Georgia Tech The Buzz Magazine - Winter, 2011

leaders of the pack

D.J. McMillan, Patrick Barron ready for Georgia Tech cross country’s postseason kick.

BG & Coach Jo One coach is new and building a new culture; the other wants to take a successful program to the next level winter 2011-12

THE NIGERIAN NIGHTMARE Page 12

great expectations Page 24

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winter 2011-12 • Volume 5, Number 2 EDITOR

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Dean Buchan

David Johnson, Danny Karnik and Sam Morgan

WRITERS

DESIGN & LAYOUT

Simit Shah Jack Wilkinson Adam Van Brimmer Matt Winkeljohn

Summit Athletic Media www.summitathletics.com

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In This Issue 4 9

2011-12

THE GREGORY EFFECT

New coach brings new culture to Georgia Tech men’s basketball program.

tradition builders

24

great expectation

12

THE NIGERIAN NIGHTMARE

28

HOME-STORMING ‘11

16

TECH’S TRULY GOLDEN GIRLS

30

STILL CHEERING FOR TECH

18

LEADERS OF THE PACK

Please send all address changes to the attention of Amanda Hobbs to: IMG College 540 North Trade Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (336) 831-0700 x1769 or (888) 877-4373 x1769

winter

Women’s basketball team’s senior class looks to cap legacy with another history-making season.

Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu is making a name for himself, even if people have a hard time pronouncing it correctly.

Sisters Alae Risse Leitch and Jo Atchison have followed Tech football for three-quarters of a century.

D.J. McMillan, Patrick Barron ready for Georgia Tech cross country’s postseason kick.

31

Best recruiting class in program history could change Georgia Tech swimming forever.

Georgia Tech 31, #6 Clemson 17 October 29, 2011

For Katie Cone Davidson, supporting the Jackets has been ingrained since birth.

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mB men’s basketball

Gregory, who won 97 games the previous four seasons combined at Dayton, will coach his first game at Georgia Tech Nov. 11th.

THE GREGORY EFFECT New coach brings new culture to Georgia Tech men’s basketball program

By Adam Van Brimmer

M

Most major college basketball coaches track progress on a schedule card, a win or a loss at a time.

Georgia Tech’s first year men’s basketball coach, Brian Gregory, has only a passing interest in the slate ahead. Given the circumstances – an unproven roster without a recruited scholarship senior, the absence of a home court while McCamish Pavilion is renovated – his decision to use “mile markers” to measure the reinvention of the Yellow Jackets’ program seems appropriate.

“No one is going to be more competitive than me; nobody wants to win more than I do. But the focus needs to be on the process of building the program,” Gregory said. “I wasn’t hired to have a great team one year and a less than great one the next. I was hired to build a great program.

There’s a difference and a different mindset.”

The players have bought in.

Maybe that’s due to the youth of the team, with three juniors (including a grad student with two years of eligibility remaining), six sophomores and a freshman in the rotation. But certainly Gregory’s

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infectious attitude contributed to the culture change within the program during the offseason.

The “Gregory Effect” is the result of his stressing individual accountability while preaching teamwork. Gregory is detailoriented: He preaches work habits and charts individual progress within the context of teamwork.

His approach is more analytical than emotional, in sharp contrast to the style of his predecessor, Paul Hewitt.

“The main thing that stuck out to me is when coach Gregory first got here he wasn’t even preaching basketball, he was preaching team and camaraderie and that we’re all in this together,” sophomore Jason Morris said. “The overall vibe with this team is different as a result.

Everything is going to be different, and that’s a good thing.”

REACHING OUT

Gregory has won believers beyond Georgia Tech’s locker room in his seven-or-so months on the Flats.

All but the most diehard of college basketball fans knew little about Gregory when he was hired

to replace Paul Hewitt on March 28. He came from Dayton, an accomplished and proud program but a low-profile one.

And his success with the Flyers – five 20-win seasons but only two NCAA tournament appearances – didn’t wow a fan base expecting athletic director Dan Radakovich to chase hot names like Shaka Smart, Chris Mooney or Tubby Smith.

Gregory’s approach and attitude impressed the search committee.

He’s organized and discipline, about what one would respect from a Naval Academy attendee who wanted to be a Marine before deciding to go into coaching.

He mentored under Michigan State legends Jud Heathcoate and Tom Izzo, earning a championship ring in 2000 as a Spartans assistant. Heathcoate called Gregory “one of the smartest assistants” he’d ever worked with.

Radakovich recognized Gregory’s intelligence during the interview process. But what made Gregory most attractive to the athletic director was something more subtle: The coach’s understated passion.

“He came to us with genuine enthusiasm about wanting to be at Georgia Tech,” Radakovich said.

“Georgia Tech is a special place, a different kind of place to coach, and you have to want to be here to be successful here. He’s the type who can change the culture of the program.”

Gregory quickly earned a reputation for his relentless and meticulous ways once he arrived in Atlanta. On top of setting a tone with his new team, building his staff and making recruiting inroads, Gregory spent those early

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weeks and months reaching out to the fan base and former players.

