Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire fielded questions from the media on Monday during the weekly ACC Coaches Call as the Jackets are now 8-9 overall and 2-4 in the ACC following road losses at SMU and at Syracuse in the past week.

Stoudamire, who is preparing his team for a 9 p.m. conference showdown vs. Clemson Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion, was first asked if he had considered any changes to the starting lineup, playing time or game strategies on the court after the up-and-down nature of the team's play over the first three months of the season. Stoudamire said they would definitely be trying to figure some things out but until they get more healthy bodies there is only so much they could do with the hand his team has been dealt.

Stoudamire went onto say he has contemplated lineup changes and Duncan Powell would be one player that has earned a shot to be in the starting lineup but that would change the whole dynamic with Powell and Javian McCollum being those first two players off the bench early in the game and who would be the players that replace them coming off the bench if they got off to a slow start.

"We'll see. The thing about it is, I think that although Saturday (vs. SMU) happened, I still don't feel like we're that far off and I feel like we've got a lot of winnable games," said Stoudamire. "The biggest thing is right now we're either good or bad. Can we be consistent? And that's the one thing that I've been screaming all season, the attention to detail and being consistent so you can learn each practice, each game. That's probably been the biggest frustration for me. We've either been good or we've been bad, nothing in between."

Next up, I asked about coming off the game at SMU Saturday where the Jackets were outscored 50-19 in the first half and the process of moving to the next game vs. Clemson quickly with the fast turnaround or if he would dwell on that game to learn from the mistakes.

"There is parts of it you've got to forget because of the quick turnaround, but then there's parts of it that you can't," said Stoudamire. "I think the thing we struggle with collectively is when teams get up in us defensively and we've got to be better in that way. That wasn't a Saturday thing. That's been a thing that has happened throughout the season, and it's becoming a thing. We've got to be better in that way because it's too easy to disrupt us on the offensive end when things aren't going well. We've got to be able to fight as hard on offense as much as we fight on defense. We have to be able to do it at both ends of the floor."

The next question was about if Stoudamire's playing and coaching experience has shown him that the in-between good and bad and grinding it out when you're not at your best was the differentiator at the the end of the season between successful and unsuccessful teams. Stoudamire said he definitely feels that way and to be a good or consistent team you have to find a way to grind out wins when you aren't at your best.

"You've got to figure it out on the run. That's what good teams do," said Stoudamire. "There are teams in our league that are winning games but they're getting plays when they need them. When you can play somewhere in the middle sometimes when you're not on your 'A-game' but you're not on your 'C-D game' or your 'D-F game' and you're throwing out a C-effort, that's because your able to make plays and stay the course and have some toughness in certain situations to eek out that win.

"Moreso as a player for sure. I can remember winning a lot of games that way. As a coach, there is a comfort zone that you have that your players give you or there is an anxiety that you have when you see it coming. We have to figure that out because there is so much basketball left. You can turn it with a couple wins, but at some point it has to be in your DNA on a consistent basis that you're going to stop being inconsistent."

I asked next if Stoudamire had an update on Luke O'Brien or Kowacie Reeves who have both been in boots on the bench dealing with foot/ankle injuries. He said he didn't have any update or timetable for their return and it was still "up in the air." Stoudamire then went back to clarifying his answer to the first question about lineup changes saying he is a "fair guy" and "not an excuse guy," but with the injuries they have, there are only so many ways they can go with who plays or how much some people play.

"Injuries are part of sports, and I understand that," said Stoudamire. "So there are some things I have to do to keep somewhat of a balance on our team."

I then asked the last question about possibly coming out in a big spot like Tuesday night against Clemson and putting together a good performance in spite of how the last few games have gone kind of like they have been able to pull off upsets or unexpected wins in his first season and a half out of nowhere a bit. He said he's looking for an outing like that.

"What I need to do is be able to look guys in the eye and know that they're ready to compete," said Stoudamire. "Toughness and competing are along the same line. When we compete, we tend to show toughness. We don't show toughness when we don't compete. We have to come out tomorrow and we have to be physical because that's the way Clemson is going to play. We can't have all these turnovers that we had in the last couple games because they will feed into that and that will give them energy. And we're going to have to keep them off the glass. Those are the big challenges for us. Are we capable? Yeah, we're capable. But we've got to figure it out.

"I tell the guys this all the time, 'Nobody feels sorry for you.' Nobody feels sorry for us right now. We're going to fight. We've got to fight to get out of the situation we're in. We can flip it, but we've got to fight. Nobody is going to give it to us."

Stoudamire and the Jackets will tip off against Clemson on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion with the game being broadcast on ACC Network.