JACKETS BEGIN ACC PLAY TODAY AGAINST WAKE

Guards not hitting as many 3-pointers as Pastner was hoping.

After an up-and-down nonconference schedule, Georgia Tech begins ACC play today at home against Wake Forest. In his third season, coach Josh Pastner has a team that can defend, can’t shoot, is young and appears to be getting better.

Here are some things to look for over the next 18 games:

A plan gone awry

In the summer, Pastner said that he had challenged five of his guards (Brandon Alston, Jose Alvarado, Michael Devoe, Curtis Haywood and Shembari Phillips) to shoot 43 percent or better. It was part of Pastner’s plan for the Yellow Jackets to be more reliant upon 3-point shooting after keeping it muzzled for his first two seasons (in no small part because of its inconsistency).

As ACC play begins, Tech has made 31 percent of its 3-pointers (309th of 351 Division I teams). Alston is at 45 percent, with the other four at 36 percent or below. Pastner is perplexed particularly by Devoe (27 percent) and Alvarado (25 percent), the latter of whom shot 37 percent last season. Pastner is hopeful that the Jackets are overdue and that they’ll see better results, in the 36-38 percent range. Alvarado has been putting in extra work to extricate himself from his slump.

“They’re better than their percentages,” Pastner said. “Those are facts. That’s not just me wishing or trying to be Mr. Positive Paul.”

Better at the other end

The one thing Tech is doing well? Playing defense. The Jackets rank 19th nationally in field-goal percentage defense. Forward James Banks ranks 21st nationally at 2.42 blocks per game and alters just as many shots if not more. Haywood and Devoe, both long of limb, challenge shots and create deflections and steals.

“It’s about just playing hard,” Alvarado said. “It’s not about strategies or anything.”

Tech’s effort on defense and its mix of man and zone schemes have caused problems and should keep it in games. The Jackets, however, are about to face an onslaught of scoring exper- tise. Eleven of the ACC’s 15 teams are ranked in the top 60 in offensive efficiency (KenPom).

Reasons for hope

The Jackets appear to be improving, which doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll win much in league play, but is something. While he has been inconsistent, Banks is capable of being a double-double player. Devoe, a freshman, has perhaps as much scoring touch as any player on the team. Freshman forward Khalid Moore has gone from playing seven minutes in the opener to a spot in the rotation. Forward Evan Cole, back and healthy from an ankle sprain, can be an effective role player.

If, as n oted earlier, Alvarado, Devoe and Haywood in particular can start making 3-pointers, the Jack- ets will have much more of a chance to stay in games.

“If we just help each other out, just cheer each other on, support each other 100 percent, we can go a long ways,” Haywood said.