Everything From Josh Pastner Before Matchup With Miami

Josh Pastner spoke today before taking on No. 12 Miami on Wednesday

Jackson Caudell | Jan 3, 2023

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech is 0-3 in conference play and in need of a win this week. It won't be easy with No. 12 Miami coming to Atlanta, but the Yellow Jackets are going to have to face the challenge in front of them.

Head coach Josh Pastner spoke to the media today ahead of the game tomorrow night with the Hurricanes and here is everything the Yellow Jackets head coach had to say.

Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner — Josh Pastner spoke to the media on Tuesday ahead of tomorrow's game with Miami / Georgia Tech Athletics

Opening Statement:

"The biggest thing when you look at our three games and I said this last night on the radio show, our three biggest issues when you look at our games in ACC play we are 0-3. Vs North Carolina, with three minutes and 20 seconds to go in the first half it was 28-26... it was 3:19 to be exact, 28-26 North Carolina, they are up by two and they go on an 11-0 run to end the half. You take out that 3:19, in the 36 minutes and 41 seconds, they have a plus five advantage, it is that three minutes and 19 seconds.

Against Clemson, with 14:35, we are leading 14-10 and over the next six minutes and 19 seconds... excuse me, over the next eight minutes and 16 seconds, we did not score a single point until six minutes and 19 seconds on the game clock, which puts us at 28-15, that's eight minutes and 16 seconds Clemson was on an 18-2 run. Outside of that, if you take out that, we were plus three or something against Clemson.

Virginia, you look at it, we had it at 1:58 to go in the first half and we did not score our next point until 14:41 in the second half, which is seven minutes and 37 seconds and during that time, they went on a 25-3 run. You look at the other 32 minutes and whatever, we were plus four or plus six or something like that in the game.

That was eight minutes and 20 seconds against Clemson, seven and a half minutes against Virginia, and three minutes and 20 seconds against North Carolina wide rowing three. Yes, that is part of the game, that is why you play 40 minutes, but our issue in those three games, and look everyone knows you are going to have stretches where things are not going to go well, it is our stretches in those small segments where the water breaks and there is a flood and it just spirals quickly down that stretch.

That is the number one issue in those three games, is how do we not let the pipes break? There can be a drip and a little leak, but we just can't be having it where it just gets flooded and that has to be corrected. Ok, so you say, what is that solution, because I am a solution-focused individual. There are a lot of things we have to look at.

No. 1, we have looked at who is on the floor during those times. No. 2, you know obviously vs Virginia, we had a lot of turnovers and you are not getting shots at the rim. No. 3, are there actions that we need to call when we need a bucket and when we sense it, that we just call it to get us a bucket or to at least get us fouled and where we have to do something differently at least to stop the bleeding and to stop the pipes breaking. No. 4, I like to have a timeout or two later in the game for the sole reason of you never know when you need press breaks, but you never know when you'll have to call or use all four timeouts, use every timeout the second you see that coming, you know or at least use one or two if we had to in that initial stretch.

So all things are on the table, we are dissecting it, looking at it, trying to make amends for it and you know in those three ACC games... again, I recognize it is a 40-minute game, yes you are not going to play perfect for 40 minutes, yes there is going to be stretches where it is a game of runs, it is the runs are becoming 25-3, 18-2, and 11-0. There could be a run where it is 12-6, 13-9, 10-3, but 25-3, 18-2, and 11-0 are just where the pipes break and it is flooded. Then, we stabilize and we are fine after that, but it is during when those pipes break and that is a problem and that has to be corrected."

1. On what is going through the player's minds during those bad runs...

"It is just a lot of things to it. There could be turnovers, missed shots and we are not getting shots. You know... the pipes have burst and it is a flood, it is not a gradual deal. It is not a drip and that is the issue."

2. On if they plan too much on being a transition offense...

"We need to score in transition. Now, we did have 15 fast-break points against Virginia, but we did not have any against Clemson, especially in the first half and we have to score in transition, or otherwise, we just put too much pressure on our halfcourt offense and we don't have a team of plodders. We have good runners and we have good athleticism, so we have to be able to get out and get open more than we are. Yes, teams are getting guys back to not allow us to get in transition but we still have to be able to score some in transition to loosen some things up in our half-court offense."

3. On what led to the 23 turnovers against Virginia...

"It was a combination of everything. It was just bad. It was not good and I was not happy with that at all and neither were the fans and they shouldn't have been, nobody was happy and that was uncharacteristic of us because we have not done that all season long. In fact, I don't know that we have done that in my entire time here in seven years. We have had some games where we have had some turnovers but not like that."

4. Updates on the guys that were out sick...

"Yeah, they should be good to go for Wednesday.

5. On Deivon Smith's rough game against Virginia...

" Yeah, obviously he was not the only one, although it was not one of his better games vs Virginia, but we had multiple guys that did not play well so I could give you... nobody really played well against Virginia. Deivon did not play well, none of us played well, it just was not a good game and it is not any one individual guy, from just top to bottom... obviously, when we lose as I have said before, the losses go on the head coach so it starts with me. Nobody was good that day ."

6. On his approach to the Miami game...

"Well, there is no easy game in the ACC. We are not a team that is just going to be able to just walk in and show up and you know... without being good and win the game, so we are going to have to be good when we play. It is a great opportunity, you just never know in sports. Things can change on a dime in a sense and the whole season changes and it could be good or bad, I mean just things happen and the energy of all of it, how it flows. We have a great opportunity on Wednesday. I mean, Miami is really good, congratulations to Coach (Jim) Larranaga, who is nominated for the Hall of Fame, deserves to be in and Miami is an excellent team. I talked about how good they were last year, an elite eight team. They have excellent players. We are playing Miami, they are in the ACC and we are not playing an NBA team as I have told our guys and every team that we play in this league, anybody can beat anybody.

More than Miami, I think for all of us, we need to play well and try to put a good 40-minute game together, that does not mean... it does not guarantee you a win or anything but I think the next step, at least for these ACC games, we gotta stop... again, there is gonna be runs, we are not... you are not going to win 100-20, but there is going to be runs, but we have to be eliminating the bleeding or eliminating the stopping of the drip, of the leak and try to make it a drip here or here and not a massive flood and I think if we can just be good for a 40-minutes, that is what we have not done in these ACC games, we have not played a good 40 minutes and there are going to be stretches where things are not going your way, but we can't allow it to be an 18-2, 25-3, or 11-0. That is just a recipe for disaster."

7. On Miami guard Isaiah Wong...

"He is a really good player. He is one of the best players not only in the ACC, but in the entire country and they have multiple really good players. But how do you defend him? You have to play great defense and hope he misses some shots along the way too. But he is hard to stop and he is a great player.

8. On trying different lineups if guys are not playing well...

"As I mentioned, it starts with me. Nobody did well and I take the most blame on that so... I think all options are on the table. We are trying to find the right rhythm and the right group, but we are going to need everybody, we are better than we were last game and again, we played well, it was 27-25. It was good for the first 18 minutes and the last 14, but it was just that stretch and I mean, the same thing with Clemson, there was that stretch. So, I think more than the personnel, it is making sure we are eliminating that stretch. We just can't allow it to flood on us and it has flooded in those three games. North Carolina, it was 28-26 and we were playing well... it was sort of like Virginia, we were right there. What can we do to be better about that? That is where I go back to, should I burn all of my timeouts to avoid the avalanche."

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