Georgia Tech has a scrappy weapon in freshman guard
There were a few worried looks when Jose Alvarado failed to make a basket during the first exhibition game against Georgia State. The freshman was 0-for-10 from the field, eight of those missing from beyond the 3-point line. It was definitely a dubious debut.
Since then, the freshman from Brooklyn has been on an upward arc. He’s become an essential part of the starting rotation and is averaging 14.3 points, second-most on a team that is occasionally starved for points.
The Yellow Jackets amp up the competition and host Northwestern in the annual Big 10/ACC Challenge at McCamish Pavilion. Tipoff is 7 p.m. Tuesday and the game will be shown on ESPN2.
Alvarado, typically the smallest guy on the court at 6 feet, continues to earn high praise from coach Josh Pastner for his ability to play hard all the time and not be afraid to take on larger players.
“I knew when we were recruiting Jose, I knew what he was about and it’s sticking your nose in there on tough inside rebounds and 50-50 balls,” Pastner said. “When the guards stick their nose in there and rebound, that’s everything. That sets the tone.”
Alvarado averages 5.8 rebounds, the second most on the team behind 6-foot-11 center Ben Lammers.
“It’s important to me when guards rebound the ball because it shows they’ve got some fight and energy about them,” Pastner said. “It’s a toughness mentality. I’ve told our guys, that’s important to Georgia Tech fans and to alumni. It’s a blue-collar mentality.”
Alvarado said, “Personally, I push hard on myself. I think I could do a whole lot better.”
Alvarado’s hustle and ability have helped the Yellow Jackets bridge a difficult time. They just got guard Tadric Jackson back from a three-game suspension and forward Josh Okogie still has two games to serve on his six-game suspension. Backup point guard Justin Moore will be back Tuesday after serving a two-game suspension.
Northwestern (4-2) will be meeting Georgia Tech for the fourth time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Wildcats finished 24-12 a year ago, went to the NCAA tournament for the first time and lost in the second round.
Four starters return from that club, including junior Bryant McIntosh, who led last year’s team in scoring, assists, free throw percentage and minutes. Derek Pardon, a 6-8 sophomore, averaged 9.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Senior Scottie Lindsey, a 6-5 guard, is fifth in the Big Ten with a 17.8-point average. He scored 20 points in the loss to Texas Tech and was named to the all-tournament team of the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament.
Georgia Tech is 6-10 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The Yellow Jackets lost to Penn State 67-60 a year ago.
Single-game ACC tickets on sale: Georgia Tech has single-game tickets available for all ACC games, other than the Feb. 11 contest against Duke. The schedule includes ranked teams Miami on Jan. 3, Notre Dame on Jan. 10 and Virginia on Jan. 18. Tickets to the Duke game are only available to those who purchase season tickets or the nine-game ACC package.
This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech has a scrappy weapon in freshman guard."