Georgia Tech Basketball: 5 reasons why the Jackets will dance in 2019-20

Physical Fitness

This was the first thing that I noticed when I turned on the feed at 6:00 am on a Saturday to watch an overseas exhibition game. The team looks fantastic physically.

First, let’s give a shoutout to Dan Taylor, the Player Development Coach at Georgia Tech since 2016. Taylor, who is also the PDC for the Tennis team, has utilized technology to maximize results within the program, and the results are obvious.

The two players that I immediately noticed to have changed physically were sophomores Michael Devoe and Khalid Moore. Devoe looks to be carrying around 10-15 additional pounds compared to last season and appears to be chiseled, or at the very least, on the road to that particular destination.

Moore, who is fairly slender, also appeared to be more well-defined and showed some gains in explosiveness. I remember seeing him work the give-and-go with James Banks last season for layups. In similar opportunities, those layups have become thunderous throwdowns.

I was able to speak to Coach Taylor about these gains recently and he stated that “we are seeing gains now because these are kids we have been in the program for more than a single season.” Taylor went on to verify that Moore’s numbers, in particular, do indeed reflect my observations. His explosiveness numbers have improved and now they will incorporate activity to improve his lateral quickness.

I asked Coach if there was a specific ideology in his training program or if they did anything “outside the box.” He stated that he tailors programs to each player based on how the individuals respond physically. “What works for James Banks more than likely will not work as effectively for Jose Alvarado.”

As mentioned in the opener, the team showed the ability to recover at the half during the trip. In recent seasons, the first few minutes of the second half (or third period in this case) seemed to be the bane of Georgia Tech’s existence. However, on this trip, the Jackets came out of the half focused on defense and seemingly at a higher energy level than their opponents. The offense sputtered at times in the third frame, but if you are having trouble scoring, the least you can do is prevent the other team from putting points on the board as well.