This week in Georgia sports

Minnesota: post mortem

Stop me if you've heard this before.  Georgia goes down big early, but fights valiantly and comes up just short in the end.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of this, and so are you.  That was not a very good Minnesota team that Georgia just lost to, and while the season is not over, UGA's tournament hopes already look pretty bleak.  The SEC, to put it nicely, is not very good, which means Georgia probably needs 9 non-conference wins paired with at least 12 conference wins to have any chance.  That means there is no longer any room for error.  They have to run off 6 straight wins heading into conference play.  Based on what we saw tonight, that seems unlikely.

For some reason, no box score is available at the moment, but here are a few more thoughts:

• J.J. Frazier is the best point guard on the team.  He penetrates, he dishes, and he can shoot.  Mann had a nice game against Gonzaga, but Frazier should be starting.
• Kenny Gaines needs to break out of this funk, and fast.  The lack of any 3-point threat is just killing Georgia right now.
• Minnesota, on the other hand, shot quite well from the 3-point line, but many of their looks were completely uncontested.  Maten and Thornton got caught in no-man's land on the baseline again and again.
• It wasn't all bad for Maten, though, who scored 12 points in a nice first half.  He really kept Georgia from being run out of the building.
• In the end, Georgia just invented yet another way to lose a game in which they were probably the better team.  Instead of poor shooting or missed free throws, it was turnovers.  If this game is played ten times, Georgia probably wins 8, and you know what that means?  Absolutely nothing.  When you turn it over 14 times in one half, you lose, and a 4 point loss is the same as a 40 point loss.
• Lord, let that be the last we hear from Bob Knight all season.  He somehow made a painful loss that much more unbearable.

After all Mark Fox's talk of how veteran his team finally is, and how important November is, Georgia has lost two games they should have won thanks to an ongoing refusal to play the first 10 minutes of the contest.  Imagine how differently we'd be feeling sitting here at 5-1.

The talent is there to get to the tournament, but the margin for error is now razor thin.  Next up is Chattanooga, and if you think that's a get-well game, think again.  They've already played Wisconsin and Butler, so they won't be scared.  Fox has three days to do some serious soul searching and light a fire under his team.  If they don't start playing up to their potential, his job is in serious jeopardy.

Game card: Minnesota

Opponent:  Minnesota
Mascot:  Golden Gophers
Primary color(s):  Maroon and Gold
Record:  3-2
Best player:  Nate Mason
Line:  Minnesota -4.5

Why Georgia will win:  Minnesota finished the game against St. Johns ice cold.  They were extremely sloppy, which Georgia can take advantage of due to their experience.  Frankly, Georgia is just plain due in November tournament play, their last such win coming on November 29, 2010 over Manhattan in Orlando.

Why Georgia will lose:  Another game, another 7-footer in Elliot Eliason.  Nate Mason is hitting 60% of his 3-pointers, which is a huge advantage over a Georgia team that can't find the range.  Georgia is just plain bad in tournament play, and there's no reason to expect that to change tonight.

What I think will happen:  Georgia wins a close one 74-70.

Gonzaga: post mortem

I have absolutely no idea what to think about that game.  I'm going to attempt a post mortem here, but I'm not even quite sure where to begin:

