We're talking about practice?

A few random observations from the open practice this afternoon (to which I was 15 minutes late thanks to Atlanta traffic):

• J.J. Frazier had the hot hand today, hitting multiple contested threes.  That was nice to see.  If he really did gain 5 pounds, though, I'm not sure where he put it.  He looks as slight as ever.
• Nice touch out of Juwan Parker, too, who canned a few mid-range jumpers.
• Yante Maten looked really good around the basket.  One of the first things I saw was him backing down Iduwe and scoring.  I can see why everyone is high on the guy.
• Maten also hit a few jumpers, including one in rhythm just inside the 3-point line.  He also calmly drained about a 38-foot three to give his team possession just as I sat down, but I doubt we'll see that one drawn up during any games.
• Marcus Thornton looks as healthy and happy as I've seen him.  He scored fairly easily a couple of times in the paint.  He also wins the award for most sincere smile and handshake.
• Kenny Paul Geno hit a couple three pointers out of the corner.  That's good to see.
• Cameron Forte had a few aggressive drives to the basket.  His shot is still very wonky, but that matters less if he can get to the rim.
• Iduwe may contribute defensively, but I wouldn't expect much out of him on offense.  He's very raw.
• Kenny Gaines sat out, but I heard Fox say it was just illness, which is a relief.
• Charles Mann's jumper is still really flat, but he didn't shoot much today, so I'll withhold judgment for now.
• The free throw shooting at the end of practice was not encouraging.

All in all, I was pleased with what I saw.  I missed a great photo opportunity when J.J. Frazier was standing "shoulder to shoulder" with Osahen Iduwe, so sorry about that.

Next up is the "secret scrimmage" with N.C. State on Saturday in Charlotte.  We'll see if any news leaks out from that...

Open practice

I'm headed to the open practice in Stegeman today, and here's what I'll be looking for:

1. How does the freshman Maten look next to the senior Thornton?
2. Is Osahen Iduwe a basketball player, or is he just a big bucket of potential right now?
3. Are Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines acting like the leaders they need to be heading into their junior seasons?
4. Who is looking like Brandon Morris' replacement at the 3?

It's just one practice - and there will be spectators - so I doubt we'll come away with much.  It'll be good to see these guys on the court, though.

Bits and pieces

More articles have trickled out this week concerning the Dawgs early practice results and media predictions.  There's a lot of overlap, but let's hit the highlights.

First, Seth Emerson talks about elevated expectations, not just for the team, but for Yante Maten as well:

No one’s expecting Maten to be the equivalent of Matt Stafford and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, at least in pure ability. But Maten could end up being very important for a Georgia basketball program trying to take the next step.

The Bulldogs have lacked a true, reliable post man ever since Jeremy Price graduated in 2011, which also happens to be the last year they made the NCAA tournament. After coming close last year, the team now adds Maten, who was Michigan’s Gatorade Player of the Year last year.

I'd argue that Marcus Thornton was both true and reliable last season, but his point is taken.  The day Brandon Morris was dismissed, it started to become clear that Maten was the "next guy up" even though he plays a different position.  In a perfect world, Yante would have a year in the system to learn and mature, but circumstances have dictated otherwise.

Next, the Red & Black weighs in on the push for the NCAA tournament:

“There’s a lot of positive talk about us right now,” forward Nemanja Djurisic said. “We’re trying really hard to get in the best shape we can be. We’re learning things right away and stepping in. We see our non-conference games as challenging as everything else, so we’re really going to focus and try to start strong.”

It's been a while since there was any sort of preseason buzz about the Georgia Bulldogs.  In fact, Marcus Thornton is the only one on the roster with any sort of experience there.  Nemi's quote tells you they're thinking about it, so how will they handle it?  Will it galvanize them and help them start better than they have the past few seasons?  Or will it compound the early season problems even more?

