Basketball '90-91The Daily Tar HeelFriday, November 16, 19905
Tech's Cremins to acftmcfa over lethal losses
By DAVID J. KUPSTAS
Staff Writer
When Georgia Tech head coach
Bobby Cremins recruited point guard
Kenny Anderson two years ago, he
looked at his prospective team for the
1 990-9 1 campaign and thought it would
be a special year for Georgia Tech
basketball.
As it turned out, last season was the
special year for the Ramblin Wreck.
Led by Lethal Weapon 3 Dennis
Scott , B rian 0 1 i ver and Anderson the
Yellow Jackets made it all the way to
the Final Four before bowing out to
eventual champion UNLV, 90-81.
Now Lethal Weapon 3 has been
whittled down to Lethal Weapon 1.
Oliver (21.3 points per game in 1989
90) completed his eligibility and became
an NBA first-round draft choice of the
Philadelphia 76ers, and Scott (27.7 ppg)
took off after his junior season for the
Orlando Magic, who took Scott with the
fourth overall pick in the draft. That
leaves Anderson and forward Malcolm
Mackey as the only two starters re
maining from last year's 28-7 (8-6 in
the ACQ squad.
With Scott, the Yellow Jackets would
have been a favorite to retura to the
Final Four despite the loss of Oliver.
Without Scott, the Yellow Jackets will
probably finish in the middle of the
pack in the ACC.
"With (Scott) on your team, that's
some wins right there," Anderson said.
"If he had stayed, that would be Final
Four again. When we came down the
court, something offensively was going
to happen. I give the ball to Dennis.
When he m isses two jumpers ( in a row),
I'm like, 'What's wrong?'"
Any talk of Georgia Tech hoops be
gins with the 6-foot-2, 166-pound
Anderson, the preseason All-America
from Rego Park, N.Y. He scores (20.6
ppg), rebounds (5.5 rpg), assists (8.1
Georgia Tech
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wl. CI.
3 B.Oomalik G 5-11 164 Sr.
11 B.Hill G 6-4 210 So.
12 K. Anderson G 6-2 166 So.
14 J.Barry G 6-4 175 Jr.
15 0. Barnes F 6-8 202 So.
23 B. Blacky G 6-1 178 Fr.
24 J. Munlyn C 6-11 228 Sr.
31 G. White G 6-2 168 Jr.
32 M. Mackey F 6-10 243 So.
33 I.Newbill F 6-9 224 Fr.
34 R.Balanis G 6-3 192 Fr.
52 M.Geiger FC 7-0 234 Jr.
Head Coach: Bobby Cremins (South
Carolina, 1970). Overall Coaching
Record: 281-169 in 15 years. Record at
Georgia Tech: 1 81-99 in 9 years -
apg) and steals the ball (79 steals). He
does it all, and he's only a sophomore.
"As great as all the point guards are,
I don't think there's any question that
Kenny Anderson is easily the best,"
Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom
said. "He is exceptional, just absolutely
exceptional. And I think he's the best in
the country without any question. I don't
think I'm out on any limb by myself
there."
Oliver was the team's floor leader
last season, and he was preceded by
players such as Tom Hammonds and
Mark Price. Scott was supposed to take
over this year, but now Cremins must
ask Anderson to fill that role.
"I've never had a sophomore to be
the leader of the team," said Cremins,
now in his 10th year in Atlanta. "Last
year, I told Kenny to keep his mouth
shut, listen to Dennis and Brian and just
play. Now I'll ask him to say more."
But Anderson is not expected to be a
one-man show this year, despite Tech's
Kenny Anderson
loss of far more than half of its scoring
in Oliver and Scott and starting center
Johnny McNeil's 5.8 points a game.
Cremins said he would like for Ander
son to play just like he did a year ago.
Taking Oliver's place at wing guard
will be 6-4 juco transfer Jon Barry, the
son of former NBA star Rick Barry. He
averaged 17.1 points for Paris Junior
College in Texas last season.
Barry will be backed up by Chowan
(N.C.) Junior College transfer Bryan
Hill. Hill has three years of eligibility
remaining, while Barry has two.
"Both of those players will play a
lot," Cremins said. "We need for them
to come through. Even though they lack
experience, both will have to contrib
, ute."
Mackey, a 6-10 sophomore, leads
Tech's inexperienced frontline. Mackey
proved to be a rebounding machine (7.5
rpg) and a proficient shot blocker (4 1
blocks) in '89-90. He did not get the bal I
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much offensively because of Lethal
Weapon 3, but that should change this
year, allowing him to improve on his
7.2 scoring average of a year ago.
Auburn transfer Matt Geiger (7-0,
234), who has two years of eligibility
remaining, will start at center. An agile
inside player who has shown the ability
to score off the dribble, Geiger averaged
1 5.9 points and 6.6 rebounds a game in
his sophomore season at Auburn.
"I th ink he can become a great player,"
Cremins said, "but he's not a great player
now."
Senior James Munlyn (6-11, 228)
will also see time in the post.
Tech's biggest weakness will come
at the small forward spot. Talented 6-8
sophomore Darryl Barnes is the team's
only true small forward, but he still
needs to learn the game, Cremins said.
If 6-9 redshirt freshman Ivano Newbill
starts at forward, there will not be a
small-forward type in the first five.
To accommodate the bigger lineup,
Cremins changed the Tech offense from
a wide-open, full-court perimeter style
to a more power-oriented one. The team
had trouble responding to the changes,
however, so Cremins switched back to
the old offense.
Not having a small forward will prove
troublesome on defense as well. The
Jackets' defensive quickness on the wing
will suffer if one of the big men has to
play in the No. 3 spot.
Anderson should come through with
a performance similar to last season's.
How well the Jackets fare this year will
depend on whether Mackey can become
an offensive force and whether Geiger
can put up the kind of numbers he did at
Auburn.
Despite all the question marks, Geor
gia Tech has been ranked in the top 20
by several preseason publications.
"Hopefully, we'll remain competi
tive," Cremins said. "I think we'll go
through some tough times early. We're
a team that can be very good or a team
that could be bad."
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