A rebuilding season combined with a difficult schedule became too much for the Yellow Jackets to handle.

While not as bad as the 11-17 disaster two years ago, Georgia Tech (15-17) finished one win from potentially making the NIT.

"I thought this team made steady progress. Jeremis (Smith) and Anthony (Morrow) deserve a lot of credit for holding these guys together through all those close losses," said Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt. "We got a lot out of this team. They played really well, and I think everybody saw down the stretch that they played their best basketball of the season. I think that the credit goes to our three seniors."

But Hewitt admits he scheduled too high. The Yellow Jackets failed to decline opportunities to play Vanderbilt, Kansas, Connecticut and Indiana, all losses this season. Substitute lesser opponents and win two of those four games, and Georgia Tech has a winning season.

Losing two players, Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton, to the NBA hurt Georgia Tech's outlook. Injuries, some attrition and slow development of newcomers also played a factor.

Georgia Tech will have a core of returning players, along with another solid recruiting class to give hope for next season. Two losing seasons in the past three years, however, is not the kind of consistency fans want. It also didn't help matters that rival Georgia wound up completing one of the most improbable journeys in recent history by winning the Southeast Conference tournament championship on Georgia Tech's home court.

It will ramp up focus on Hewitt to get Georgia Tech back to its place among the top college basketball programs. But as Hewitt has found out, maintaining consistency at a difficult academic place like Georgia Tech is not as easy as it might have been in another era.

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