Finally, media days gave us the annual first- and second-team SEC selections:

First Team All-SEC
Bobby Portis – Arkansas, F, 6-11, 242, So., Little Rock, Ark.
Michael Frazier II – Florida, G, 6-4, 194, Jr., Tampa, Fla.
Aaron Harrison – Kentucky, G, 6-6, 212, So., Richmond, Texas
Jordan Mickey – LSU, F, 6-8, 235, So., Dallas, Texas
Jarvis Summers – Ole Miss, G, 6-3, 186, Sr., Jackson, Miss.

Second Team All-SEC
Charles Mann – Georgia, G, 6-5, 215, Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.
Willie Cauley-Stein – Kentucky, F, 7-0, 240, Jr., Olathe, Kan.
Andrew Harrison – Kentucky, G, 6-6, 210, So., Richmond, Texas
Alex Poythress – Kentucky, F, 6-8, 238, Jr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Karl-Anthony Towns – Kentucky, F, 6-11, 250, Fr., Piscataway, N.J.

Way to go, Charles.  And Kentucky...ugh...

Projected SEC finish

CBS Projected #SEC Basketball Finish 1. UK 2. UF 3. Ark 4. LSU 5. UGA 6. Bama 7. OM 8. AU 9. UT 10. SCar 11. TAMU 12. Miz 13. VU 14. MSU
— Around the SEC (@AroundTheSEC) October 21, 2014

If CBS is to be believed, Georgia slips to #5 in the SEC this year.  I might nudge UGA up past LSU, but that's nitpicking (and possibly homerism).

Georgia fifth certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility, and it would likely put the Dawgs right around 10 conference wins and, assuming non-conference competence, squarely on the tournament bubble.

The above rankings would also mean that Georgia's home-and-home games are against the #1, 7, 8, 10, and 13 teams in the conference.  That's about as favorable as it gets - a chance to knock off the best and feast on the worst.

Where is he now: Tubby edition

Been wondering what ol' Tubby Smith is up to?

If you answered "crashing a motorcycle on the court while dressed as Shaft," take a little something from the prize bucket.

h/t Sports Illustrated

Practice tidbits

Like a cold glass of water on a hot summer day, Marc Weiszer finally tosses some basketball news our way.  There are three videos - interviews with Mark Fox, Charles Mann, and Yante Maten - and a bunch of tidbits.  You should check it out, but I'll hit some highlights for you.

First, Mark Fox says what's on many of our minds:

“The goal for us is just to keep getting better,” sixth-year coach Mark Fox said, “but this is a team that I think can take another step forward if we stay healthy. We’ve got to continue to stay focused and really go into the season and the entire offseason with a response to success. …Do you stay hungry and driven after having some wins?”

Georgia has been slow out of the gate under Fox in the past.  This year, after tasting some success, it just can't happen.  From the opening tip, Georgia has to act like they belong.

He also continues cranking up the Yante hype machine just a little bit:

He’s shown good scoring touch around the basket and is a good rebounder.

“You see flashes where, `Wow, that play was easy for him to make,’” Fox said. “I think he’ll play significant minutes.”

It may just be coach speak, but don't underestimate a freshman post who knows where the basket is.  Some guys come into college as natural scorers (Trey Thompkins), and others go a full four years without ever really finding the cup (Chris Barnes).  If Maten can be more of the former, that can only be good news for Fox and company.  (as an aside, Yante looks pretty nervous in front of the camera, but here's betting he turns into a pretty good interview before it's all said and done)

Meanwhile, the effort to replace Brandon Morris is well underway:

With the dismissal this summer of starting small forward Brandon Morris after an arrest for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, the job at the “3” spot is “totally up for grabs,” Fox said.

The candidates include junior Cameron Forte and sophomores Kenny Paul Geno and Juwan Parker.

The 6-foot-7 Forte said he’s up to 217 pounds. He knows what’s key for him to be counted on.

“The key thing for me being on the court is me locking down and focusing more on my defense than my offense,” he said.

Fox said Georgia could turn to a three-guard lineup as an answer.

I think it's interesting Juwan Parker is mentioned as a candidate.  I would love to see more three-guard lineups out of the Dawgs this year.  Sounds like Fox may experiment with that after all.

And finally, two fantastic quotes from Fox.  The quote-of-the-day runner-up concerns the reason Fox didn't vote for his own team in the coaches' poll:

“You know what? We practiced so bad the day before I voted, I didn’t vote for them. I was mad at our team that day.”