Those relationships had broken down in recent years, as Gregory’s predecessor bristled at criticism and lashed out at those discouraged with the program’s downturn following the 2004 Final Four run.

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Gregory’s genuine, down-toearth persona came across at summer alumni club meetings and other functions around the state, Radakovich said. The approach was all part of Gregory’s efforts to renew the Georgia Tech basketball “brand.”

He wants to build interest ahead of the season and draw supporters to Arena at Gwinnett and Philips Arena, then let his team’s play do the rest.

“When it comes to Georgia Tech basketball, there was an excitement that always accompanied it,” Gregory said. “When people walked out of the building, they were worn out because they saw a team that gave it everything they had. They didn’t win every game, didn’t win every ACC championship, but they were proud to call the team their own. That’s our hope.”

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

Point guard Mfon Udofia chuckles at the mention of “the files.”

Gregory keeps progress reports on each player. The files track tendencies displays in practice, workouts and soon will include games as well. The paperwork allows Gregory to quantify his feedback and he believes helps players move toward their goals.

“Coach Gregory has a hardworking, dedicated staff, and they want to see a change and they want us to see the change,” Udofia said.

“You definitely know where you stand with this coaching staff.”

Gregory’s preference for written records extends beyond player development. He often carries notes and colored pens to team meetings – all meetings, in fact – and his intelligence commands respect. He’s already transformed the personality of the team, according to Udofia and his teammate, Morris.

But Gregory knows the persona will be tested once the basketballs start flying for real. This will likely be a season of extreme adversity due to the roster turnover, a shift in playing style that stresses stingy defense and offensive efficiency and the home court situation.

Yet those circumstances could benefit the program, Gregory said.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Gregory said. “A lot of things, expected and unexpected, are going to happen, and it’s how you respond to those that defines you.

The great thing is right now they don’t look at any of our so-called obstacles as things that can’t be overcome.

“If we can set our standards and how we do things and our identity comes through in our leaving the court every night exhausted and having given great effort, we are going to be on our way.” ■

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tradition builders

Women’s basketball team’s senior class looks to cap legacy with another history-making season

G

By Adam Van Brimmer

Georgia Tech and tradition go together like a chili cheese dog and rings at the Varsity.

One group of Tech students has spent the last five years building a new legacy.

And the Yellow Jacket women’s basketball team heads into the 2011-12 season determined to grow the program’s newfound tradition.

Coach MaChelle Joseph’s team has enjoyed never-before-seen success dating back to the 2007 season. It has posted five straight 20-win seasons, five straight NCAA Tournament berths and won the first three NCAA tourney games in program history during the span.

Their contender status now established, the Yellow Jackets see this season as an opportunity to breakthrough in the Atlantic Coast Conference and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Joseph has five seniors and arguably the league’s most dangerous scorer, sophomore Tyaunna Marshall, back from the best team in school history and adds a very talented freshman class in Sydney Wallace, T.J. Gortnar and Sarah Hartwell.

Joseph calls this year’s team the best she’s had at Georgia Tech, citing superior talent, depth, speed and quickness. And the senior leadership should translate to strong desire as well.

“The seniors talk about not wanting to be the class that lets the program down,” Joseph said. “One of the things we’ve focused on during this run of success is every year doing things we’ve never done before. This senior class and this team have bought into that.”

The veteran Yellow Jackets have been inching the bar higher throughout their careers. This year’s seniors arrived on campus months after Georgia Tech set a new program wins record with 22 victories. They equaled that total as freshmen and won 23 games and 24 games in their next two seasons.

The success bolstered recruiting. Snatching Marshall out from under the noses of Maryland and other programs that frequently attract talent from the Washington D.C. area was a coup for Georgia Tech, and the most recent recruiting class ranked among the top-25 in the country according to recruiting services.

Yet the senior class is what sets this team apart and has expectations at stratospheric heights. What they lack in star power – they’ve mostly been role players throughout their careers, supporting former Yellow Jackets Alex Montgomery and Brigitte Andossi – they make up for in experience and complementary skills.

• Metra Walthour is the poised point guard, the “steady Eddie” in the words of classmate Sasha Goodlett. Walthour’s started 62 games in her career, and averaged nine points and four assists per game last year.

• The 6-foot-5 Goodlett is the second-tallest player in program history and has developed the skills – and personality -- to match. She’s gone from shy and reserved to possessing a take-charge attitude, which translates under the basket.

• Mo Bennett is the scrappy, energetic spark off the bench who can score and rebound.

• LaQuananisha Adams is the 6-foot-4 happy-go-lucky component of the class that keeps spirits high and provides post depth.

• Chelsea Regins is the class clown that keeps the team loose and can play four different positions.

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wB women’s basketball

Georgia Tech’s talented freshman class of (L-R): Sarah Hartwell, Sydney Wallace and Tjasa Gortnar add depth, quickness and toughness to what head coach MaChelle Joseph calls “the best she’s had at Georgia Tech.”

“We have five different personalities, but we all mesh together,” Goodlett said. “We’re each other’s missing link.”

They will need to complete each other this season, given what promises to be difficult circumstances. First, the Yellow Jackets must adjust to the absence of Alex Montgomery, the No. 10 overall pick in last year’s WNBA draft and arguably the greatest player in program history.

