I talked to Bird last night while watching the Georgia Tech game on TV in Warner Robins: "We're finally beating the crappy teams. Last year was difficult. We couldn't put them away you know?" I think we finally know.
Chattanooga is nothing special this year. They were a tournament team last year but lost all 5 of their starters so don't let anything fool you. But it's not the winning that is impressive (right now) it's how we're winning. The Jackets shot 60% from the field, FIVE players put up double figures led by Gani Lawal who had 29 points in just 17 minutes followed by Favors (14) Rice (11) Miller (10) and Udofia (10). Hell, even the FREE THROWS were up.
Even Chattanooga players knew they were outmanned and outmatched. From: We hung in there but they're just too good. To:"They were getting easy buckets all night," Chattanooga forward Ridge McKeither said. "They're NBA guys. They got moves no matter how much pressure we put on them."
Early season basketball usually doesn't mean much but it does give you indicators. In the 2008-2009 season, the Yellow Jackets averaged 74.6 ppg while allowing 63.2 with in their first 8 games (6-2). This year, the 2009-2010 season is giving us a 80.8 ppg while allowing 62.8. The increase in the offensive production can easily be linked to the talent brought in by this year's freshman class.
So ok we won, we beat Chattanooga. Good job everybody, we took care of business. When's the first real test? Florida State comes to town Sunday for our first ACC matchup of the year. The first road ACC game is January 13th in Charlottesville.
