Following NIT loss, Stoudamire looks ahead to "next step" for program

Georgia Tech's roller-coaster 2024-25 season came to an end on Tuesday night with an 81-64 home loss to Jacksonville State in the first round of the NIT and with it head coach Damon Stoudamire's second year leading the program.

But after the disappointing loss, Stoudamire was more interested in talking about where he wants to see the program change and go moving forward rather than discussing Tuesday's game. The former college and NBA standout made it clear that despite his Jackets rallying to win eight of its last 13 games from February on to earn its first postseason berth since 2021, that the way things were done over his first two years on The Flats will not be good enough anymore.

"It happens," Stoudamire commented to the media following Tuesday's NIT contest in front of a light crowd at McCamish Pavilion. "It's unfortunate that we played this way this evening, but I don't want to take away from what the guys have done to put themselves back in position. And I'm happy and proud of them for that. We didn't end the year off on a great note, but hopefully moving forward as we move into the spring, summer, this motivates guys.

"One of the biggest things I told the guys that come back, man it's time to do everything like a winner. You've got to train like a winner. You've got to eat like a winner. When you're moving in the streets, you've got to move like a winner. You've got to always have your chest out. You've got to exude confidence in the next man. So for me that's how I feel. I think that we were under siege so much this season trying to keep our head above water and not drown. We did a good job of doing that, but now I thought we learned how to fight. I thought guys learned how to prepare. I think at times, and we had some big wins to show, we learned how to win, but now it's time...you know, everything you do you've got to do it like a winner. I mean that. I mean that. You've got to do it like a winner."

During the press conference, Stoudamire reminisced about his time at Arizona back in the early to mid-1990s and how the team came off a disappointing loss his sophomore year as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament to No. 15 seed Santa Clara and let that loss fuel how much the Wildcats worked and came together that offseason to prove a point the following year. Stoudamire referenced that team as "not the most talented but the best group he's been a part of because they were so locked in and bought in."

Stoudamre insinuated that he doesn't expect the NIT loss to fuel his team the same way as that one did at Arizona, but more so that they shouldn't be satisfied with just doing enough to be average to above average as a program.

"Stuff like this has got to pain you. It's got to hurt," said Stoudamire. "Because moving forward we've got to be better in these games. We can't just play to the level of our opponent. We can't just come in the gym and think because we're Tech and schools are a mid-major that they are just going to roll over, because it doesn't work that way. It just doesn't work that way anymore. That's what we've got to get better at. That's where I've got to get better at getting these guys better at that. That's what I talked to them about.

"It's about a mentality, and it's going to be a Day 1 mentality. Because next year starts tomorrow for me, and there's just things that I'm just not going to accept anymore. What I'm not going to accept is just a team that's collectively, because it's not about one individual it's a collective effort, a team that collectively is not going to be mentally prepared for each moment. Good, bad, whatever that entails. You've got to be mentally prepared. You've got to be locked in, and if you're not locked in, you can't play. Like that's the demand. That's what it has to be."

Georgia Tech overcame several injuries this season to multiple key players, had several guys step up in to much bigger roles and improved as the year went on to improve 14-18 in 2023-24 to 17-17 with an NIT berth in 2024-25. Stoudamire said he was proud of the resilience the team showed this season despite all the setbacks and injuries, but they have to do even more this offseason and become mentally tougher to be able to take the next step and that will be the standard he sets as the head coach.

"This spring, this summer it's got to hurt," said Stoudamire. "When you leave the weight room, it's got to hurt. When you leave the gym, you're wrist has got to be locked because you shot too much. Game shots, game speed. I don't care about the rest of it. I don't have pros on my team yet so you know what, you're not good enough to shoot on the gun. You need passes. That's what I'm talking about. It's preparing to win. And if you're not going to go in the gym and shoot 100 game-speed, game-rep jump shots, and you can only shoot 10, then shoot 10 and put the ball down. Because if you're not doing it game-speed, game reps then you're creating bad habits. That's the mentality each player has to have if he wants to be in my program moving forward.

"That's the next phase to winning...being mentally tough. That's the next phase to winning, and on a consistent basis from our guys it just hasn't been demanded like that before. But it will be moving forward."

While several players have eligibility remaining and are expected to return to the roster in 2025-26, it is unknown exactly what the roster will look like in this day in age of the transfer portal. Stoudamire said his team will definitely look to add pieces and that the guys coming back will be asked to improve, evolve and become more demanding on themselves and their teammates.

"You like what you have, but obviously we're trying to compete for ACC championships and get to the NCAA Tournament just to start. So obviously you've got to keep getting better," said Stoudamire about his team going into the offseason. "The team is void of certain things, and we've just got to get better. The thing about it is when we start using the term 'dog' and all that stuff, it's not an indictment on my team. I like the guys on my team so I don't really get into all that, but we just have to get a mentality. An alpha mentality doesn't have to be the best player on the team. You want it to be, but it doesn't have to be. It just has to be someone that's going to do the right thing each and every day to hold each other accountable. To me that's what an alpha is, period. That's more so a mindset. Do we need a different mindset? Yes. Do we need to add pieces? Yes. But right now no different than how we were this year, and I don't want to have to do this moving forward hopefully, but each player will tell you, when we came back from Christmas, I broke every huddle that we had for the rest of the year. Because I felt like I had to lead those guys because they didn't know we were drowning. I felt like they needed someone to lead them so I had to lead them. Moving forward, we'll try to find guys that can lead, but at the same time too, the guys that we bring back, they've got to develop that mentality as well."

One of those players that could develop into more of a leadership role going into next season is sophomore point guard Nait George, who really came on the second half of 2024-25 and led the ACC in assists. Stoudamire commented on his point guard as far as how far he has come from being a player with one other scholarship offer before coming to Tech to where he is now as one of the best point guards in the ACC but he still expects him to reach an even higher level and develop into someone that can be a leader on the floor.

"I just see him continuing to grow. In the last two months he took a really big jump. I'm excited to continue to see his growth and help him become the player he wants to be."

It will be interesting to see what kind of additions and subtractions the Jackets have to their roster this offseason, including a solid recruiting class of five from the high school level. Stoudamire admitted that he would be active in the portal as well to try to improve the team, but it's always a bit of a guessing game when you go that route because of the limited ability coaches have to scout and communicate with players.

Whatever the case may be as far as who is a part of Stoudamire's team this next season, he will be expecting that group to achieve more and to do that they will have to work toward that with the right mentality.

"I feel the way I feel because that's just where we're at. Going into Year 3, that's where we're at. It's accountability now. It's different things," said Stoudamire. "It's not enough to be like 'my bad' anymore. You've got to own it. We've all got to own it. But in order to win, if they don't know, I've got to show them. That's what I'm talking about. You've got to have the characteristics and the traits to win. But it all starts with your habits. You've got to train like a winner. You've got to do things to exhaust you. You can't do things until you're tired. I never trained like that. My thing is as an athlete I know exactly what a high-level athlete looks like. So I want high-level athletes."