The winner, though, concerns freshman Osahen Iduwe:

“He’s asked me to slow down,” Fox said. “He speaks five languages. I said I just need you to listen to a sixth. I don’t care if you can speak it, just as long as you can listen to it.”

Go check out the rest.

h/t Marc Weiszer

Player profiles: what it all means

We've finished our rundown of your 2014-15 Georgia basketball team, complete with glass-half-full thinking, wild, unfounded speculation, and uneducated fan rambling.  If that's your sort of thing, here are the links:

Guards:
Charles Mann
Kenny Gaines
Juwan Parker
J.J. Frazier
Kenny Paul Geno
Brandon Young


Forwards/Centers:
Marcus Thornton
Yante Maten
Nemanja DjurisicOsahen Iduwe
Cameron Forte
Houston KesslerDusan Langura

But what does it all mean?

Here's a table laying out all my statistical guesses:

Player	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks
Charles Mann	26	12.4	4.2	4.1	0
Kenny Gaines	26.5	15.4	2.6	1	0.5
Marcus Thornton	27	9.9	7.4	0.3	1.4
Yante Maten	16.7	6.1	5.3	0.1	0.9
Juwan Parker	20.5	7.3	3.2	1.6	0
Nemanja Djurisic	23	8.1	4.1	0.8	0.3
J.J. Frazier	15	6.5	1.1	2.3	0
Osahen Iduwe	11	1.5	3.2	0	1.7
Cameron Forte	13.5	5.1	4.7	0.6	0.3
Taylor Echols	6.3	1.1	0.3	0.6	0
Kenny Paul Geno	8.3	1.9	1	0.1	0.1
Houston Kessler	2.5	0.2	0.5	0.1	0
Dusan Langura	2.5	0.7	0	0.1	0
Brandon Young	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0
	200	76.4	37.7	11.8	5.2

A few notes:

1. Minutes per game are averaged out over a season.  In other words, I don't expect Brandon Young to play 1 minute in every single game.  Instead, I expect him to eat up about 1 out of every 200 game minutes, meaning he'll play 3 or 4 minutes in a few games, and 0 minutes in others.
2. 76.4 points/game would have tied Georgia for #47 in the country last year.
3. 37.7 rebounds/game would have tied Georgia for #41 in the country last year.
4. 11.8 assists/game would have tied Georgia for #241 in the country last year which, sadly, would be a huge improvement.
5. 5.2 blocks/game would have tied Georgia for #30 in the country last year.

Considering the style of basketball Georgia plays under Mark Fox, top 50 in scoring may be asking a bit too much.  However, the farther north of 70 points/game that number goes, the more likely Georgia is having a great season.

The good news for Georgia is that, in the end, basketball is not a complicated sport:  get good looks, don't turn the ball over, and don't give up offensive rebounds.

The first two points fall squarely on the shoulders of Charles Mann and, to a lesser extent, Kenny Gaines.  The third is on Marcus Thornton and his two young understudies.  Now ask yourself:  do you have faith that they can get it done?

I do, which is why I expect nothing less than a tournament berth this season.  What about you?

The weekend comes

Will he play or won't he?

I'm talking, of course, about E'Torrion Wilridge, the newest member of Georgia's 2015 class and a shoo-in for playing time if he signs on the dotted line.

Instead of worrying about Little Rock, let's spend the weekend watching this video of E'Torrion Wilridge:

One can never be sure when watching highlight videos, but I see a guy with size who knows where the basket is and doesn't fear contact.  Not to mention the little turnaround jumper which, come on, admit it, gets you just a little bit excited, right?

Have a good weekend, everyone.

Another 2015 commitment

I would like to say that I am verbally committed to play basketball at the University of Georgia. 🔴🏀 #GoDawgs #UGA pic.twitter.com/WX8y6tqOfE
— E'Torrion Wilridge (@ToeToe24_) October 11, 2014

In case you missed it over the weekend (and you'd be forgiven for doing so considering everything going on with the football team), Mark Fox picked up another 2015 commitment in E'Torrion Wilridge, a small forward out of Beaumont, Texas.  As soon as he signs on the dotted line, he'll be an immediate number one on Georgia's all-name team, but can he play?