• Ok, let's begin with Bob Knight, who is insufferable.  There are rumors (that I never really bought) that he remains perturbed that Georgia didn't court him last time they had a job opening, and you'd almost believe it the way he calls our games.  Any time Gonzaga did something well, it was great execution.  Any time Georgia did something well, it was because Gonzaga made a mistake.
• My favorite Knight moment came immediately after Kenny Gaines spectacular drive and dunk in the first half.  His commentary:  "It's really amazing how well Pangos sees the floor."
• While that remark about Pangos could have waited until, you know, he actually did something, it was nevertheless spot on.  He was as good as advertised.
• Kyle Wiltjer was pretty good too, and Georgia simply had no answer inside for the size of Gonzaga.  Part of the reason UGA was able to hang around was the fact that Gonzaga's bigs were in foul trouble almost all night.
• It wouldn't be accurate to say missed free throws cost Georgia the game, but they missed 13 of them and they lost by 12.  Hit a few more and the tenor of the game certainly changes down the stretch.
• In fact, as you browse the box score, it's remarkable how even it is.  Except for the free throw disparity, both teams are almost interchangeable.
• I think I'll expand on this in a later post, but yet another slow start killed Georgia.  They played Gonzaga even for the final 35 minutes of the game, which is small consolation when the first 5 minutes saw the bad Bulldogs open a 12 point lead.
• I continue to be surprised by the poor outside shooting.  I really thought that was going to be a strength this season.  Djurisic and Gaines were a combined 0-7 from 3-point range.  Just a bad night overall for Kenny.  He needs to shake it off and move on.
• Keep shooting, J.J.
• A word about the Kenny Gaines foul is probably in order.  Sure, I'm a little biased, but I thought Knight's bluster about ejection was way over the top.  I think Gaines throwing his leg out was a natural reaction to being beaten so bad, not an attempt to hurt the other player.  Had a flagrant 1 been assessed, I wouldn't have complained, but I actually think the refs got it right.  I sure hope Perkins is ok, but I don't think there was any malice.  It was just an ugly collision.
• Jaylen Brown?  Is there a Jaylen Brown watching?  A competent small forward sure would have helped on both sides of the ball tonight.  One with Brown's talent may have been the difference.

I don't know if anyone expected Georgia to win this game.  I didn't.  Yet I still came away frustrated by...what, exactly?  Not the effort.  There's just an "it" quality that Georgia lacks right now.  They better shake this one off fast, though, because Minnesota is waiting, and an 0-2 trip to New York would be incredibly disappointing for this team.

Game card: Gonzaga

Opponent:  Gonzaga
Mascot:  Bulldogs
Primary color(s):  Blue and red
Record:  4-0
Best player:  Kevin Pangos
Line:  Gonzaga -14.5

Why Georgia will win:  Gonzaga has not played away from home yet, and their only win of consequence is over SMU, a team that just lost to Arkansas in tournament play.  After a slow start at Georgia Tech, Georgia has found their offensive rhythm.

Why Georgia will lose:  Gonzaga is 6th in the nation in points per game, 9th in rebounds, 1st in assists, and 4th in field goal percentage.  Georgia's defense isn't ready for a game like this.  Plus, tournament play in November hasn't exactly been kind to the Dawgs as of late.

What I think will happen:  Uh oh.  Gonzaga wins 86-66.

What I hope will happen:

From the now-you-know files

In making the case that Gonzaga is a must-win game (I'm not sure I agree), HoopDawgBlog tosses out a factoid that catches me by surprise:

The Georgia Bulldogs haven’t beaten a ranked opponent outside of the SEC since Fox’s initial team took down the then-ranked #20 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 73-66 in Athens.  Matter of fact, CMF’s teams have only won two games against ranked opponents since the departures of Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie.  In that same span of games, UGA has yet to beat a team ranked lower than 20th.

Tomorrow night would definitely be a good time to add to that number.

h/t hoopdawgblog.com

Where there's smoke...

...coaches resign.

Weird.  Do we have a fall guy?

h/t ESPN

Florida Atlantic: post mortem

Hey, listen...until my predictions go way off the rails (which they will), I have to brag when I get close.  Four more points out of Georgia, and I would have nailed it.  Marcus Thornton, I'm looking at you and your 4 missed free throws.

Some thoughts:

• Georgia only attempted 8 3-pointers.  With this team, that's a feature, not a bug.
• The defense, especially early in the game, continues to be a concern.  They're allowing way too much penetration, and they're giving opposing post players some pretty good catches in the lane.  That's going to become a big problem in New York if it's not fixed.
• I really like Yante Maten's soft touch around the rim.  He's not there defensively, yet, but he's going to be a scorer.
• When Thornton catches, gathers, and makes a controlled move, he's difficult to stop right now.  When he gets frustrated and just "goes," he stops himself.
• Speaking of Marcus, seeing him limp off and hobble to the locker room two minutes into the game was scary.  Glad he's ok.
• Another night, another jumper thrown backwards by Kenny Gaines.
• I loved pretty much everything we got from Kenny last night.  A nice mix of drives, mid-range jumpers, and smart 3-point shots combined with his usual level of defensive intensity.  He's the best player on the team right now.
• Eight more missed free throws.  This is absolutely, positively going to cost Georgia a game at some point.
• Fifteen more assists, though.  Not a mind-blowing number, but I'll take it.
• Georgia dominated the boards, too, which was a huge key to the success in conference play last season.
• I heard someone say Jaylen Brown was at the game last night.  I have no idea if that's true, but if he was, he would have had to be blind not to see the glaring hole at SF for this team right now.  He'd start tomorrow if he cared to.