Additionally, Georgia Tech will play all its games off campus this season while McCamish Pavilion undergoes renovations. The Arena at Gwinnett will be the Jackets’ home for all but one of their home games this season.

Goodlett shrugs off the situation, quoting one of her coach’s favorite sayings about obstacles being “things you see when you take your eyes off the prize.” Fellow senior Walthour said moving forward without Montgomery and playing games in the suburbs rather than midtown is one more area where the senior leadership will play a significant role.

“We need to show the younger kids that it’s really not a factor,” Walthour said. “It’s all about how big you make it. We will make Gwinnett our home this year.

“And it doesn’t change our goal to be remembered as another class that added to the Tech tradition.” ■

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The Buzz

Tyaunna Marshall is back for her sophomore season and will be looked upon to help replace top-10 WNBA draft pick Alex Montgomery.

Senior Sasha Goodlett said at ACC media day she wants to go out having done something that has never been done before at Georgia Tech.

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THE NIGERIAN NIGHTMARE

Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu is making a name for himself, even if people have a hard time pronouncing it correctly

By Simit Shah

w

When he was younger, he dreaded it.

“It” was the first day of class, and when the teacher would get to his name during roll call, it was pretty much a given that “Attaochu” wasn’t going to roll off anyone’s tongue.

“When I was young, that bothered me,” Jeremiah Attaochu laughed. “When you get older and mature, you roll with it. You just know you’ll have to correct the teacher. I always give them one shot though.”

As he emerged as a top defensive prospect at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., college coaches were among those tripping over his name.

“You mess up someone’s last name in recruiting, it’s not going to go well,” he said. “They’ll want to get it right, so they might ask me first or ask my high school coach.”

For the record, it is pronounced ah-towl-choo, and Georgia Tech opponents definitely know his name and number, as the sophomore linebacker has emerged as one of the top defenders in the conference this year.

At 6-3 and 235 pounds, he fits the prototype outside linebacker role in defensive coordinator Al Groh’s 3-4 defense.

“He has added an element to our defense that we needed,” said senior defensive end Jason Peters. “He’s so vital to us in pass rush situations, plus he sets the edge for us on run defense. He takes on tight ends and guards people in space. He embodies a lot of youthful energy we had in the beginning that is starting to mature now. We’re starting to see how good we can be once you start to learn things.”

Though it’s been a learning process for Attaochu from the moment he stepped onto campus last fall, it was evident that he was going to be a factor on the field. In high school, he played defensive end in a 4-3 defense, so there was plenty to absorb.

Rather than redshirting him last season, the coaching staff inserted him in passing situations where he could play a more traditional defensive end role.

“He really started, relative to his position, at ground zero,” Groh explained. “That is, he had background playing outside linebacker. That’s why we used him last year strictly on third down as defensive end. That gave him carryover from what he had done previously while he was learning to play his new position.”

He finished the season with 23 tackles and three sacks, progressing to a starter’s role in the Independence Bowl.

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The Buzz

It’s pronounced: ah-Towl-choo.

Memorize it because you’ll be hearing the sophomore linebacker’s name called quite often the next few years.

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fb football

In a survey of the players, Attaochu was voted “most likely to be an NFL star one day.”

“That put me on the field (last year) and gave me confidence,” he said.

“I learned that I could play at this level. It would have been hard to come in this year without that experience.”

The fact that Attaochu ended up at Georgia Tech is a crazy recruiting tale. Born in Nigeria, Attaochu moved to the U.S. at the age of eight. He didn’t take up football until he was a freshman in high school. His size and skills started to get him noticed by colleges, but Georgia Tech wasn’t among them.

However, he was being recruited by Groh and his staff at Virginia.

When Groh joined the Tech staff in January 2010, he convinced Attaochu to make his final official visit to Atlanta.

“I liked the school,” Attaochu said. “It was perfect for me as far as what I was looking for in a college. I liked the coaches, but it was more about the academics, campus and where I wanted to be. Everyone told me to make the decision based on the school, not based on the coaches.”

Though a late entrant, Georgia Tech was Attaochu’s choice on signing day.

“I knew him as a high school player,” said Groh. “He was one of the guys at the top of my list as far as having prototypical ability that we’re looking for. We had our eyes on him for quite a while. We were very excited when he decided to come here.”

Coming off a strong freshman season, Attaochu solidified his role as starter this past spring and has been one of the cornerstones for the 2011 defense.

In Week Four against North Carolina, Attaochu was all over the field. He recorded nine tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. His last sack came on the final play of the game to seal the 35-28 victory over the Tar Heels.

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His performance earned him Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Football Writers Association of America, as well as ACC linebacker of the week.

“Overall, I think everyone’s adjusted well (to the 3-4),” Attaochu added. “I feel good about the system. I like playing in it. I know my assignments, and it’s become a natural fit. It’s a matter of knowing where you are on the field.”

This season has not been without its setbacks, though. Against NC State, Attaochu went down with an ankle injury, forcing him to miss two games.

