ATLANTA- Georgia Tech men's basketball coach Damon Stoudamire and new transfers Javian McCollum and Luke O'Brien spoke to the media on Friday as the Jackets prepare for the season opener against West Georgia next Wednesday.
According to sources, the Jackets played secret scrimmages against LSU in Atlanta and Mississippi State in Birmingham, winning the first game and falling in the second one. Stoudamire and his players didn't share a lot about the two scrimmages, keeping them secret, but he did share some thoughts on what they learned.
"It helped a lot," Stoudamire said of the secret scrimmages. "We got to see different lineups and then in the second game Javian played, he didn't play in the first and trying to get him up to speed and get him in rhythm with the main guys was something we needed to do. I was definitely encouraged and I liked what I saw."
Running a two-point guard lineup with McCollum and returning starter Nait George will be one of the big storylines this season and in the second scrimmage, the Jackets had too many turnovers for Stoudamire's liking.
"One area we have to do better in is turnovers; unforced turnovers are a killer. For me as a former point guard, we can't have that. We've got to get those numbers down. For me, I'd love to play with 15-plus assists and under 11 turnovers and we'll be fine and we've got to box out and get a little better collectively at rebounding and not giving up timely rebounds," Stoudamire said.
Along with improving depth and overall talent, the Jackets' big focus this offseason was improving defense and defensive rebounding. Stoudamire is monitoring that closely as the season begins.
"Our season last year to me was based on not being able to get stops when we needed to and then when someone missed a shot getting it off the glass and a lot of games came down to that. We've improved, but are got to keep getting better."
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