The 2003-2004 season was supposed to be the year when Paul Hewitt's program began to truly turn the corner. The 2002-2003 Georgia Tech team had been extremely young, yet very competitive. That team consisted of 8 freshmen and sophomores who had seen major minutes. Everyone of note would be returning from a team that finished 16-15 and 7-9 in the ACC, and lost in the NIT Quarterfinals, and Will Bynum, a transfer from Arizona, was going to be added to the mix. It appeared that the Yellowjackets were ready to compete for ACC and national honors. However, those hopes changed drastically during the spring when, power forward and 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year, Ed Nelson decided to transfer, and 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year, Chris Bosh decided to seek out the greener pastures of the NBA.

 

However, all is not lost for this year's edition of the Yellowjackets. Hewitt's squad still returns 7 players who averaged better than 10 MPG last season. Those returning players are led by 6-3 junior F/G B. J. Elder (14.9 PPG) who should compete for All-ACC honors again after being a 3rd team All-ACC selection last year. The backcourt is in good hands with Marvin Lewis (12.1 PPG) and sophomore PG Jarrett Jack (9.5 PPG, 5.9 APG) returning. Depth in the backcourt should be provided by Bynum and 6-6 junior Anthony McHenry.

 

The frontcourt is where Tech's question marks are going to come into play during the 2003-2004 season. Because of the uncertainty of Bosh's situation with the NBA, and the surprise of Nelson's transfer, Hewit wasn't able to find replacements that late in the spring who would be able to come in and provide immediate help on the interior. The Jackets should be fine at the wing positon with Elder and 6-5 junior Ismail Muhammed (5.9 PPG) getting most of the minutes. However, it is at the interior positions which will provide a challenge for Hewitt to find ACC quality play from among 7-0 junior Luke Schenscher, 6-8 senior Robert Brooks, and 6-9 sophomore Theodis Tarver. Schenscher is simply not strong enough to provide strong play inside on a consistent basis, although he is capable of giving quality minutes in stretches. Brooks has been a career backup and it is doubtful that he will be the answer inside. Tarver came on strong toward the end of last season and will likely have to play major minutes for Hewitt during the 2003-2004 season. Tarver's development as a consistent offensive threat on the interior may well hold the key to any success that Tech is able to achieve during the coming season. There is no doubt that rebounding is going to be a major concern for this Georgia Tech team. Schenscher, Brooks, and Tarver combined for only 6 RPG in almost 23 minutes of play between them.

 

The 2003-2004 Georgia Tech basketball team will be a perimeter-oriented team. Elder, Lewis, Jack, Bynum, and Muhammed should provide plenty of firepower from the perimeter. Tarver is a very athletic player who should fit in well with Hewitt's fast-paced offense. However, if Tarver is not able to provide much-needed production inside, it will likely be a long season in Atlanta. The best case scenario for this Georgia Tech team is a middle-of-the-pack finish in the ACC and the possibility of squeezing into the NCAA tournament. However, the more probable scenario for this team is a date with Clemson in the ACC tournament play-in game.