“It’s been a learning experience,” he said. “I’m a player, and I’ve been able to avoid injuries for most of the time I’ve been playing. I’ve been blessed not to be hurt. This time, I just had to sit back, go for treatment and take care of my body. I was just supporting my teammates. It was not easy, but you have figure out how to handle it.”

He has been able to handle his early success pretty well, mostly because he’s tough on himself. Even performances like the Carolina game are difficult for Attaochu to watch. He’s a harsh critic in the film room, tending to focus on the mistakes rather than successes on the field.

“I’m pretty critical,” he said. “I don’t even like watching myself, even if I’ve done something good.”

“It’s been a fun experience watching him grow as a player and mature as an athlete,” observed Peters. “As good as he is now, he has the potential to be even better. He works hard and competes in everything he does.

I think that’s going to take him a long way in the future.”

In the future, there won’t be many folks butchering his last name.

“Right now people are starting to learn my name,” he smiled. ■

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TECH’S TRULY GOLDEN GIRLS Sisters Alae Risse Leitch and Jo Atchison have followed Tech football for three-quarters of a century

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By Matt Winkeljohn

A gold walking cane covered with Buzz and “GT” tips the passion of Alae Risse (pronounced Al-uh-reese) Leitch, and her sister Jo Atchison is every bit as big a Georgia Tech fan herself.

Really, though, it takes a time stamp to grasp the passion these siblings have been sharing at nearly every home football game for over three-quarters of a century.

Leitch, after all, first fell for the Yellow Jackets when Johnny Heisman was still helming the Golden Tornado. Forgive her for a shortage of memories specific to the first few games she attended; it’s been a while. She’s 98. Atchison is 84.

Still, a few details from the Barron family’s early trips from their home in Toccoa in northeast Georgia to the Flats are fresh on Leitch’s mind.

“We’d have to ride the train, the Southern 29 (the old Crescent), to Terminal Station, and we’d have lunch and do some shopping.

Then, we would ride a street car to the game,” she said. “My recollection is riding the street car, and people laughing because my nose was pressed against the glass because it was crowded.”

Much has changed over the decades. Atlanta’s old Terminal Train Station, which stood where the Richard B. Russell Federal Building now stands, closed in 1970 and was demolished in ’72. Street cars are long gone.

While there is talk of both returning, one thing never left. Tech runs in the Barron family blood.

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The Toccoa-to-Atlanta treks began when Red Barron, their uncle, a two-time All-America halfback and a younger brother of Alae Risse and Jo’s father Virgil, played for the Jackets from 1918-’22.

Red also played baseball and ran track at Tech, and is in the school’s Hall of Fame. His brothers Carter (’24-’26) and Pat (’30-’32) also played football for the Jackets.

Several other family members have attended the school, and Patrick Barron -- a nephew of Leitch and Atchison -- is a junior on the cross country team.

Jo and Alae Risse could fill a book with Ramblin’ Wreck recollections. Their eyes twinkle with re-tellings.

“Once, Pat caught the opening kickoff and ran it for a touchdown,” Atchison said, “but they called it back because his nephew, Tom Jones, was offsides.”

A trip to the Citrus Bowl following the ’90 season remains Alae Risse’s favorite memory. Watching the Jackets whip Nebraska to earn a share of the national championship was epic. “We went to Orlando on the Tech bus,” she said.

“Everybody was so happy because we won, and Tech played a beautiful game.”

For all the love of football, the game wedged its way haltingly into Barron family veins.

Virgil Barron was the second of 10 children raised in a tiny town near Toccoa. The ladies said their father and his siblings attended a one-room school that went through sixth grade.

Virgil encouraged Red (David by birth) to take up football, and was instrumental in helping his brother find his way to nowdefunct Monroe Agricultural & Mechanical, a sort of preparatory school east of Atlanta. Years later, Red – whom Leitch and Atchison say was a fine story teller -- coached there.

“Dad was the one who was really interested in education,” Alae Risse said. “He got Uncle Red a scholarship to Monroe, and then helped him get to Tech. Grandpa Barron didn’t approve of football too much.”

That shouldn’t surprise. Grandpa Barron was born just a few years after Abraham Lincoln was president, and even as he grew up football was yet to be born.

Red, who was born in 1900 and died in ’82, was one of Tech’s brightest stars in the first half of the 20th century. He and fellow halfback Buck Flowers powered Heisman’s new-fangled, “Jump shift,” offense in ’18.

Heisman, who said of his new offense in a 1918 Pittsburgh Press article, “The whole idea of pulling 10 men of the team back of the line is to give to the team concerted action and a preponderating force when it is driven against the enemy line.”

The enemy usually lost in the early years of Alae Risse’s fandom.

Although Red’s first Tech team didn’t quite measure up to the national championship squad of ’17 that was led by the backfield of Joe Guyon, Everett Strupper, Judy

Harlan and quarterback Albert Hill, the Jackets trounced most opponents in ’18.

Eventual national champion Pitt was the exception. Even after the Panthers tripped the Jackets that day in the Steel City (one of Tech’s first-ever games played out of the Southeast), Pitt coach Pop Warner went out of his way to compliment Barron for playing heroically with a broken jaw wired shut.