There seem to be two iterations of the Georgia basketball team right now.  One is under control, runs the offense, and gets good shots - often near the rim.  The other is impatient - often playing to the level of a sloppy opponent - and rushes possessions, pushing tempo and settling for bad looks with plenty of time on the clock.  Fortunately, so far, it's been more of the first than the second.  Which team shows up in New York will go a long way to determining whether or not Georgia can come away with at least one win it desperately needs.

Game card: Florida Atlantic

Opponent:  Florida Atlantic
Mascot:  Owls
Primary color(s):  Blue and red
Record:  1-2
Best player:  Justin Raffington
Line:  Georgia -15.5

Why Georgia will win:  Florida Atlantic is not very good, and Georgia has rolled twice in a row against inferior competition.  Kenny Gaines is healthy and Marcus Thornton and Nemi Djurisic look formidable in the paint.  Charles Mann may be getting his groove back.

Why Georgia will lose:  Georgia might be looking ahead to New York.  Florida Atlantic actually has some decent size inside and has absolutely nothing to lose.

The Steg will rock like:  A Yo-Yo Ma concert.

What I think will happen:  No drama here.  Georgia barely breaks a sweat, winning 78-61.

Troy: post mortem

Troy is not a very good basketball team.  In fact, the guy I pegged as their best player finished the night with a pair of points on two free throws.

With that said, isn't it nice to see the Dawgs take care of business like they did last night?  No stress.  No drama.  Just a runaway win against a bad team.  In case you've forgotten, it doesn't always work this way.  Some thoughts:

• This time it was Georgia that came out on fire.  When is the last time UGA had 19 points at the first media timeout?  I don't know either.
• Georgia again had 4 players in double figures, with a fifth (Parker) a mere 2 points away.  Now seems like a good time to remind you that two seasons ago, only a single player averaged double figures.
• The Trojans transition defense was terrible all night.  Marcus Thornton's 8-11 shooting is impressive, but at least half of those were uncontested layups or dunks.
• On that note, congratulations to Marcus on his new career high.  As Fox correctly noted in his post-game interview, he could've had more if he'd hit some free throws.
• My brother, who went to the game with me:  "Kenny Paul Geno must burn 10,000 calories every game."
• He's right, of course.  Geno is all effort, and he seems to have a slight edge over Forte at the 3 spot, but that's not saying much right now.  It looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of 3 guard lineups out of Fox.
• Musa Abdul-Aleem was aggressive and looked for his shot all night, which worked out well for Georgia, since he finished 3-10.  Pass the ball, son.
• Wesley Person, Jr. was Troy's best player by far.  He's going to be a good one for them this year and beyond.
• Kenny Gaines looked 100% to me last night.  Forget his 12 points and 7 rebounds for a second.  He had 4 blocks, one of which involved throwing a 3-pointer back over Person's head.  Watching Kenny play defense is fun.
• Nice pass, Nemi.
• Dusan Langura has played about a minute each in the exhibition game and the wins over Stony Brook and Troy.  In each game, he has taken a shot the first time he touched the ball.  Keep shooting, buddy.  You deserve it.

