The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jackets celebrate end of a long, long streak
Tech finally posts back-to-back winning seasons in ACC play.
It was March 3, 1990. On a Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, in his final game at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, Georgia Tech’s Brian Oliver delivered a game to remember, dropping 34 points on No. 20 Clemson to lead the No. 11 Yellow Jackets to an 85-69 win. Playing before a coliseum record crowd of 10,002, Tech clinched a win to secure third place in the ACC with a league record of 8-6, which followed 8-6 finishes in the two previous seasons.
Litt l e could anyone have guessed that it would be the last time the Jackets posted back-toback winning seasons for the next three decades. Saturday, Tech ended an almost unthinkable drought by clinching an above.500 record in league play for the second year in a row with its 84-77 win over Syracuse at Mccamish Pavilion.
After finishing fifth last season in the ACC at 11-9, Tech is 9-6 in the ACC (13-8 overall) with two regular-season games to go.
Informed Sunday that the 198890 teams were the last at Tech
to accomplish the feat, the glib coach of those teams could offer only the briefest of responses:
“Wow,” Bobby Cremins said.
With much greater command the Tech great shared his delight with the present-day Jackets, who are in seventh place ahead of their Tuesday night matchup with Duke at Mccamish.
“I think they’re having a great year,” Cremins told the AJC. “( Jose) Alvarado should be first-team ALL-ACC and Moses Wright at least second (team). I knew going in they had experience, and that’s a big factor, but you’ve got to prove it.”
Cremins has followed the team closely, as he has all the Jackets teams since he stepped down from the post in 2000.
“Against Virginia Tech, their zone was absolutely sensational, and against Syracuse, they didn’t play one second of zone,” Cremins said. “( Josh Pastner) is mixing it up, but those kids — Alvarado is something. He’s something else. And (Michael) Devoe, he’s got a beautiful stroke. ( Jordan) Usher’s a different player from a year ago. He’s playing so much smarter. And Moses Wright is the ultimate overachiever. I hope they’re ready Tuesday night, because you know Duke will be ready, even though they lost (on Saturday).”
It has evidently taken such a collection (and the leadership of Pastner and his staff ) for the Jackets to end such a staggering streak. What is perhaps even more remarkable is that, from 1990 until last season, Tech only had two winning seasons in ACC play, 1996 and 2004.
Many teams in that span were competitive. Cremins and successor Paul Hewitt were often close to capturing more winning ACC records. After 1990, of Cremins’ next six teams, three were 8-8 and one was 13-3. One won the ACC championship (1993), another tied for first in the ACC regular season (1996) and four total went to the NCAA Tournament.
In the first eight seasons of Hewitt’s 11-year tenure, the Jackets were no worse than 7-9 in the ACC seven times, topping out at 9-7 in 2004, when Tech reached the national championship game. Four of Hewitt’s five NCAA trips occurred in that span, including back-to-back trips in 2004 and 2005.
Brian Gregory and Pastner put up back-to-back 8-10 ACC seasons in 2016 and 2017.
Still, the dry spell is — or was — remarkable in its length. In the past five years alone, eight of the other 14 teams in the ACC have posted back-to-back winning ACC seasons.
The core of Alvarado, Devoe and Wright is now in its third season together and has improved markedly. Pastner has brought in transfers who have been crucial in the team’s rise, including James Banks, Usher and Bubba Parham. Further, the Jackets have earned their second winning season in a row in ACC play when the schedule and COVID19 pauses have done them few favors.
“That’s great for the program, and that’s a testament to the players, because the players win games,” Pastner said. “My assistant coaches, my staff, have done an incredible job of game prep, but the players have executed. So all the credit goes the players on that.”
Tech will try to end a 14-game losing streak to Duke on Tuesday, win its first ACC Tournament game since 2016 and, most notably, get into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. If nothing else, the Jackets have the support and belief of an old coach.
“I love to see them do well,” Cremins said. “It’s been a tough run. I believe this is an NCAA team. They deserve it.”