Georgia Tech’s season opener against Hampton offered an early look at what Scott Cross wants this team to be: disruptive, physical and hard to score on. The Yellow Jackets won 75-55, and while the offense had its rough patches, the defense and work on the boards gave them a clear identity in the first game of the year.
The best stretch for Georgia Tech came on the defensive end right away. Hampton had a miserable first half, shooting 6-for-33 overall and 0-for-7 from 3-point range.
The Yellow Jackets added five turnovers and six blocks to that early squeeze. Hampton did find more rhythm after halftime, but Georgia Tech still held the Pirates to 11-28 shooting in the second half and 4-13 from deep.
The one place Hampton found some relief was at the free-throw line, where it went 14-19 in the second half. Even so, the message was clear: defense is going to be the calling card for this group.
Jordan was at the center of that effort. He covered ground, rotated well from the weak side and brought real edge around the rim.
In the opening half alone, he had four blocks and gave Georgia Tech the kind of defensive presence it has been searching for. He also helped on the glass, another area where the Yellow Jackets needed help last season.
Later, when Georgia Tech’s offense stalled, he sparked the team with a chase-down block on one end and an alley-oop dunk on the other, helping shake the team out of a rough patch. He finished with nine points, eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals.
Georgia Tech’s rebounding was another major bright spot. The Yellow Jackets piled up second chances all night, starting with eight offensive rebounds in the first half that led to seven second-chance points.
They controlled the glass by a wide margin, finishing with a +26 edge overall. They also held a 19-10 advantage on the offensive boards.
For a team trying to establish a tougher identity, that kind of edge is a promising sign.
The shooting, though, remains a problem. Georgia Tech was 2-15 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished 4-28 from 3-point range overall. That’s been a familiar issue for the program over the last few years, and Tuesday night was another reminder that there’s still a long way to go there.
The guard play was also uneven. The ball didn’t move cleanly enough, the decisions weren’t sharp enough and the turnovers piled up.
In the second half alone, Georgia Tech’s four guards combined for 11 turnovers, with seven coming from the guards. That’s the kind of sloppiness that can get exposed quickly once the competition gets stronger, even if the defense is holding up.
It was an area the Yellow Jackets tried to clean up this offseason, but after one game, it still looks like a work in progress.
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