Forget that it was against lesser competition for a second.  The first 10 minutes last night showed how good Georgia can be.  After that, things got a little sloppy, and the Dawgs played down to the competition for a bit before putting them away.  The game was literally never in doubt, though, and that was nice.  Now it's on to Florida Atlantic before things get real in Madison Square Garden.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

Game card: Troy

Opponent:  Troy
Mascot:  Trojans 
Primary color(s):  Crimson
Record:  1-1
Best player:  Kevin Thomas (though Wesley Person, Jr. is coming off a monster game and has NBA pedigree)
Line:  Georgia -17.5

Why Georgia will win:  As they showed against Stony Brook, Georgia knows how to squash bad teams.  The scoring is distributed, which prevents the long scoring droughts the Dawgs have suffered in years' past.  If they contain Kevin Thomas and Wesley Person, Jr., there is no one left who can beat them.

Why Georgia will lose: Georgia can't handle success.  Troy just went to Ole Miss and hung with the Rebels, so they won't be scared.  Kenny Gaines still isn't ready for prime time.

The Steg will rock like:  A newborn's cradle.

What I think will happen:  Georgia will keep beating the teams they are supposed to beat.  Once again, it won't be a masterpiece, but Georgia wins 73-60.

Ogbeide is a Dawg

Mark Fox finished strong in the fall signing period by signing Derek Ogbeide, a big man from Mableton, Georgia.  Either a 2* or a 3*, depending on where you look, Ogbeide is a nice piece, and the Dawgs managed to beat out Memphis (among others) for his services.

While there are no Top 100 players in the class (yet), everyone who is committed addresses a position of need.  Assuming Mann and Gaines both return for their senior seasons, Fox will send out a team that's deep at both guard spots and big enough down low.  That's a winning formula in college basketball.

There is also one scholarship remaining.  The dream scenario, of course, has Jaylen Brown taking that spot.  No matter what, though, it'd be nice to see Fox take a win-now approach with that opening.  That means either an instant impact freshman (which is hard to find in the spring), or an experienced graduate transfer.

Regardless, Fox is off to a much better start this fall than last.  Welcome to the family, Derek!

h/t Seth Emerson

Fox gets it

Say what you want about Mark Fox, but he seems to get it this year:

“We should feel good about it. I don’t feel great, because I feel like last week I let everyone down,” Fox said. “Last week’s loss felt like 20 losses. So now it feels like 19.”

He's talking, of course, about the win over Stony Brook as compared to the loss against Georgia Tech, a game most of us feel like Georgia could have and should have won.  Fox thinks so too:

“We played with composure and poise, offensively. If we had played that way last week, we’d have won by 12,” Fox said. “But we didn’t. It took a loss to get us to understand we have to play that way.

I like a few things about Fox's comments.  First and foremost, there's an acknowledgment that these early season games mean something.  Second, there's an understanding that Georgia fans really, really want to start beating Georgia Tech in basketball.  Third, there's a great deal of confidence in coming out and saying you should have won a game at Tech by 12.

The Tech game is water under the bridge at this point.  It's time to move on.  But if Fox wants to offset the other 19 losses he refers to, I'm fine with that...

h/t Seth Emerson

Stony Brook: post mortem

Here is what I said in my game prediction:  "Georgia will come out motivated to beat the November blues.  Stony Brook may push them for a half.  Georgia wins 80-67."

That, of course, was pure luck, but it turned out to be pretty darned accurate.  Some early hot shooting kept a game Stony Brook team close, but in the end, Georgia was just better.  Don't be fooled by the final score - this game was not close.  Some thoughts:

• For the second straight game, an opponent came out red hot against Georgia.  This time, though, the Bulldogs found some points of their own to avoid a big early deficit.  That was nice to see.
• One coach had difficulty settling on a lineup and substituted at almost every dead ball.  Sound familiar?  Well, this time it wasn't Fox.  I don't know how the Stony Brook players were expected to find any rhythm when the substitutions were a revolving door all night.
• Georgia had five players in double figures.  When's the last time that happened?
• 14 assists on 21 made field goals.  The passing wasn't quite as crisp, but I do like the trend.
• The game was over the moment Mark Fox put Kenny Gaines on Carson Puriefoy, who was the only real scoring threat the Seawolves had last night.  After a 21 point first half, it was garbage time before Puriefoy scratched again.  Kenny is an elite defender at this point, and it's fun to watch.
• Yante Maten looked a little better than he did against Tech, but he's struggling to defend without fouling right now.  That's not uncommon for a freshman.
• Of course, not fouling was a challenge, as there were 54 penalties called.   The refs were having so much fun they just didn't want the game to end...
• The free throw shooting continues to be a concern.  If the Dawgs hit just 8 or 10 more (they were 33-48) the game is a true runaway.
• What to say about Charles Mann right now?  He got to the line a lot, which is what he does, but he is still struggling to finish at the rim.  If those layups start going down, look out.
• Thornton didn't finish real well either, but he was close, and I wouldn't worry yet.  He was one rebound from a double-double, so you won't hear me complaining.
• Play(s) of the night:  Juwan Parker twice splitting double teams and dishing to Maten on the baseline for dunks.  Pretty.

