Georgia Tech Basketball Preview 2014-2015
By Brad Rowland
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets guard Chris Bolden (11) drives to the basket past North Carolina Tar Heels forward Kennedy Meeks (3) in the second half at Hank McCamish Pavilion. North Carolina won 78-65. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Backcourt
This is, quite obviously, the weakness of this year’s roster. Chris Bolden (pictured) above is the leading returning scorer among the guards after averaging 5.4 points per game in just over 24 minutes per contest a year ago, but in the same breath, Bolden shot less than 30% (!) from the floor and the 6-foot-3 junior is likely best cast as a role player. Fortunately, Brian Gregory’s best recruit in the Class of 2014 was Tadric Jackson, a 6-foot-2 guard from Tifton, and hopes are high that the left-handed combo guard can infuse some life into the offense with creation skills.
At the point, Georgia Tech is a barren wasteland. The de facto starter is Corey Heyward, as the sophomore from Duluth appeared in 32 games a year ago and represented the Jackets at ACC Media Day, but the former walk-on is extremely limited from an athletic standpoint, and if Heyward is the principal contributor at the position for a team in the ACC, things have gone terribly wrong. It isn’t a stretch that we could see the aforementioned Jackson in ball-handling duty at times, but Tech fans are also banking on a full return from 2013 recruit Travis Jorgensen, who would add shooting if he can fully recover from an injury that cost him all but four games as a freshman.
It is fair to suggest that Marcus Georges-Hunt could be the best “guard” on the roster, but given that the 6-foot-5 swingman will start at small forward, we’ll save him for later. On the whole, guard play is the principal concern for both Brian Gregory and the fan base, and we all need to hope and pray that Tadric Jackson is ready to contribute in a big way immediately.
Next: Frontcourt