Scott Cross called a timeout despite having a 27-point advantage and 6,749 spectators in McCamish Pavilion. A Hampton layup had just been converted from a Tylis Jordan turnover. The message didn’t sink in right away: Tech threw it away on its next two trips, according to the official play-by-play. “We had some turnovers that were pretty careless, but again, we held them to, what, 28%. You know, I’ll take that any day of the week,” Cross said, per Ga Tech On SI.

Cross has a tall task ahead of him to get Georgia Tech back to relevancy in basketball. Tech was dead last in the ACC preseason media poll and lost both its preseason games. One could consider this another preseason game, as Tech started the season ranked 103rd per KenPom while Hampton was 242nd. What’s more important to learn than the score itself is how Cross builds and manages a rotation.

Cross decided to start his reign with a small-ball lineup; no center started either half. Colby Garland, Nasir Whitlock, Kam Craft, Jackson Fields and Jordan started both halves.

This isn’t akin to Mike D’Antoni’s micro-ball Rockets; Cross seemed to prefer center-by-committee, with Cole Kirouac and Jackson McVey playing 24 of 40 minutes at center, according to the official box score. Forwards played the five for the remaining time. Kirouac had an especially impressive day off the bench, with 10 rebounds in 19 minutes. Cross swapped four-for-four at 2:13 of the first half, and three went out and three came in at 4:24 of the second half, per the substitution log.

The standout player overall was definitely Tylis Jordan, who led the team in minutes with 31 and had five blocks. “I think his potential is through the roof, and I think, you know, we’re just starting to see a glimpse of it right now,” Cross said.

Eleven players got minutes, and nobody played more than Jordan. It’s worth waiting to see if this tendency remains in conference play. This is worth mentioning because Cross swaps groups, not single players, in his line changes.

Several aspects of Cross’ philosophy were visible throughout the game, like his defensive style. Hampton went 6-of-33 in the first half and 0-of-7 from three, while Tech blocked seven shots and won the battle in the paint 48-22. Tech primarily played man-to-man defense.

Another notable thing about the performance is Tech’s extreme offensive pace and aggressive transitions in attack; they immediately pushed off defensive boards. The game ran to roughly 77 possessions per team using the standard box-score estimate (FGA − offensive rebounds + turnovers + 0.475 × FTA). That’s fast at this level.

Tech went 4-of-28 from three and still won by 20. While this could be attributed to the gap in skill level between the teams, Cross didn’t seem to mind: “I know it wasn’t the best shooting night for us, but, again, that’s what I preach to these guys. Let’s get more shot attempts. Let’s block out. Let’s rebound. Let’s tag. Let’s get extra possessions. And, you know, when you do that, you don’t have to be perfect from the three-point line or from the field.”

What was most concerning, perhaps about the style of play or pace, was the second-half stumble: Tech went 4:14 without a point, exacerbated by three turnovers in 44 seconds and a fourth by Victor Valdes at 13:43.

Whether that’s early-season conditioning niggles or a mostly new roster struggling to gel as it was rotated is something we’ll find out.

Looking ahead to Georgia Southern, Cross’ Troy defeated the Eagles 77-61 to win the Sun Belt championship last March, and Tech hired him about 11 days later. He’s going to be seeing his old finalist opponent, Eagles coach Charlie Henry, again Friday, albeit with both having mostly new rosters. Does Cross continue to roll with small ball against a coach familiar with his game?