This is exactly the performance Georgia needed.  Stony Brook is a likely tournament team as they are the favorites in the America East Conference.  There is still a lot to improve on, but let's enjoy the victory and head back to Stegeman Coliseum Friday night.  See you there.

Game card: Stony Brook

Opponent:  Stony Brook
Mascot:  Seawolves (sounds terrifying, actually)
Primary color(s):  Red
Record:  1-0
Best player:  Jameel Warney
Line:  Georgia -13

Why Georgia will win:  On talent alone, Georgia is the better team.  This is also the home opener.  The Dawgs are motivated to prove they're here to play in November.  Kenny Gaines is a couple days healthier.  This is a must-win game for UGA.

Why Georgia will lose:  It's still November, and Georgia has yet to prove they're aware these games count.  Stony Brook is actually a pretty good team, having won 23 games last season and played in the CBI Tournament.

The Steg will rock like:  A slight autumn breeze.

What I think will happen:  Georgia will come out motivated to beat the November blues.  Stony Brook may push them for a half.  Georgia wins 80-67.

Happy thoughts

Want something to feel optimistic about?  Look no farther than the Dawgs 16 assists on 26 made baskets against Georgia Tech.  The figure could have been higher, too, but for some abysmal shooting to start the game.

Even better, all but 3 of them came from guards.

Why does this matter?  Because this is an area in which Georgia was absolutely terrible last year, ranking an astonishing 331st in the nation in assists/game.

After the initial (and unwise) 3-point barrage, Georgia actually got pretty good looks at the basket last night.  Let's hope that's a trend that continues.

Georgia Tech: post mortem

I am tired of being the basketball step-child of Georgia, as I'm sure many of you are.  Mark Fox has to get that fixed.

With that said, I promised not to despair if Georgia lost this game, and despite some very negative emotions while down 15 in the first half, all is not lost.

The Dawgs need to find a way to win 8 non-conference games.  I was hoping this would be one of them.  Time to move on, but first, some thoughts and impressions:

• You can see why Georgia wanted Charles Mitchell so badly.  His on-court antics rubbed me the wrong way at times, but the talent is obvious.  The result almost certainly would have been different had he been in red.
• Cox was good too.  Those two in the post are going to win some games for Tech.
• With that said, it was Quinton Stephens that made the difference tonight.  We'll see if he stays hot, or if Georgia was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• Continuing to give Stephens open looks after his third or fourth made three was disappointing.  He wasn't about to create his own shot.
• Kenny Gaines looked good at times tonight.  If he really isn't at full strength yet, I think we can expect good things from him this year.
• Marcus Thornton was more good than bad, though he still throws up a head-scratcher now and then.  He is clearly most comfortable when he catches the ball in the post.  More of that, and less runners and threes would bode well for his season.
• I like the three guard lineup Fox chose to start the game, and J.J. Frazier continues to impress.  There are, of course, a lot of good things about Charles Mann's game, but he's yet to show anything to suggest he's taken a big step forward.
• I still believe Yante Maten will be great, but some foul trouble kept him from getting in any sort of rhythm.  On that note...
• The refs over-officiated a bit, in my opinion.  I didn't think one team benefited more than the other.  I thought the two worst calls of the night were on the charge by Juwan Parker, and then on the foul Parker drew by running into (I think) Cox.
• Nemi had a nice offensive game.  No bad ball-handling turnovers, and some nice moves around the basket.  His defense, though, was not stellar.
• Neither Kenny Paul Geno nor Cameron Forte did anything to make me miss Brandon Morris less, though Forte had a couple nice moments.
• Good job of limiting the damage of Georges-Hunt.   That was absolutely the right thing to do, and had you told me he'd finish with 11, I would have liked our chances.
• The camera crew found three pretty girls and went back to the well all night long. Guess they couldn't find any more. I don't think that will be a problem in Athens.

