ACC Countdown: No. 7 Ga. Tech Looks to Reload After Losing Players to Draft

Losing two freshmen, who happened to be your leading scorers, to the NBA draft would really dampen expectations for a lot of coaches.

Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt doesn’t even think twice about it.

“The way it is now in college basketball, it’s year to year,” Hewitt said. “You never count on, because of the way things are now, having a kid there the following year. If he’s good enough, and he has a chance to change his life and his family’s life, you can’t stand in his way.”

Hewitt is instead optimistic about what he has back, and perhaps he has reason to be. The coach lost freshman stud Chris Bosh after the 2003 season, and took a discounted team to the Final Four the next year.

But before entertaining any grand visions of repeating that feat, Hewitt must find a way to replace the 29 points per game that departed stars Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton provided, as well as the on-the-ball defense that graduated Mario West had mastered.

The biggest help toward the former is the return of Lewis Clinch. The junior was Tech’s leading scorer through the first 10 games of last season, but was suspended for the second half of the year after an undisclosed rule violation. Hewitt said Clinch has been shaking off the rust and is beginning to look like the player that scored 20 points four times last season.

“He can really score the basketball,” Hewitt said. “He’s going to help offset some of the offensive loss of Javaris and Thaddeus. What I’m looking for is someone to help us offset the defensive loss of Mario West.”

With Clinch’s return and the presence of senior Jeremis Smith and three-point specialist Anthony Morrow, Georgia Tech players believe the real task will be replacing Crittenton’s ballhandling ability. Junior college transfer Matt Causey and freshman Maurice Miller are both in the running to take starting point guard spot, and Hewitt said the competition is still wide open.

“We have people at so many different positions that can score, that all we need is a point guard to be a floor leader out there,” Smith said. “We don’t need a Stephon Marbury or a Javaris Crittenton on this team. We need a Jason Kidd, we need a Steve Nash.”

Even with last year’s starting center, Ra’Sean Dickey, academically ineligible for the fall semester, Hewitt said the team’s strength will be inside. Senior forward Jeremis Smith returns, as does junior Alade Aminu, who came on strong at the end of last season, scoring 28 points in the Yellow Jackets’ postseason games after averaging less than five in the regular season. Sophomore Zach Peacock, freshman Gani Lawal and redshirt freshman Brad Sheehan will give Georgia Tech a second wave of solid big men.

“This is probably the deepest frontcourt I’ve had since I’ve been at Tech,” Hewitt said.

Even with an abundance of quality post players, Georgia Tech will have to rely on an inexperienced floor general to lead them beyond their expected seventh-place finish in the ACC. Regardless, the Yellow Jackets are not going to spend time pining for their first-round freshmen.