Leitch has been alive at the time of all four of Tech’s national title teams (’17, ’28, ’52 and ’90). Although she never saw the ’17 team play (she believes her first game at Tech was in ’22, Red’s final season, and the third for Heisman successor William Alexander), she witnessed all the others during their respective regular seasons.

The Barrons moved to Decatur in 1931 because, “it was the heart of the depression; there were no jobs to be had anywhere. Dad had been offered a job [by an Atlanta

Alae Risse Leitch (98) and younger sister Jo Atchison (84), have been coming to Georgia Tech football games for as long as they can remember.

candy company],” Alae Risse said. “He was a traveling salesman.”

Trekking to Tech games became more convenient with the move.

Leitch and Atchison both graduated from Agnes Scott. Alae Risse married a Tech man, the late James “Ike” Leitch. Jo’s husband, the recently deceased Ben Atchison, frequently joined her until he no longer could, and although he was an Emory graduate, “He knew every word of the [Tech] Alma Mater,” Atchison said.

In more recent years, there have been only occasional issues.

Alae Risse’s two daughters went to Duke and Vanderbilt, married Georgia men, and several of her grandchildren and great grandchildren are allegiant to the Bulldogs. Her thought: “That’s the punishment I get.”

It’s easy to wonder if the topic comes up in family conversation.

“They don’t talk about it,” Leitch said.

That’s because, Jo added, “They know bet-

ter.”

Leitch and Atchison command respect.

Jo said that fans near their seats – section 124, row 32, seats 1-2 -- “all know us. They look after us; they take care of Alae Risse.”

You can find them at just about every home game.

Jo lives in a retirement center near the V.A. Hospital in DeKalb County. The baby sister still drives. When the Jackets have a game in town, she picks up Alae Risse at her nearby center, and they head down to the Flats once more.

No trains, no street cars, no noses against glass; just two regal ladies, decked out in gold.

If you look them up, there will be ground rules. Their interests are made clear in Jo’s answer when asked if she and her sister follow any other sports.

“After football, we keep up with the basketball team,” she said. “I follow the Braves a little, and I’m kind of interested in the Falcons. But they started off on the wrong foot because the Smith family dressed them in red and black.” ■

The sisters’ uncle, Red Barron, was a two-time AllAmerican football standout at Georgia Tech from 1918-22.

Barron would be the great, great uncle of Patrick Barron, a current Yellow Jacket cross country runner who is featured on page 18. www.ramblinwreck.com

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LEADERS OF THE PACK

D.J. McMillan, Patrick Barron ready for Georgia Tech cross country’s postseason kick

D

By Adam Van Brimmer

Distance running success depends on pace and patience, and not just when it comes to the kilometers between the start and finish lines on race day.

Georgia Tech’s cross country runners log between 75 and 100 miles a week, every week. From the streets of Virginia Highlands and the cinder track of Piedmont Park to the trails of Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park and the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, they build their endurance slowly but steadily throughout their careers.

All that mileage targets seven meets a year. The goal is to peak for the ACC Championships, the South Regionals and the NCAA Championships in late October and November.

Heading into title time, the Yellow Jackets have shown the pace and patience to make a team run at qualifying for the NCAAs for the first time in program history. Six of Georgia Tech’s top-seven runners are upperclassmen, and the experience showed in first, second and two fourth-place finishes in four regular season meets.

Should the Yellow Jackets fall short of claiming one of the 31 team spots, two runners stand a good chance at qualifying individually for the national championship meet. Fifth-year senior D.J. McMillan and junior Patrick Barron, who have been driving each other for three years, now pursue becoming the first Georgia Tech NCAA qualifiers since Dan Herren in 2007.

“What’s really propelled them to the success they are having right now is the huge level of commitment they have,” Georgia Tech’s 18-year head coach Alan Drosky said. “In distance running, it takes time. If you are doing the right things consistently, you are going to see long-term improvement. They have gotten to the point where they have patiently put in hard work and have seen great development.”

The results are showing. Barron posted a top-10 finish in each regular season meet this year, with a high of fifth in the finale, a Georgia Tech team win at the University of Alabama’s Crimson Classic. McMillan opened the season with a sixth-place finish and has finished in the pack behind the leaders in the other meets.

McMillan is clearly focused on peaking for ACC and NCAA competition. He did so a year ago, posting what was then his career-best time in the regionals.

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The Buzz

D.J. McMillan and junior Patrick Barron, who have been driving each other for three years, now pursue becoming the first Georgia Tech NCAA qualifiers since Dan Herren in 2007.

xc cross country

The men’s cross country team won a major meet last month in Tuscaloosa and have a legitimate shot at qualifying for the NCAA championships for the first time in school history.

“I stepped up my mileage this year, and I’m still adjusting to it,” said McMillan, who logs 90 miles, give or take, a week. “With the championships ahead, I feel I’ll be ready to step it up to that level.”

Barron has pushed McMillan to those heights, McMillan admits. McMillan had always used goals and records as motivation, going back to middle school, when during a phys-ed class one day he noticed the school’s mile record hanging on the gym wall and decided to break it. He continued that approach in high school and early in his Tech career.

