Georgia Tech women’s basketball is heading into Year 2 under Karen Blair, and the message from Charlotte was pretty clear: the foundation is in place, but the next step depends on how quickly this group turns familiarity into production.
Blair met with the media at ACC Tipoff alongside La’Nya Foster and Talayah Walker, and one of the biggest themes around the Yellow Jackets was continuity. Georgia Tech is bringing back seven players from last season’s team, a group that Blair said already understands the program and the standards that come with it.
“Yeah, I mean, having seven returners is huge. You know, we didn't talk about Inés earlier, but this is her fifth year at Georgia Tech.
You know, we lost her four games into the season last year, but having those seven that have gone through the program, they understand. They've established the culture and the foundation.
The one thing these guys have done is they did a great job of the newcomers, they brought them in, were really intentional with activities during the summer, getting to know each other, and creating that connection.
You've got to have that chemistry off the court before you're going to have that chemistry on the court."
That off-court bond came up again when Walker talked about what could define the season for Georgia Tech. For her, the team’s ceiling comes down to how well everyone stays aligned.
“I think chemistry really. I think we have a bunch of great players who can make shots, play great defense, but I think as long as we're all on the same page together, we can do some pretty great things.
And just supporting each other. Yeah, I think the chemistry is going to be a big thing for us."
There’s reason for the program to feel good about the environment around it, too. Georgia Tech went 10-6 at home last season and posted the largest single-season home attendance in program history. Blair pointed to that support as a major part of what the Yellow Jackets are trying to build, while also stressing the work the program has done to stay connected beyond the court.
“Our fans were great last year. It became -- it was a really hard place to win, so we're really grateful for that.
I think we've now -- going into year two we've also been able to spend more time in the community. I think that's part of our responsibility is getting out, creating that connection.Our team getting to know -- you know, getting out, getting to know more people, and then in return, getting people back.You know, it's everything.
There's nothing like that energy that you get. I think our very first game we're starting with the education game.
Nothing better than having thousands of screaming kids just -- you are already nervous in the first game, and then you add in all the screaming kids. But yeah, it's our goal.We've been really intentional of trying to get more people at our games.
Right now for us it's helpful. Atlanta Dream going to the semifinals, one game.
We've enjoyed going to those games and supporting them and that organization. We want that fan base to also be supporting us at Georgia Tech."
With Blair, Foster and Walker all talking about the same thing in different ways, the formula is easy to spot: keep the group together, keep building the chemistry, and keep turning home games into something opponents hate walking into.
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