After a win over Virginia Tech last Wednesday to snap a four-game losing skid followed by a weekend off, Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire met with the media on Monday during the weekly ACC Coaches Call.
Stoudamire answered several questions about his team getting some much-needed rest and recovery, the strong effort against the Hokies, the emergence of Duncan Powell recently and injury updates, among other subjects.
Stoudamire was first asked about the last few days off as the Jackets didn't have a game on Saturday like the rest of the ACC and how much of a benefit it was for his team. He said it did help, and even though the Jackets still don't have a lot of healthy bodies due to numerous injuries, the players that are healthy recover and get their feet back underneath them a little for the upcoming stretch of games.
I asked next about what the ingredients were for Stoudamire's team to get off to a better offensive start against Virginia Tech, which had been an issue the previous few games during the losing streak.
"I think it was just playing together and shot selection," said Stoudamire. "I don't think it's been a secret to when we play well and when we don't offensively. We moved the ball around, we did some really good things and we were able to make open shots. So that was big. You know it's weird, again it's been a weird year because we beat Virginia Tech and we didn't have Lance Terry. But I think that also shows what I've been saying to these guys and to the media before, I feel like we can win with the six or seven guys we have. I really do. I just think that we have to just lock in mentally. We can't lose focus. To me it's not physical, it's mental. Right now it's mental. Everything we do is mental."
The next question was about the matchup at Notre Dame on Tuesday at 9 p.m. and how much of a different opponent and scouting report it will be from the first time the teams played on New Year's Eve with the return of Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton who missed the first matchup. Stoudamire said it would obviously be a little different because of the level of player that Burton is.
"They missed him," said Stoudamire of Burton. "He is able to create shots for himself, and it gives them something that they didn't have on the perimeter. So it's definitely a different-type team with him, and we've got to be prepared."
The next question was about the combination of Burton and three other Notre Dame players who average double figures in scoring and what kind of challenge that poses. Stoudamire said of that group, everyone does something different but with Burton coming back, some of those guys have had to adjust what they were doing so his group is going to have to treat him and guard him like the star he is while still doing a good job on the perimeter against Notre Dame's shooting threats.
Stoudamire went on to say that no matter if they have played with Burton or without Burton against Georgia Tech, his team has to keep Notre Dame off the glass. He referred to Notre Dame's Tae Davis as the unsung hero of the team.
"I think when he (Davis) plays well, they usually play well," said Stoudamire. "You know the other guys are going to be what they're going to be, but when he plays well, I think they are a really good team."
The same guy then followed up with a question about how Stoudamire's NBA career as a player has led to success as a college coach. Stoudamire answered first about it being "to-be-determined here at Georgia Tech" with a laugh. He went on to say that his experience as head coach at Pacific where he was able to get some guys there because of his NBA experience was helpful against some really good coaches in that conference at the time (Mark Few, Mark Pope, Kyle Smith, etc.). He said that he had to be a little bit outside the box with his coaching and recruiting and the NBA experience helped with that in order to stay in the top half of that conference.
I asked next about Duncan Powell's play of late and his growth from the start of the season from a guy that was getting just a few minutes off the bench to now being a starter and hard to get out of the lineup with the way he is playing. Stoudamire said he doesn't think it matters if Powell starts or not right now because of the way he's going to sub quickly anyway with his bench.
"He's taken advantage of all his opportunities," said Stoudamire. "I think that the biggest thing is that he's worked at it. Earlier in the year, he wasn't the same player. I was using him sporadically, but through practice and carry-over into the games, it's been all him. It's been his work ethic, it's been his attitude towards getting better on both ends of the floor and I trust him. That's the biggest thing. I trust everything he does out there."
The next question was a follow-up about Powell's game at Virginia Tech being his best game based on the box score but was it his best game in Stoudamire's opinion. Stoudamire said he thought he kept them in the game and had a big first half before tailing off some offensively in the second half.
"This is what I'll say about Duncan. I thought actually the Notre Dame game the first time, (was a good one for him)," said Stoudamire. "And here's why. What Duncan doesn't get enough credit for is defense. I think that he can guard multiple positions. He's never out of position. You don't call his name on that end of the floor. That keeps me at ease as a coach. I thought that defensively he really played well in that game, and I thought he made some big shots. He's the one guy on our team that can get downhill and finish. He draws a lot of fouls, and although he played well (against Virginia Tech), I thought that Notre Dame game was big for him the first we played them as well."
I asked the final question about injury updates on the three players that have been in boots (Kowacie Reeves, Luke O'Brien, Jaeden Mustaf) as well as if he expected Lance Terry to be back after missing the Virginia Tech game due to sickness.
Stoudamire referred to the trio as his "All-Boot Team" will be out a little longer. He said Reeves is actually out of the boot now but is in strengthening mode so he's not sure still when he will be back. He did say that Terry is fully back as he got back with the team over the weekend after missing that time with the Flu.
Stoudamire and the Jackets will look to make it two straight wins and a season sweep on Tuesday night of the Irish when they visit Notre Dame for a 9 p.m. tip-off to wrap up the January portion of the schedule. Georgia Tech is back home on Saturday to host Louisville at 3:45 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion.
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