But by the fall of 2009, McMillan was Georgia Tech’s top runner and needed some other motivation to increase his potential.

He needed a nemesis.

Enter Barron, a Virginia state champion in middle distance racing and a born runner – his

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The Buzz

father was a distance runner at Navy, as was his oldest brother at Army.

Barron’s great, great uncle is one of the most accomplished athletes in Georgia Tech history.

David Barron – better known as Red Barron -- lettered in four sports on the Flats in the late1910s and early-1920s and as a football player was part of a backfield some considered better than Notre Dame’s famed “Four Horsemen.”

Barron and McMillan quickly struck up a friendly rivalry. They don’t trash talk each other, even good-naturedly, but they do compete every day. They’ll run their miles together, with McMillan continuing on alone once Barron hits his marks.

“They have a great dynamic; they certainly push each other,” their coach, Drosky, said. “I don’t doubt that they want to beat each other, but ultimately each of them wants to run to

the best of their ability and beat as many other people as possible.”

McMillan won’t be around for Barron to challenge next year, but the younger runner already has a new target to carry him through training: He wants to beat his father’s top times from his Naval Academy days.

Barron broached the idea of redshirting next fall, according to Drosky, in order to exercise more pace and patience to surpass his father, make an NCAA run in 2013 and perhaps challenge another mark.

“We have a school record in the 5K that’s been there a long time,” Drosky said. “With two more years of development, it’s not out of line to think he can get in that neighborhood by the time he’s done.

“I don’t see any limits.” ■

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sd swimming & diving

Olympic medalist Courtney Shealy-Hart is in her third season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets.

great expectation

Best recruiting class in program history could change Georgia Tech swimming forever

By Adam Van Brimmer

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Georgia Tech swimming has everything it needs to attract athletes who can make the program a college powerhouse.

A world-class facility.

An Olympic gold medalist as a coach.

Membership in a highly respected league.

Interestingly, the magnet that pulled in the best recruiting class in program history – and one of the best in the country – had nothing to do with a pool, leadership or the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The attraction was what has long set Georgia Tech apart from other schools with major college athletics: The school’s engineering programs.

“There are other schools with great engineering programs, but not many offer top-level swim teams, too,” said Andrew Kosic, the bluest chip in the blue-chip class. “It seemed like a no-brainer.”

Kosic came to Atlanta from Pennsylvania to study chemical engineering.

Fellow freshman Nico van Duijn passed up a spot in Switzerland’s national science and technology academy, ETH, to study electrical engineering where he can swim, too.

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The Buzz

A third member of the recruiting class, Andrew Chetcuti, a native of Malta who went to high school in Dubai, joined the Yellow Jackets to study biomedical engineering.

It’s a special group, in and out of the pool, coach Courtney Shealy-Hart acknowledges.

“We were thrilled to sign them and we’re even more excited now that we’ve seen what they can do,” said Shealy-Hart, who won Olympic gold on the United States relay team at the 2000 Summer Games. “Academically, we’re very appealing to international students, and we’ve done a good job of getting the word out.”

Shealy-Hart credited assistant coach Chris DeSantis with the overseas success. DeSantis watches international swim meets online the way housewives follow soap operas on afternoon TV. He landed van Duijn and Chetcuti in the most recent class and Swede Anton Lagerqvist, an aeronautical engineering major, last year. van Duijn and Chetcuti are among the best swimmers in their respective countries. van Duijn won multiple Swiss national titles in his junior career and owns the second best time in Swiss swimming history in the 100-meter but-

terfly. Chetcuti is the Maltese national record holder in the sprint freestyle events and won two medals in the Games of the Small States of Europe competition.

Kosic, meanwhile, was considered the second best prep swimmer in America last year.

He set the Pennsylvania state record in the 100yard butterfly and was the 2010 Short Course Junior national champion in the 100-yard freestyle.

Kosic comes from a swimming family — his late grandfather was a head coach at both UNLV and Hawaii.

CollegeSwimming.com, the Scout.com and Rivals.com of swimming recruiting, thought so much of the combination of Kosic, van Duijn and Chetcuti to rank their recruiting class the sixth best in the country. Only the sport’s goliaths -- Stanford, California, Texas, Florida and Ohio State – fared better, according to College Swimming, and Georgia Tech’s class ranked ahead of that of ACC bully Virginia, the fourtime defending league champion.

The newcomers rank highly with their veteran teammates as well. They have lent a competitive edge to practice never seen before

Atlanta International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 613 is a proud supporter of Georgia Tech academics and athletics van Duijn

Andrew Kosic

Andrew Chetcuti

yet possess easy-going personalities. The foreign accents are a source of good-natured ridicule. van Duijn “digs” the camaraderie.

“We have probably the best team chemistry I’ve seen in my time here,” said Shealy-Hart, who joined the program as an assistant in 2007 and took over as head coach two years later. “The veterans know the freshman make them better and challenge them in a competitive way.”

Relationships with the coaching staff have been equally strong. ShealyHart made a point to sit down with Kosic, van Duijn and Chetcuti soon after they arrived to talk training schedules and expectations. She aimed to “blend” what they were used to into her approach.

