Georgia Tech forward Jackson Fields is already sounding like the kind of addition every coach wants from the portal: steady, vocal and locked in on the details. Before the matchup with Hampton, Fields talked about the transition into his first season with the Yellow Jackets, his teammates’ growth, and the work Georgia Tech has been putting in before the opener.
For Fields, just getting back into live game action has been part of the adjustment. He said the first three exhibition games were as much about settling himself as anything else, especially after being away from basketball for over a year.
“Yeah, I'm very very excited. my, you know, my first three exhibition games, I had to kind of tell myself just relax. I haven't played basketball in about a year and some change.
So, I mean, just getting out there for a full game, real game with the fans, my a lot of family in Atlanta, so getting to play in front of them and playing back on my coach, you know, it can't be nothing I can't can't ask for. So, I'm definitely excited and ready to go, “
Fields also pointed to Colby Garland and Kayden Allen as two players who have made clear progress, especially on the defensive end and in the mental side of the game.
“You know, I'd say the two guys Colby Garland, Kayden Allen. Um, they've just kind of flipped the switch of just I mean, you know, they both can score the ball great.They both great offensive players, but just learning the defense and learning the tags and learning communication.
Those two have made kind of-I can tell they made a step in change in their mental.” So, definitely those two guys for sure,” said Fields.
Defense has been one of the biggest points of emphasis for the group, and Fields said Georgia Tech has made strides with its tagging and its effort on that side of the ball. He was direct about why that matters.
“I feel like we definitely took multiple steps in the right direction with our tagging. What we do on offense, you know, kind of go rebound.
I mean, that's probably what was one of our main messes-ups because if we don't tag, they get out in transition and get easy buckets. So, you know, that's what we've been working on.
Just that and being tenacious on defense. Those two things alone can win us games that we shouldn't win.
So, that's what things we've been focusing on and we've been doing those really well this week. So, I can't wait to see what it looks like when we're going against somebody else,” said Fields.
He also described how quickly this group has started to build chemistry off the court. Living together and spending time around one another has helped make the team feel connected before the season even gets going.
“We all click maybe like I mean probably the first week and a half. We all live at the same little apartment building, from freshmen to the seniors and the grads.
So we're always around each other, and we're always here. We're doing a lot of like team bonding at coach's house, you know, either with recruits or not recruits going in there playing games, getting just comfortable off the court.
So when it's on the court against adverse situations and you know we're we're comfortable with who we're out there with.
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