Everything From Damon Stoudamire At ACC Men's Basketball Tip Off

Basketball season is inching closer for the Yellow Jackets and it is a big one on the flats for third year head coach Damon Stoudamire who looks to take the next step with the program. On Tuesday, Stoudamire was in Charlotte and talked to the media. Here is everything he had to say.

Opening Statement...

First, glad to be here with these two guys. Looking forward to a different team, but I think we'll have an exciting team. We'll have a deeper team. I got a talented group of freshmen that I'm excited about, mixed with an older group that I'm excited about, and excited for Kowacie being able to come back and play another year for me. You know, he's one of the guys that I think is really going to benefit this year with being with the crew that we have, so I'm excited for him. And obviously this guy right here, Baye, I'm looking forward to having him back another year, obviously.

You know, these guys are here because when I got this job, they were -- Wacie was dang near the first guy that came out of the portal, and Baye was the first high school guy. So they've been with me three years. It's a rarity, but I appreciate them. I know that they're going to do big things. But I'm excited about this season. We have one goal. We want to make the NCAA Tournament. You need short-term goals along the way, but we want to make the tournament, and that's our goal and that what we're working for each and every day.

On if he has shown his current players his film back in the day...

"So I'm not going to say -- which actually it might have been both of them. These guys just had a retro jersey room in the back, and you know, they put up a No. 34 for the Boston Celtics. They both thought it was Shaq, but Shaq was 33 with Boston when he was there. So I say that to say this: Although that wasn't Shaq's prime years, these guys have no clue. Now, what I will say, though -- and they'll tell you -- they'll tell you this -- I never talk about what I did as a player because I wanted to show them that I cared about them, and I knew eventually that they would go back and start to watch film. Both of these guys have done it, and they will always be, like, Coach, you don't ever talk about this stuff. I be, like, it was a long time ago. But they know, and I think that's the beauty of it. The beauty of being a coach now is that I've sat in those chairs, and I have experiences that they're going through. I think I tried to share those experiences in different ways. It's not necessarily talking about myself, but I will talk to these guys about those times. What I do a lot of the time is I just give them those moments and let them think about whatever that moment entails, and then they will come back and talk to me about it."

On how immediate of an impact the freshmen players will have and how many points he would average in today's NBA....

"I think that we have a couple of freshmen that will impact from day one. I think that both of these guys would say that Mohamed Sylla to me would be one of the best, you know, freshmen in the country. You know, I think that he runs like a gazelle. He gets up and down. He's really strong. He can rebound. He can block shots. Probably the only reason he wasn't in the McDonald's Games and the Hoop Summits and all these different things is because he got over here so late. So he's barely been in the States for a year. I'm looking forward to him having an impact on our team. But just the collective energy that freshmen have -- and I remember when I was in college. We brought in five freshmen. It's just the energy that they bring each and every day, and they compete, and that's what I love about that group. I assume that when you asked me that question about how many points I would average today, you're asking if I was 21- or 22-year-old Damon Stoudamire and not 52-year-old Damon Stoudamire. I never even try to talk about, you know, what it would be, but I will say this. You can't touch anybody. You shoot a lot of threes, and a lot of this stuff they were telling me, that's what I was doing back then when they told me don't do it, and I think my rookie year I averaged 9-19; my second was 20-8; the third year was like 17-8, 17-7. So I would be 20 and 10. I mean, you know, I would be 20-10. I don't think that would be out of the question."

On what is the plan for Georgia Tech to get back to where the ACC used to be...

"Well, I think we're a big part of the plan. I think we have a great institution, and I think that we're in a great city. We're not that far away. In two years, we've gotten better. Last year was so crazy to do what we did with essentially six players. That's what makes this coming year so exciting. I think that not only our program, but collectively as a conference if we can win 85 to 90% of the nonconference games, I think that changes the perception. I think what happens is that perception turns to reality for a lot of people, because they don't watch TV. So you only gain momentum when people watch TV, so if you don't win early, then you don't gain momentum. When you win early, you gain momentum. I think that just helps the conference."

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