The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pastner sees positives, acknowledges mistakes
2019-20 goal: Finish top 9 in ACC, avoid tourney’s 1st round.
The season had ended less than 24 hours earlier, but Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner already had an objective for the 2019-20 season. What the Yellow Jackets need to do, Pastner said, is finish in the top nine of the ACC and avoid playing in the first round of the conference tournament, which Tech has done for each of Pastner’s first three seasons.
“If you’re not playing on Tuesday, you are in the NCAA tournament or you’re right there,” Pastner said Wednesday morning.
Pastner’s third season finished at 14-18, which will make it the ninth consecutive year that the Jackets have not been to the NCAA Tournament. As he looked back at the season in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he offered his critiques of himself and his team and areas that he liked. As usual, he was optimistic and hopeful about the fourth season.
“I don’t think we’re that far off,” Pastner said about making the tournament. “I really don’t believe we are.”
Even in a sub-.500 season, there were positives. Center James Banks steadily developed, finished the regular season as the ACC blocks leader and was a worthy selection to the ACC all-defensive team. Point guard Jose Alvarado played his way out of a deep slump to show his most productive form of his career in the final six games of the regular season. Freshman forwards Khalid Moore and Kristian Sjolund developed into contributors.
“We got better as the season went on,” he said.
Forward Moses Wright was the most improved player on the team. In his first 25 games, Wright shot 40 percent from the field and averaged .30 points per minute. In the final five, as his shot selection improved and skill work began to bear fruit, his field-goal percentage shot up to 62 percent and he scored .52 points per minute. For context, guard Josh Okogie averaged .50 points per minute last season.
The Jackets defended well, as they have throughout Pastner’s tenure. As of Tuesday, they ranked 35th nationally in defensive efficiency and 13th in 3-point field-goal defense (KenPom). Tech’s 1-3-1 zone continued to give teams trouble, particularly with the effort that the Jackets gave. Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said after his team beat Tech in February at McCamish Pavilion that the Jackets had “probably the best matchup zone scheme I’ve seen in my coaching career.”
They also won three road games, at Arkansas, Syracuse and N.C. State. While losing Josh Okogie, Ben Lammers and Tadric Jackson, the Jackets maintained the same league record (6-12), which this year was good for 10th (last year it was 13th).
The 3-point shooting, which Pastner had proclaimed would be significantly better, declined slightly, from 32 percent to 31 percent, although guard Michael Devoe shot 39 percent for the season and 44 percent in conference play. The shooting did improve at the tail end of the season, which Pastner attributed to a change in the structure of shooting drills in practice and the decision to play with a smaller lineup.
“I’m really proud of our defense, but we just had stretches there in some games we lost, we just couldn’t score,” Pastner said.
Pastner lamented his decision not to commit to a playing rotation earlier in the season, which he attributed to so many players being similarly capable.
“I should have made the decision to say, ‘We’re just going to keep with this rotation’ and let it be that and grow through it,” he said. “But because we didn’t have a lot of separation, we were playing 10 or 11 guys at times, and I didn’t think it was effective.”
Tech will add guard Jordan Usher, a transfer from USC who can start play at the end of the fall semester.
Either through high school recruiting or the transfer market, Pastner will try to secure a scoring guard and a post player this spring. On Tuesday, Tre Mitchell, a center from Pittsburgh rated the No. 81 prospect in the 2019 class (247Sports Composite), put Tech in his final six. As teams’ seasons come to an end, the transfer portal likely will be filling with possibilities.
“We have at least two spots, and we’re going to go out and recruit and we’re going to find some guys,” Pastner said.