College basketball

Star's return heals Yellow Jackets

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published February 20, 2005

For Georgia Tech guard B.J. Elder, the worst pain and by far the hardest part of a monthlong rehabilitation had little to do with his injured left hamstring.

It was the sitting and grimacing as he watched his team struggle.

"It got frustrating, real frustrating," he said. "It's a lot easier when you're out and the team is doing well."

As it was during last year's run to the Final Four and the championship game. Elder sprained his right ankle during the Sweet 16 matchup against Nevada. He played sparingly the rest of that game, in the Elite 8 showdown against Kansas and then in the semifinals against Oklahoma State.

All wins.

"But when the team struggles and you can't do anything about it," he said, "that's the toughest time."

He strained the hamstring after just seven minutes at Kansas on New Year's Day, an overtime loss, and then missed the next nine games. During that stretch, the Yellow Jackets limped to a 4-5 record to fall out of the Top 10 and the rankings altogether and squarely onto the NCAA Tournament bubble.

"I don't think there's panic," said coach Paul Hewitt, whose team plays at struggling Florida State (11-14, 3-8) this afternoon. "Our guys, they want to get out there and play better. They know they're capable of better."

Especially with Elder running and smiling again.

Although the Yellow Jackets (14-8, 5-6) are 1-1 with Elder back, his presence changes them dramatically. Defensively, the 6-4, 218-pound senior is tenacious, quick and powerful. But his team missed him even more on offense.

He's one of Tech's top 3-point shooters (25 of 70) but also can drive by defenders and post-up many opponents. That makes him a rare triple threat.

"There's just some days a guy like that gets it going and he can carry you offensively," Hewitt said.

Elder had one of those days against Michigan on Nov. 30, hitting 10 of 12 shots (7 of 9 from 3-point range) for a season-best 27 points in a resounding 99-68 win. At the time of his injury, he was leading the team in scoring.

Just as importantly, he helped keep defenders spread out, creating space for senior center Luke Schenscher and junior point guard Jarrett Jack, in particular.

"People really focused on them," Hewitt said. "Jarrett's been played very physically and Luke, people have been able to put a guy in front of him and a guy behind him because the floor wasn't spread as much as it would have been with another 3-point shooter."

Elder also brings experience and tough-mindedness. In his return on Feb. 8 at Clemson, he came off the bench to score 11, helping the Yellow Jackets rally from an eight-point halftime deficit for a critical 70-62 win.

"In the second half, I thought he really settled them down," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "It's hard to make a big judgment on just one half, but they played like the Georgia Tech of old in the second half."

That should become more evident as Elder regains his conditioning and timing. It won't hurt that the Yellow Jackets have been off since a two-point loss at North Carolina State last Sunday. The break gave him the chance to hold a couple of intra-squad scrimmages, primarily to benefit Elder.

"As far as my injury goes, it's pretty much pain free," said Elder, who tried to come back two weeks ago but aggravated the hamstring and realized he had to be patient or risk losing the entire regular season.

"My biggest thing getting back on the court is not to try to force anything; try to do the things I'm used to being able to do but I can't right now. I have to sit back and let it come back to me."

That's not nearly as hard as sitting back and watching.

For him or the Yellow Jackets.

[Last modified February 20, 2005, 00:54:14]