TODAY’S TALKER

Tech star Alvarado ready for coach Pastner to get his hair braided

If Georgia Tech guard Jose Alvarado has anything to do with it, his coach’s hair will be arrayed in braids for the team’s first- round NCAA Tournament game against Loyola Chicago on Friday.

Coach Josh Pastner had told his players they could do “whatever they want to do” to his hair if they won the ACC championship. After the Jackets upset Florida State for their first conference title since 1993, Pastner said he would be a “man of his word,” although he hoped the team would wait until the tournament was over before commissioning a new look.

Speaking Sunday after his team had received the No. 9 seed in the tournament opposite No. 8 seed Loyola, Alvarado, no stranger to competing in braided hair, had other ideas.“We need to get his hair braided,” said Alvarado, whose team is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.“We need to get it for the tournament. We need to get it for the first game. It’d be awesome to see it and it’d be better when we win and he has it on.”

Alvarado is one among a number of Yellow Jackets players who have worn their hair in braids during the season.

A possible obstacle for Pastner is the availability of hairdressers for players and coaches at the tournament. In an effort to protect participants from COVID- 19, the NCAA has established a number of protocols, including giving each team its own hotel floor and restricting them from practicing until they pass two tests. But, if an appointment with a stylist can be arranged, there’s a strong chance Pastner would be a focal point of the tournament’s first weekend, particularly if the Jackets defeat the Ramblers on Friday.