In short, yes.  In fact, many had him as a top 100 recruit before an MCL injury derailed him during his junior year.  A lot of major programs were scared off, but not Georgia, and that seems to have paid dividends.  Small forward is a huge position of need for the Dawgs in 2015, and Wilridge looks like a good one.

He seems to grade out on most sites as a 3* recruit, but keep an eye on him if he is able to come back 100% from the knee injury.

What does this mean for Tevin Mack's recruitment?  I'm confident Fox would still love to have him in Athens (I certainly would), but it's clear he wasn't going to wait around for Mack to commit.  It probably makes a commitment from Mack a little less likely, as there's now some competition for playing time (whereas before he would have walked right into a guaranteed starting role).  However, Fox has been on Mack for a long, long time, so nothing is impossible.

Regardless, let's welcome E'Torrion to the family.  And don't look now, but the latest 247sports.com recruiting rankings have Georgia's 2015 class at number 41, and that's with only 2 players committed.  As Fox rounds out the class, it could easily end up top 25.  Pair that with a top 25 team this season, and things may be looking up for Georgia basketball...

h/t dawnofthedawg.com

Sophomore year all over again

While my primary focus is always the college game, I'm admittedly excited to see what Kentavious Caldwell-Pope does in his sophomore campaign in the NBA.  Sounds like his coach is too:

And Van Gundy watched all of that and was duly impressed, with an asterisk.

“"He'’s playing with great confidence and he’s doing great things,” Van Gundy said. "“You can count on the guy bringing tremendous energy. He made shots."”

 That asterisk mentioned above?  His defense:

"“My only disappointment was his defense and he'’s been having it in practices, too. He'’s struggling to guard people off the dribble without fouling. We’'re going to have to get that figured out because he certainly can move his feet and he certainly plays hard enough. But we had a scrimmage the other day and Jodie (Meeks) shot 10 free throws against him. Like most players, he doesn'’t think any of them are fouls but they clearly are.”"

KCP, at times, looked like an elite defender in college, so I don't doubt that he'll get it figured out.

Aside from wanting our Dawgs to do well at the next level, why does it matter?  Don't underestimate the power of a top 10 pick playing like a top 10 pick.  If Caldwell-Pope starts turning heads in the next month or two, you better believe Fox will be turning on SportsCenter in front of recruits and saying, "I put him there, and I'll put you there too."

h/t nba.com

Mark Fox is on the roller coaster, too

For a reminder that these coaches and athletes are all a fraternity, look at Mark Fox's twitter feed.  He pretty much mirrored all of our thoughts the last few days.

Oh crap:

Lots of emotions right now, common 1 is love of the Dawgs. Now's our chance 2 show we truly r the DawgNation. Our FBteam needs it. #100%Dawg
— Mark Fox (@coachmarkfox) October 10, 2014

Ok, we can do this:

My team practices twice today. In between we'll bring positive energy to the Dawgs in Missouri. #100%Dawg pic.twitter.com/BngycY6QnL
— Mark Fox (@coachmarkfox) October 11, 2014

It's great to be a Georgia Bulldog:

Great job by @MarkRicht @FootballUGA - our team was terrific today. Proud of them. Go Dawgs! #100%Dawg
— Mark Fox (@coachmarkfox) October 11, 2014

Here's hoping we can extend the same love to the cagers this year without all the drama.

Player profile: Charles Mann

Photo Credit:  redandblack.com

Previously:  Kenny Gaines 
Previously:  Marcus Thornton 
Previously:  Yante Maten 
Previously:  Juwan Parker 
Previously:  Nemanja Djurisic 
Previously:  J.J. Frazier 
Previously:  Osahen Iduwe 
Previously:  Cameron Forte 
Previously:  Kenny Paul Geno 
Previously:  Houston Kessler 
Previously:  Dusan Langura 
Previously:  Brandon Young 

Charles Mann

Height:  6'5"
Weight:  215
Position:  PG
Year:  Junior
Role:  El Capitan

Overview:  At the Charleston Classic last year, I happened to sit in front of Charles Mann's mother.  On the monitors in front of us, we saw an advertisement for the upcoming Georgia - Davidson game (ugh), and Mann was used as the face of the Bulldogs for the promo.  I asked her if it was still weird seeing her son like that.  "It's still a little crazy," she told me.