In the end, the game was lost in the first ten minutes.  For anyone hoping the scoring droughts were a thing of the past with this team, the start of the game was a rude awakening.  After an early 5-4 lead, Georgia played from behind the rest of the night.

As usual, though, Fox's kids didn't quit.  In fact, you get the feeling that if this game were played ten times, Georgia would win 6 or 7.  But it didn't work out tonight, so it's on to Stony Brook.

Have a good weekend, and I'll see you Tuesday night at Stegeman.

Action on Georgia

Interesting:

h/t www.vegasinsider.com

Game card: Georgia Tech

Opponent:  Georgia Tech
Mascot:  Yellow Jacket
Primary color(s):  Pee
Record:  0-0
Best player:  Marcus Georges-Hunt
Line:  Georgia Tech -3

Why Georgia will win:  Georgia Tech lost 45 ppg this offseason.  Meanwhile, Georgia returns almost everyone of consequence to a team that flourished on the road last season.  Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines form one of the best guard duos in the south, and Yante Maten looks like the real deal backing up Marcus Thornton who is the real deal in the post.

Why Georgia will lose:  The game is in Atlanta, and Kenny Gaines is ill.  Mark Fox has struggled to beat Georgia Tech, and there's no reason to think that will change tonight.  Tech has added a few nice pieces, including Georgia target Charles Mitchell, who will bully the Dawgs in the post.  Georgia's slow starts will continue to haunt them.

What I think will happen:  Georgia Tech will use one or two nice runs to grab a comfortable lead.  Georgia will be haunted by an unhealthy Gaines and will struggle to score.  76-64 Georgia Tech wins.

What I hope will happen:

The Tech game cometh

Make no mistake, Georgia Tech is a big game:

It’s only the first game. It’s not the most important game of the season. It just seems that way, given events of recent years.

Or maybe not:

 “The good news is it’s not life-or-death situation,” junior point guard Charles Mann said. “We need a win, and we want to do whatever we need to do to win. ... (But) we could live with the results if we play hard and play well.”

Either way, Nemi thinks they're ready:

“Now we’re settled, and we have experienced guys who know what it takes to win,” Djurisic said. “As soon as we get thrown in the fire against Tech, or any other opponent in the preseason, I think we’ll be able to do the things that we need to do in order to win.”

Me?  Put me in the camp that says a loss isn't the end of the world, but a win sure would be nice.  Sounds like Kenny Gaines will go, although I wouldn't expect to see the same guy we saw last February.  I'd settle for a nice 10-12 minute spark from him tonight.

Georgia can absolutely win this game.  We'll find out soon if the team is ready to shake off the early season yips that have plagued them the last couple of years.

h/t Seth Emerson

Tyndall to meet with NCAA

Donnie Tyndall will get his day in court:

Tyndall, 44, said late last week that he had not been contacted by the NCAA. However, he will meet with the NCAA on Tuesday and has retained the counsel of Stu Brown out of Ice Miller's Collegiate Sports Practice in Indianapolis.

Retaining counsel is often not a good sign, but it's no indicator of guilt either.  It will be interesting to see where this goes.

h/t ESPN

It can always be worse

Forget looking bad in your exhibition game...sometimes you actually lose.

Memphis, by the way, got some top 25 votes.  Not sure how many Christian Brothers received...

h/t ESPN

Welcome to Athens

As has been widely covered, two new Dawgs have joined the fold:  Will "Turtle" Jackson and E'Torrion Wilredge.  You should be excited about this.  Why?

