Georgia Tech defeated Clemson on Saturday despite its top two scorers – Michael Devoe and Jordan Usher – contributing only 17 points. As a pair, it was the lowest total for the two this season.
What it means for the Yellow Jackets in their final nine regular-season games – and perhaps for the future after that – remains to be seen. But for Tech’s prospects, it can’t be a bad thing.
“I’m excited about our young guys,” coach Josh Pastner said after the Jackets’ 69-64 win over the Tigers at McCamish Pavilion. “We’ve got good young guys who’ve gotten good experience.”
Guard Deivon Smith led the Jackets in scoring (16), rebounds (eight) and assists (six). He was one of a number of freshmen or sophomores who made significant contributions to help Tech to a much-needed win after dropping four of their previous five ACC games.
Freshman guard Miles Kelly hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the Jackets’ 24-2 first-half run that gave Tech a lead that it never relinquished. Smith and freshman guard Deebo Coleman opened up the lead after the Tigers quickly closed a 13-point halftime lead down to five at the start of the second half. Smith and Coleman provided all the scoring in an 11-2 run that expanded the lead from 33-28 to 44-30, with Smith twice setting up Coleman for 3-pointers during the spurt.
“We need those guys to continue to step up and play well for us, and then those older guys like Usher and Devoe and Khaild Moore, just continue to bring those guys and we can hopefully get on a hot streak here,” Pastner said.
Smith, Coleman and Kelly combined for 35 points, more than half of the Jackets’ output. The production was an outlier – their previous combined high was 31 points, and that was in the third game of the season against Lamar – but it was part of a general trend in the improving offensive play of each.
Smith has shot 52.2% on 2-point field-goal tries in the past nine games after sitting out of the Jan. 4 loss at Duke. He was shooting 32.8% prior to that.
“You can see Deivon continuing to get better,” Pastner said.
Kelly and Coleman have both found their 3-point stroke starting with the 50-point win over Division II Clayton State on Jan. 23. Kelly has shot 8-for-16 (50%) from 3-point range in the past five games, validating Pastner’s repeated assurances that Kelly’s numbers before that point (5-for-30, 16.7%) were not representative of what he was doing in practice. Coleman, who started out hot from 3-point range and then cooled off, has again warmed up. He has made 12 of 23 3-point tries (52.2%) starting with the Clayton State game. He was 6-for-22 (27.3%) in the previous six games.
The Jackets, who play at Miami on Wednesday, can expect more than 17 points from Devoe and Usher going forward. And they probably can’t count on 35 off the bench from Smith, Coleman and Kelly. But the progress that the three appear to be making lends hope for the remainder of the season that the consistency and development that Pastner has sought might be inching closer to becoming a reality.
“I can see us starting to turn the corner,” Pastner said. “Hopefully we can have consistency with that.”
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