2 bright spots for Tech in skid

Guard Michael Devoe, center James Banks making strides.

Georgia Tech’s season has hit a grim stretch. The Yellow Jackets have lost five in a row and it’s no stretch to think it could extend at least two more games, starting with tonight’s game at No. 22 Virginia Tech.

Two of Tech’s starting guards, sophomores Jose Alvarado and Curtis Haywood, are trapped in dreadful slumps. In the wake of that and Georgia receiving a commitment on Monday from fivestar prospect Anthony Edwards from Holy Spirit High, coachJosh Pastner found himself having to urge calm and explaining the many methods he and his staff are employing to fix the problem.

There were at least two reasons, he said.

“Winning is obviously one and

two, I get it,” he said. “Peo- ple enjoy the ball being put in the basket scoring-wise.”

But all is not entirely lost for the Yellow Jackets. Freshman guard Michael Devoe and junior center James Banks have been making strides of late, particularly in Tech’s loss at Notre Dame on Sunday. “Those two guys for Josh have such a bright future,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.

In South Bend, Ind., Devoe hit career highs for points (18), 3-pointers (four) and rebounds (eight) while matching his career best for assists (six) and blocks (two). “It was just a great, great shooting night for me,” Devoe said. “I mean, I worked too hard for it. It’s finally starting to fall now.”

Devoe shot 26.7 percent from 3-point range in Tech’s nonconference games, but has been shooting 45.9 percent in Tech’s 11 ACC games. Devoe said that, besides the work that he’s put in, he’s feeling more comfortable after sitting out six weeks in the preseason with a toe injury and also finding the range on the college 3-pointer (20 feet, 9 inches; compared to the 19’9” distance in high school). He has five double-figuring scoring games in Tech’s past seven.

“I think Devoe is just one of the gifted young guards in our league,” Brey said. “I thought he’d almost sin- gle-handedly beat us (Sun- day) night because we couldn’t do much with him until a little bit in the second half. But he’s big, he’s long, he shoots it, he’s got good strength already.”

While bound to experi- ence some inconsistency as a freshman, Devoe has become particularly significant with Haywood and Alvarado strug- gling to score.

“I recognize that I’m one of the point guards on the team,” Devoe said. “It’s a huge role for me. I think a lot of guys look at me for leadership.”

Banks’ game on the offensive end is still coming along. He’s prone to turnovers and his jump hook needs to get better. But he’s averaging 12 points per game in ACC play, most on the team, while shooting 53 percent from the field. Defensively, he has been solid for Pastner while manning the back line of Tech’s 1-3-1 zone defense, challenging shots and playing help defense on the interior and then hustling out to challenge corner 3-pointers. Through Sunday’s games, he was ranked 12th nationally with 2.52 blocks per game. He had four blocks against the Irish after rejecting seven shots against Clemson last Wednesday.

“Banks, I thi n k, h as become one of the best big guys in our league,” Brey said. “He’s got a great demeanor. He’s got (good) hands and feet around the bucket, he blocks shots.”

Banks’ importance to Tech’s defense is such that keeping him in the game in the first half of games when he gets two fouls is a no-brainer for Pastner. Against Notre Dame, Banks drew his third foul with 4:05 to play in the first half, requir- ing Pastner to bring him back to the bench. The Irish had scored 11 points in 24 possessions to that point. Notre Dame went on a spree, scor- ing 13 points in its final six possessions of the half.

“It was very much related,” Pastner said.

Banks is not as wellrounded a player as former Tech center Ben Lammers was on offense, but “he’s been playing as well as Ben did defensively, in some areas better,” Tech’s coach said. Pastner added that he thinks “for sure” Banks will be named to the All-ACC defensive team and deserves consideration for conference defensive player of the year, which Lammers won as a junior in the 2016-17 season.