Pastner pleased with Stephens’ growth

The Quinton Stephens who will stand at center court as part of Georgia Tech’s senior night festivities is not the same player who arrived on campus four years ago.

He’s not the same Quinton Stephen who walked into the office to meet Josh Pastner for the first time in April.

He’s not even the same Quinton Stephens who was in the starting lineup on opening night against Tennessee Tech.

Sure, he’s still that same tall, skinny young man who was a prized recruit from his days at Marist, but it would be difficult to find another player who has grown and evolved as much as Stephens.

Stephens likely will play his final game at McCamish Pavilion at 9 p.m. on Tuesday when the Yellow Jackets (16-13, 7-9 ACC) host Pittsburgh (15-14, 4-12). Stephens, Corey Heyward and Rand Rowland, the team’s three seniors, will be honored in a pregame ceremony.

It is especially a big night for Stephens.

“He has improved dramatically,” Pastner said. “From what I saw in the first workout, he just wanted to stay in the corner and shoot 3s. His floor game has improved so much. He has played so hard every game. That’s something he has never done.”

Under former head coach Brian Gregory, who recruited and signed him, Stephens was a 6-foot-9 wing. He was viewed as a player with untapped offensive potential that would surface (the 22 points in the 2014-15 season opener against Georgia) and then maddeningly vanish for days and weeks.

Pastner demands toughness from his players and questioned whether Stephens was falling short in that area. The matter came to a head earlier in the season when Stephens had missed practice with a toe injury and told Pastner he might not be able to play.

Pastner was incredulous.

“I said, if we’re playing Louisville tomorrow do you think you can play, and he said he didn’t think he could,” the first-year Yellow Jackets head coach said. “I said I never heard of such a thing. We’re in the ACC, and nothing should be able to stop you from playing unless it’s a medical emergency and the trainer says you can’t go.”

A week later, Pastner had the players go through a military-type camp called “The Program.” Stephens again complained that issues with his toe would prevent him from participating in the training. That excuse didn’t play for the former military leader of the camp.

“So this Marine says, ‘Big toe?’ ” Pastner said. “He said he had a buddy in Afghanistan who was blown up by an IED. He says, ‘He’s bleeding out, and he grabs his weapon, and he’s firing at the enemy. So don’t tell me about your toe.’ ”

That’s when Pastner believed Stephens had a paradigm shift.

“Something clicked in Quinton from that point,” Pastner said. “He did ‘The Program.’ From then on he didn’t miss a practice.”

And that player who was content to stand on the 3-point line and fire jumpers? He has been replaced by a player who isn’t afraid to mix it up for a rebound, scramble on the floor for a 50-50 ball — and occasionally step out to shoot from long range. Stephens is averaging career highs in points (9.9) and rebounds (7.8).

“He gets banged up so much every single practice,” Pastner said. “He’s the hardest worker. He flies on the floor. He’s got bruises all over him, and he will not take a possession off. He has not taken one possession off in practice since that Marine told him about his buddy.”

Stephens suffered a badly sprained ankle against Boston College but came back four days later to play 36 minutes against Miami. He played 40 minutes against Syracuse and N.C. State and was on the court 35 minutes against Notre Dame.

“Whatever that (training) did to him, it has totally changed his complexion,” Pastner said. “The year he’s having now, he’s playing so hard, with so much energy and such determination. I’m so proud of him. He’s one of the most improved players in the league.”

Georgia Tech will need another big-effort game for Stephens to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Yellow Jackets have lost three of four and need at least one win — maybe two — to remain viable contenders for the NCAA Tournament.

Pittsburgh has two of the ACC’s top scorers in Michael Young (20.2 points) and Jamel Artis (19.2 points), but first-year head coach Kevin Stallings is experiencing the same issues with depth that Pastner has dealt with at Georgia Tech.

Georgia Tech owns a 6-3 overall advantage in the series, but Pittsburgh is 3-1 against the Yellow Jackets since joining the ACC. Georgia Tech won last year’s game 63-59.

“I still think if we get to 8-10 (in the ACC) — I don’t see how 8-10 doesn’t automatically get you into the tournament,” Pastner said. “But we’ve still got to win one. We’ve got to be near perfect in energy, effort and execution. But at least we’re in a position to even be in a discussion to talk about it.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Pastner pleased with Stephens’ growth."