Brian Gregory and Georgia Tech have a point guard problem

Feb 1, 2014; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Brian Gregory reacts to a call during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

After Wednesday’s blowout loss to Duke, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are sitting at 13-13, and with that, any thoughts of an NCAA at-large bid are a distant memory. While that doesn’t mean that Brian Gregory’s club should “pack it in” for the 2013-2014 season, it does give us a bit of license to look to the future rather than focusing on the present. There is certainly talent in the program with guys like Robert Carter Jr. and Marcus Georges-Hunt having eligibility left, but Atlanta’s flagship college basketball program has a big-time issue.

They don’t have a point guard.

For the uninitiated, Georgia Tech has been known as a “point guard school” for years, and with good reason. In the last 30 years (admittedly a large sample), the Jackets have cycled through NBA studs like Mark Price, Kenny Anderson, and Stephon Marbury, while sprinkling in top-flight college guys like Jarrett Jack (NBA), Javaris Crittendon (NBA), Iman Shumpert (NBA), and even Tony Akins. However, since those high-end players left campus (and even before the latter part of that run), Tech has been relegated to having their offense run by such “studs” as Zam Fredrick (2006), Matt Causey (2008), Mfon Udofia (2011-2013), and this season, Trae Golden and Corey Heyward.

With all due respect to Trae Golden, who has been a solid collegiate player in both stops including Tennessee, his injury absence in recent weeks has highlighted an issue that has already been brewing. Golden’s transfer (and eligibility) was seen as a God-send around Tech’s campus, but even if everything had gone beautifully this season (and he’s been reasonably effective in averaging a team-leading 13 points and 3.1 assists per game), he is in the final year of eligibility with no future plan in sight.

Golden’s chief backup has been redshirt freshman Corey Heyward, who was a 2-star, unranked recruit in the class of 2012 that, frankly, has no business playing major minutes in the ACC at this point in time. In fairness to Heyward, that backup point guard job was supposed to be divided between Solomon Poole (who was dismissed from the program) and Travis Jorgensen (who tore his ACL after just 4 games of his freshman season), but even without those issues, no one would be comfortable with the point guard direction moving forward.

Jorgenson seems like the logical candidate to take over as the starter in 2014-2015, but that is an awful lot to ask of a 3-star recruit coming off an ACL tear, and currently, there is no point guard commitment in the 2014 recruiting class. Some combination of Jorgenson, Heyward, and Ron Wamer will likely be utilized at the point, but the ACC isn’t going to let up in competition, and unless you’re an eternal optimist, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel with regard to next season.

Gone are the days of Price, Marbury, and Anderson, but can we at least have Jarrett Jack or Tony Akins?