The transition was easy, Kosic said.

“The philosophy is pretty similar to what I’m used to,” Kosic said.

“They’ve been pretty good about respecting individual training and have introduced some different methods that have been beneficial.”

The benefits to the Yellow Jacket program have just begun. Kosic won events in two of his first three career meets, and van Duijn posted secondplace finishes in his first three appearances. Georgia Tech’s profile will only grow with each strong showing by its prized recruits.

“They truly love the sport and want to make Georgia Tech better, and that shows,” Shealy-Hart said. “The impact of this recruiting class will be felt for a long time.” ■

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ix year old Amari had never seen the Ramblin’ Wreck barrel through the tunnel at Bobby Dodd Stadium. He’d never been so close to a marching band and he never imagined that his name and his face would be broadcast throughout a stadium holding 55,000 fans. Before Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, Amari had never been to a football game. So imagine Amari’s surprise when he and his mentor, Amrit were ceremoniously escorted through security, past the awaiting Georgia Tech marching band, right down the sidelines for a once in a lifetime experience on the football field.

Amari is a Little Brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA) program and he has one heck of a Big Brother in Amrit, a 24-year-old graduate of Georgia Tech and avid Yellow Jacket fan.

This fall, Big Brother Amrit won a BBBSMA Facebook contest to receive two tickets to the Georgia Tech vs. Maryland game and a visit to the sideline where his Little, Amari would participate in the official coin toss and get a sideline view of kickoff.

So on game day, Little Amari met the head official who talked to him about the importance of good behavior then taught him how to flip that heavy bronze coin. With his Big behind him and hand resting on his tiny shoulder, Amari masked his excitement and stood patiently on the sideline for the team’s rousing run onto the field, the national anthem and Buzz’s mascot introduction. Then it was time – time to march to the center of the field, with team captains looming large above to participate in a tradition as old as the game itself. After a few words to the players, the man in black and white stripes handed the coin to Amari and told him to flip it. The moment was captured on the big screen at Bobby Dodd Stadium and the fans erupted as Georgia Tech won the toss - a moment Little Amari will never forget.

Amrit and Amari are one of more than 3,200 metro Atlanta matches created and supported by BBBSMA. The two met in May 2011 after Amari was enrolled by his mother into BBBSMA’s Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) program. Amari’s father was incarcerated in 2006 and is serving an 18-year prison sentence. Like nearly 77,000 children in Georgia, Amari has a parent in prison and few men in his life to look up to. That is until Amrit, Amari’s friend and role model – a Big Brother to teach him new things, and take him new places. New places like the campus of Georgia Tech and Bobby Dodd Stadium.

In the summer of 2011, BBBSMA and Georgia Tech Athletic Association partnered to provide unique experiences for Bigs and

Littles in a collegiate environment and bring much needed awareness to the cause of youth mentoring. These experiences at Georgia Tech have included a Big & Little Volleyball Clinic in July, an Ice Cream Social with the football team in August, tickets to various Yellow Jacket sporting events, and an upcoming cheerleading and dance clinic for Littles.

“Our partnership with Georgia Tech Athletics allows us create new opportunities for the children in our program, especially those children of prisoners,” says BBBSMA President & CEO Janice McKenzieCrayton. “Our program is all about opening new doors for children, giving them the hope and the tools they need to achieve a better life.”

For over 50 years, BBBSMA has been providing children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported oneto-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

Children matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister for just one year exhibit significant improvements in academics, increased self confidence, more trust in their parents and other adults and tend to avoid of risky behaviors. These children are more likely to set goals and graduate high school rather than abuse drugs or fight with their peers.

Through financial support and volunteerism, children like Amari are able to experience places like Georgia Tech with Big Brothers like Amrit. To learn more about how you or your organization can Start Something BIG, please visit www.bbbsatl.org or call 404.601.7000.

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HOME-STORMING ‘11 Georgia Tech 31, #6 Clemson 17 October 29, 2011

All photos by Jerry Pillarelli

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The Buzz

at alexandertharpe fund

STILL CHEERING FOR TECH

For Katie Cone Davidson, supporting the Jackets has been ingrained since birth

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When Katie Cone Davidson sets her sights on something, she’s going to make it happen.

“I grew up a competitive gymnast and cheerleader, so when I was a senior in high school and knew I was going to Tech, I decided to try out for varsity cheerleading,” she remembered.

“I had to get special permission from Dean (James) Dull to try out. He said they had never had that question before, but as long I was accepted, I could try out.”

Sure enough, she made the varsity co-ed squad and was on the sidelines at Grant Field that fall leading cheers for the Jackets. Supporting the Jackets is something that comes naturally and has been ingrained since birth.

Her father, Frederick L. Cone, a Georgia Tech graduate IM ’60, was an engineer at Lockheed and a longtime Tech football season ticketholder. Her mother Helene was the sweetheart of her dad’s fraternity at Tech, Theta Chi, while she attended Georgia State.

Growing up in East Cobb, the Cone family spent many Saturdays on campus.