She better get used to it, because this is Charles Mann's team.

Mann has NBA size, and maybe even NBA upside, but he doesn't quite have a full NBA skill-set yet.  He was a 3* recruit with quite a few major offers out of high school, and he was thrown into the fire pretty quickly at Georgia.

It was clear right away that he would round into an impact player, but there have been plenty of rough edges to sand off.  His jumper has never been a weapon, and he has a tendency to get himself in trouble on his drives, leading to turnovers or fouls.  In fact, early foul trouble had him riding pine in the first half of a few key games last year for the Dawgs (the SEC tournament semifinal leaps to mind).

When Charles is right, the offense can really hum.  When he's disengaged, things tend to stagnate quickly.  There are other scorers on this Georgia team, but no one who can initiate the offense quite like him.

Expectations:  I am really curious how Charles spent his summer.  If he spent it working on that jumper, then we can all expect big things from him this year.

We already know he will pile up some points (he was 11th in the nation in free throws attempted).  I suspect that trend will continue.  However, if he can prove to be a legitimate 3-point threat, the court will open up for him, and for Georgia.

Areas for Improvement:  This is probably obvious by now, but the outside jumper needs work.  He doesn't need to be deadly, but he has to force defenses to respect him.  He shot 31% from 3-point range last season (a slightly lower number than his freshman total, but with quite a few more attempts).  That needs to be closer to 35%.

It's also time to occasionally turn drive and shoot into drive and kick.  Getting fouled is a huge part of Mann's game, and there's no reason to try to take that away from him.  However, if he can get defenses to collapse on him, then, depending on rotations, he will have at least one of Kenny Gaines, Nemanja Djurisic, or J.J. Frazier camped behind the 3-point line.  Not a bad plan B if there's no clear path to the bucket.

Finally, it's time to raise the free throw percentage from 70% up to around 80%.  Simply doing that last season would have raised his per-game scoring average almost an entire point.  That's nothing to sneeze at.

2014-15 Stats I Could Get Excited About:  12.4/4.2/4.1 points/rebounds/assists per game.

That's the last player profile.  I'll wrap it all up later, but for now, let's go Charles, and let's go Dawgs!

Happy thoughts

Well, it's Friday, and the Dawgs hit the practice court next Monday.  That means we're just a little over a month away from seeing what these kids can do.

Since the football boys will almost certainly roll Vanderbilt, let's spend the weekend watching this vintage footage of Dominique Wilkins dunking while knocking off #3 LSU in the SEC tournament:

Now let's visualize doing the same to #1 Kentucky.  Visualizing may be our best bet, because actually beating them on the court may be darned near impossible considering they have two of the best starting fives in college basketball (you read that right).

Anyway, have a nice weekend, everyone.

h/t ESPN

The Calipari way

John Calipari's message at Kentucky has always been simple:  play for me for a year, and I'll get you drafted.  That message gets another huge boost next Friday when Kentucky will host a televised scouting combine on campus.

This is the kind of muscle that, at least in 2014, Georgia can't compete with.  The key to beating pretty much any Calipari coached team is hoping all the young talent doesn't gel properly, because he only thing that is going to stop him from getting these recruits is a revision of the NBA's one-and-done rule.

In the meantime, though, there's a sure-fire way to get scouts to Georgia games, too...

h/t ESPN

Piling on in Columbia

Sometimes when it rains, it really does pour.  At some point, you start to wonder how they'll fill out a roster at Mizzou.

I wonder how that student tryout went?  They may need the bodies.

Update:

One way to deal with the attrition is to immediately reinstate players who were previously suspended.  The timing definitely smells a bit, but nontheless, it's good news for Mizzou fans.