Pastner will keep playing Alvarado

Alittle under 16½ minutes remained in the second half of Georgia Tech’s 64-48 loss to Virginia on Thursday. Tech was down 10 points with the ball, a possession initiated when point guard Jose Alvarado dug out a loose ball in the lane for a steal. In the low post, Yellow Jackets forward Abdoulaye Gueye had the ball poked away from him. Cutting from the opposite wing to the middle already, Alvarado jumped on the loose ball. While the shot clock was running down, Alvarado still had time to set up a teammate. Instead, he dribbled to the basket, where his shot was blocked. Virginia took possession and scored, increasing the lead to 12. That’s a little bit of what Alvarado has shown as the Jackets begin the middle one- third of their ACC schedule tonight at Florida State. Instincts, aggressiveness and quickness, andalso decision-making that needs improvement. “There’s things you can do in high school and summer ball that you can’t do at this level,” coach Josh Pastner said, speaking of his point guard. Though he is apt to make mistakes, Alvarado will be leaned on the rest of theway. Alvarado is playing 38.5 minutes per game in ACC games, seventh overall and second among freshmen. Pastner said that will continue, even ashe scales back minutes for guard Josh Okogie and Ben Lammers. It’s experience that will pay off down the road for the Jackets, but for now they’ll have to accept the bumps that come with giving a freshman such responsibility. “He’s going to be a great four-year player here at Georgia Tech,” Pastner said. “By the time he’s he’s a junior, going to be one of the better guards in the league. Kind ofwhat (Matt) Farrell’s done for Notre Dame, in a sense, on how he’s played there.” In an ideal situation, Alvarado might be sharing minutes with a junior or senior point guard. But in this one, he’ s quarter backing the Jackets until his legs fall off. While point guard Justin Moore will dress for the FSU game after not being available for the previous six because of what Pastner called personal reasons, Pastner insists his rotation is set. Alvarado leads the teamin assists with 58, and his 12.7 points per game third. rank Pastner has loved Alvarado’s willingness to dig out defensive rebounds to start a fast break. He has a decent 3-point shot (36.1 percent) and leads the team at the line (82.1 percent). He preys on opponents’ lapses of concentration to snag steals. He playswith effort, wins loose balls and has fifire a that has won over Tech fans. “He does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score,” Pastner said. “He competes. He’s tough.” On the other hand, Pastner said Alvarado gambles too often on defense and is beaten frequently on drives to the basket. On offense, his shot selection needs to improve. Andwith 13 assists against 18 turnovers in six ACC games, Alvarado has the lowest assist total among the league’s starting point guards. “You’re asking himto the run the team,” Pastner said. “He’s getting better, but it’s just understanding tempo and certain shot selection, and that’s just going to come through experience.”