When Paul Hewitt took over the Georgia Tech basketball program four years ago he vowed to rebuild the school's tradition of talented point guards such as Stephon Marbury, Kenny Anderson and Mark Price.
The moment he landed Jarrett Jack, one of the best high school point guards in the nation two years ago, Hewitt believed he was on his way to making good on that promise.
Now he knows he is.
Georgia Tech is going to the Final Four for the first time since 1990 and the sophomore point guard is a major reason.
In Sunday's region final, Jack had nine rebounds, six assists and scored a career-high 29 (eight of the team's 13 in overtime) in a 79-71 win over Kansas. He was named MVP of the St. Louis Regional.
"This is the reason I came here," Jack said of the Final Four berth. "This is the point we wanted to get the program back to."
Things worked out, Hewitt said, exactly the way it should have for Jack.
"He's been doing it all year, but it was apropos in my mind that he was the guy that played the big game in that setting," Hewitt said Tuesday as the Yellow Jackets prepared for Saturday's semifinal against Oklahoma State.
"We hope to build this program on our guards with size, strength and athleticism, (players) that can guard and that can also run the offense and are an asset in the locker room. He's the guy that we hope to point to people and say, "Hey, if you want to come to Georgia Tech and be part of this tradition, also play a style of basketball that allows you to show off what you can do."'
Jack, 20, may only be a sophomore, but to his teammates he's like a veteran. He started 31 games last season, averaging nearly 10 points. His 185 assists ranked seventh on the all-time Tech list for a single season.
"The experience of being a starting freshman point guard in the ACC had an awful lot to do with his success this year," Hewitt said. "There were times last year, particularly on the road, where he had some growing pains. I don't think he reacted well to high-pressure situations on the road, but we put him in the fire and he hung with it.
"In the offseason he learned a lot about watching tape by himself and also with coach (Cliff) Warren, one of my assistant coaches. He got a lot better. If he didn't go through the experiences he went through last year, he still would not have been as prepared as he was this year."
That experience made Jack the player he is today. Through 36 games he is averaging 12.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 5.6 assists (fourth in the ACC). He is the designated floor leader on a team with four seniors, none of whom seem to mind that he was in high school when they arrived at Georgia Tech.
"He's one of those natural-born leaders," senior guard Marvin Lewis said. "He's one of those guys who's going to expect the best out of himself and he's going to expect the best out of you. More than anything, that on the court makes him special and that's why he's been able to step in and do such a good job. When you come in as a freshman and especially as a point guard, you don't want to step on anybody's toes. He just kind of tried to learn the system and get acclimated to what coach Hewitt wanted and what the rest of the players were looking for. I think having that one year under his belt and working so hard last summer, he has confidence that's sky-high."
Georgia Tech's success has been as much about its defense as its offensive production. The Yellow Jackets ranked first in the ACC in field-goal percentage defense, seventh best in the nation (38.6 percent). At 6 feet 3, 190 pounds, Jack's size is an asset on the defensive end, but his ability to drive and get to the hole separates him from the average guard.
"He uses his quickness and size very well," Hewitt said. "He's a big guard and when you have that type of size and strength, along with his speed and quickness, it definitely makes him unique."
By all accounts modest and hardworking, Jack has refused this week to take too much credit, insisting this Final Four appearance is a team effort.
"We're not like most teams that have just one superstar," Jack said. "We're all even on offense and once you shut down one, then you've got another and another. It's kind of like pick your poison, so to speak."
When opponents start picking, they should consider Jack deadly.
