GREENSBORO— All the talk surrounding the Georgia Tech basketball team isn’t about losing Jason Collier to the NBA. It’s about keeping Alvin Jones from going to the NBA.

The Yellow Jackets could possibly cope with the loss of one 7-footer but new coach Paul Hewitt had to have at least one big man in the fold. But he didn’t beg Jones, the enigmatic center of Tech, to remain in Atlanta. He just told him the facts.

“I didn’t talk him into staying,” said Hewitt, who came down from Siena University to take over for Bobby Cremins. “It was more like, ‘If you stay, you’ll enjoy what we’re doing.’”

What Jones and his Tech teammates will be doing is running and pressing and shooting — and having a much better time playing basketball than they did under the slow-it-down Cremins. And the 36-year old Hewitt hopes it will improve last year’s 13-17 overall record.

“It’s going to be so different from what Coach Cremins did,” Hewitt said during the recent Operation ACC in Greensboro.”I believe in playing the bench and having balanced scoring. At Siena, we had four guys in double figures.”

That’s good news to the returning Yellow Jackets. So far, Hewitt has surmised that the team’s strength is shooting. Tony Akins and Shaun Fein could be the best shooting backcourt in the league, believe or not. Forwards Jon Babul and Clarence Moore have extremely good shooting eyes.

And then, there’s Jones, the 6-11 senior, whose scoring dropped three points to 9.7 last year. He did all of the other things, of course, and enters this season seventh all-time in the ACCin blocked shots (324)and is the top active rebounder (763). But with Collier also moving his big body around inside, you always wondered whether it was too clogged inside.

This year, Hewitt will allow Jones to rule the paint while he has smaller, quicker forwards running beside him.

“He has a chance to be one of the best players in the ACC,” said Hewitt. “The big thing we’re working on is to refine his post moves.”

Fein, a senior, is ecstatic.

“I was very happy when Alvin didn’t go to the NBA,” said the 6-3 Fein. “He adds another dimension to our team.”

So do Fein and his running mate in the backcourt, junior Tony Akins, a 5-11 whirling dervish, who plays point guard but may be more suited for the 2-guard.

Akins loves to shoot. He averaged 11.3 points his freshman year and 11.5 in 1999.

Akins has kept a tradition going. He is the third Georgia Tech point guard in the past decade that is left-handed, following KennyAnderson and Travis Best.

He also jump, owning the team’s best vertical leap at 36 inches.

Hewitt says, “I’d like to get him a position where he can play off the ball sometimes to take advantage of his ability to shoot.”

Akins’ career high came last winter in a 33-point effort against Florida State. He showed his outside range by hitting 9-of-14 threes.

Fein started 28 of 30 games for Cremins last season, scoring 10 points per game. He was first at Tech in three-pointers (68) and third in the ACC.

“I love Shaun’s passion for the game,” said Hewitt. “He seems to love to play.”

Fein returns the compliment, saying he loves the new coach’s game plan.

“It’s changed a lot,” he said. “We’re pressing and running instead of setting up halfcourt. If we have an open shot, coach Hewitt expects us to take it. And we could get some easy buckets out of this.”

Backcourt help will include T.J. Vines, a 5-10 senior defensive specialist, and 6-3 senior Darryl LeBarrie. Walk-on Patrick Harpring, at 6-2, will join the team after two years as a student manager. He is Matt’s brother.

Jones will only be effective if Fein and Akins are hitting outside and Babul can return from a series of injuries that have plagued him his entire career. He redshirted one season for a broken foot and was hurt last year by a strained right quadriceps. But when healthy, the senior is a defensive whiz and a good rebounder.

“We need to keep him healthy and he’ll be a big factor for us,” Hewitt said.

This year, it’s Moore who’s ailing. After having a splendid freshman season, he broke his foot in September. He’s short at 6-4, but strong at 225 pounds.

“We don’t have as much depth in the frontcourt as I’d like,” said Hewitt.

That’s where freshmen Robert Brooks, at 6-9, and Halston Lane, at 6-6, will come in. They will see plenty of action.

But Jones is the key. He had 14 double-figure games last year but also disappeared with two points against Florida State, three against Kentucky, four against Wake Forest and Duke and two against Clemson.

But Hewitt’s new way of thinking could change all of that.

“The thing I like best about Alvin is his attitude,” Hewitt said.

And the Yellow Jackets apparently like their new coach and his offense that will let them shoot to their heart’s content.

Georgia Tech finished eighth (5-11) last season and that’s where the Jackets are listed in the preseason. But Fein thinks the team can be much better.

“Everybody wants to make it to the NCAATournament,” he said. “I think we can do it. It’s going to be exciting basketball.

“The tough part is getting in shape to play this style.”