Beware of Yellow Jackets
By Seth Rubinroit

For the Georgia Tech men’s basketball team, winning the ACC will be very difficult, if not impossible, considering how well North Carolina, Duke, and Wake Forrest are playing. However, the Yellow Jackets (7-2) have assembled a team that will surprise some people, and could cause some damage in the NCAA tournament.

The team is built around 6’9” sophomore Gani Lawal. Lawal is third in the ACC in scoring, first in rebounding, and fourth in field goal percentage. He also leads the ACC in double-doubles.
“[Lawal] is tough. He is an NBA player. He can do everything. He is strong and physical,” said Pepperdine head coach Tom Asbury, who witnessed Lawal have a double-double in the Yellow Jacket’s 86-58 victory over the Waves on Saturday.
In addition to Lawal, the Yellow Jackets have senior forward Alade Aminu, 240-pound forward Zachery Peacock, and 7’0” center Brad Sheehan to bang inside and grab rebounds.

“The key to the game is rebounding. With us staying on top of the boards, getting second chance points and extra possessions, it causes a lot of problems for other teams,” said Alade Aminu.
Gani Lawal added, “I try to hit the boards hard every time.”
Georgia Tech’s weakness, according to head coach Paul Hewitt, is its perimeter defense due to the injury to senior guard D’Andre Bell. However, senior guard Lewis Clinch is a reliable scorer, and freshman guard Iman Shumpert has been impressive handling the ball.
It will be an interesting test to see how the Yellow Jackets handle forward Taj Gibson and the USC Trojans Monday night.