“We are native Atlantans and huge Tech fans from the start, very enthusiastic,” she said. “We grew up going to games, and my dad, mom, older brother and I have a lot of wonderful memories that revolve around football games.”

Davidson graduated from Wheeler High School in 1985, and she started classes during the summer to prepare for cheerleading.

“My sophomore year, Georgia Tech got invited to a basketball tournament in Japan,” she recalled. “With Coach Cremins, it was such a fun tournament in Tokyo. I got to see the huge PR aspect of cheerleading and representing your school.”

In addition to cheerleading, Davidson was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and she also was the student assistant for the athletic director, Dr. Homer Rice.

“He was great to work for,” she said. “The late 80s were a time of tremendous growth and change for GT athletics. It was amazing to be a part of that and to see how the program was moving forward. He was a great leader and exactly what Tech needed at the time, just like Dan Radakovich is today. Looking back on it, it was really an incredible experience, especially as a student-athlete.”

Davidson graduated early in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, as well as completion of the program in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

“Georgia Tech taught me persistence and determination,” she said. “Just like most Tech

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The Buzz

grads, I got a lot of valuable life lessons during my time there.”

Katie and her husband, Douglas C. Davidson, Sr., married in 1992. Doug is the founder, President and CEO of New South Construction Company located on West Peachtree Street. As one of Atlanta’s most reputable general contractors earning top industry awards, New South employs over 170 people with 25 of them being Georgia Tech graduates. New South also provides internships for Tech’s building construction students. While Doug is a building science graduate from Auburn, he has always been a huge Georgia Tech fan growing up in Atlanta. He enjoyed spending Saturdays as a kid on the sidelines at Grant Field.

Both Katie and Doug Davidson are fourth-generation native Atlantans and are deeply rooted in the community. They are members of the Atlanta Athletic Club and Ansley Golf Club. They provide personal and corporate Katie Cone Davidson and Douglas C. Davidson, Sr. sponsorships for many charitable organizations. children Diana Davidson (16) and Douglas C. Katie Davidson recently became a Life MemDavidson, Jr. (11), cheer on the Jackets from ber of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, and she has their 50-yard-line seats. Their daughter is now designated her gift to the Athletic Director’s a competitive cheerleader as well. Does she Discretionary Fund. enjoy watching from the stands?

“It was the right time in our lives to support “It is very different!” she laughed. “It’s a lot at this level,” she said. “My longtime friendmore relaxing in the stands. Being on the field ships with Jack Thompson and Mindy Hyde is very exciting, and nothing really compares were instrumental in our decision to become to that. It was the most exciting thing I’ve ever Life Members. Plus, we are very excited about done. what Dan Radakovich is doing. The future is “As a three year letterman, I can tell you that extremely bright for Georgia Tech!” cheerleading is a very demanding sport. The Katie is also a member of the Board of Direcstunting, tumbling, cheering and training all tors for the Alexander-Tharpe Fund. add up to incredibly long hours, not to men“I am honored to serve and support the A-T tion all the PR appearances for the school. It’s Fund in its efforts to provide for the continuing tough, especially when you are balancing it with success of Georgia Tech’s sports programs and being a student at Georgia Tech. I have such reoutstanding student-athletes. I have such wonspect for all of our student-athletes at Tech and derful memories of my time at Tech and look what they go through. That’s why I’m honored forward to many more.” and pleased to be able to contribute to the ongoDavidson and her husband, along with their ing success of our athletic programs.” ■

Photo by www.kwhitephotos.com

By Simit Shah

Compliance Corner

By Jerome RoDgers Associate Athletic Director/ Compliance

Role Of Boosters NCAA.org

Boosters play a role in providing student-athletes with a positive experience through their enthusiastic efforts. They can support teams and athletics departments through donations of time and financial resources which help student-athletes succeed on and off the playing field.

Boosters, referred to by the NCAA as “representatives of the institution’s athletic interests,” include anyone who has: • Provided a donation in order to obtain season tickets for any sport at the university.

• Participated in or has been a member of an organization promoting the university’s athletics programs.

• Made financial contributions to the athletic department or to a university booster organization.

• Arranged for or provided employment for enrolled student-athletes.

• Assisted or has been requested by university staff to assist in the recruitment of prospective student-athletes.

• Assisted in providing benefits to enrolled student athletes or their families.

• Been involved otherwise in promoting university athletics.

Once an individual is identified as a “representative of the institution’s athletics interests,” the person retains that identity forever.

Only institutional staff members are permitted to recruit prospective student-athletes. Generally, NCAA rules prohibit anyone else from contacting (calling, writing or in-person contact) prospects or the prospect’s relatives or guardian for recruiting purposes.

Students are still considered prospects even if they have signed a National Letter of Intent or any other financial aid agreement with a university.

Boosters are not precluded from continuing established friendships with families who have prospective student-athletes. However, boosters may not encourage a prospect’s participation in university athletics or provide benefits to prospects that were not previously provided.

If a violation occurs, it may jeopardize a student-athlete’s eligibility for intercollegiate competition, jeopardize a school’s membership status with the NCAA or cause a booster to lose access to all booster benefits.

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