t let you take easy shots (#3 in the country in blocked shots), they play great overall defense (number 20 in the country on field goal percentage defense), and the Yellow Jackets force you to shoot the three-point shot (that is one that they give up a bit). If you make those threes, you can defeat Georgia Tech – but you have to be on – they don’t want a high scoring game.
And kudos to @JonRothstein for the mea culpa (we’ll post the before and after tweets – we’ve been hard on him mostly because we thought the prediction of not one ACC win was over the top as I explained above – if James Johnson’s roster at Virginia Tech could get a win, Pastner’s could get a win)… here’s the before…
Georgia Tech may have the worst power-five roster I’ve ever seen. Yellow Jackets won’t win a game in ACC play this season. Book it.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 14, 2016
Prediction: Georgia Tech will not win a single game in the ACC this season. Worst roster that Josh Pastner has ever been associated with.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 16, 2016
And here’s the after…
Georgia Tech has a legitimate NCAA Tournament resume. Yellow Jackets have beaten FSU, Notre Dame, and UNC. Also won a true road game at VCU.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 28, 2017
I will buy two rounds next preseason for Georgia Tech fans when I’m in Atlanta. The program has earned it. https://t.co/hCbkOcsYXK
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 28, 2017
Things you never thought you’d tweet: Josh Pastner is a legitimate candidate for ACC Coach of the Year.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 28, 2017
We won’t hammer you anymore, Jon. Congratulations to the Yellow Jackets and their fans.
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