Let's start with Turtle Jackson, who was once committed to the reigning national champion UConn Huskies.  Depending on where you look, he's a borderline Top 10 in-state talent (exactly the kind we've been begging Fox to keep in Georgia) and Top 150 national talent.  He's also saying things like this:

“A lot of other schools, when they recruit you, they tell you you’re the greatest player to ever come out, but you know that’s not true,” Jackson said. “Not everybody’s going to start in college, not everybody’s going to be the man. He was real with me and I love that.”

And this:

 “I had to sit back and tell myself, what would be best for my future,” Jackson said. “Going to Connecticut and sitting behind a guy for two years or going to UGA and working for a spot? I want to try to change the program. I want to see the respect for Georgia basketball rise, just like the football team and they want the same thing. I want to make a difference, do something different.”

Stop it, Turtle...you're getting me all riled up here.

So yeah, a kid who's good enough for UConn is staying home to try to change the culture of UGA basketball.  Turtle, glad you're coming to staying in Athens.

Then there's E'Torrion Wilredge, once a consensus Top 100 player who was injured and became something of a sleeper.  This guy fills the major need for the Dawgs next year, which is SF.  In fact, if he decided he wanted to graduate and play after Christmas, they could use him right now (no, this is not happening).  His signing will also soften the blow if Tevin Mack decides to go elsewhere.

Mack, along with PF Derek Ogbeide, are set to make their choices literally any moment now.  VCU and South Carolina are thought to be the leaders for Mack, whereas Ogbeide may very well end up in Athens.

Regardless of what happens, Jackson and Wilredge form the foundation of what can be a very, very good class for Fox.  He could easily turn this into a Top 25 class, which is exactly what the doctor ordered for Georgia basketball (especially if you-know-who were to shock the world and pick UGA).

So leave whatever the season may hold for tomorrow.  Today, let's be excited about some new Dawgs, and hopeful that Fox is well on his way to righting this ship.

Update:

 “One great thing about Turtle is he’s very driven to get better,” Fox said. “Most of the conversations with him were not so much about the recruitment as they were about, how can I get better? His first question would always be, how do you think I played? How can I get better? I love that approach that he has to the game. Very humble kid.”

I need a cold shower.

h/t everyone in the world

Mark Fox interview

Mark Fox sat down for an interview this morning.  Here it is if you missed it.

If you don't have time to listen, I'll hit some of the highlights:

• On playing a rival to open things up:  "You know your team's going to be pretty dialed in mentally..."  After the lackluster openings to the last few seasons, let's hope so.
• On why he likes his team:  "Finally we have some experience that returns."  This is a common thread in Fox's comments this fall.  Hopefully that experience translates into success.
• On his timeline for the season:  "The games in November and December are almost more important than that games in January and February."
• On the perceived strength of the SEC and Georgia's place in it:  "We did have two teams in the Final Four last year...and Tennessee advanced deep into the NCAA Tournament...and Kentucky tied us in the SEC and Tennessee was behind us."  He's right, of course, though all three of those teams handled Georgia fairly easily head-to-head.
• On the seniors:  "Now to have some seniors who can be leaders for us...we just have not had that."

He also says Kenny Gaines returned to practice on Sunday, but he's still not sure he'll be able to go Friday night.

I am really glad Fox is talking the talking re: the importance of non-conference play.  Let's hope the team can walk the walk starting this week.

Is Kentucky beatable?

Spoiler alert:  I don't think Kentucky will lost a single game this year.

Turns out I'm not alone:

"Those guys are unreal," Georgetown coach Chris Briggs told reporters after the Wildcats dismantled the Tigers 121-52 at Rupp Arena. "I told the guys in the locker room, [the Wildcats] could have beaten some NBA teams tonight, there's no question in my mind."

Some NBA teams? Really?

"I knew they were good coming into this game, but sitting out there watching it on the sideline, honestly I don't see how they're going to get beat this year," said Briggs, whose team saw Kentucky shoot 64 percent from the field and record assists on 32 of its 46 baskets. "I don't like to say that, because I know people have off nights, and things can happen and this and that, and injuries and things like that, but if they play like they did tonight, they're an NBA playoff team."

Coach Calipari said in a later tweet that he believes any NBA team would bury his Wildcats, and I happen to agree with him.  That debate, however, is not pertinent.  The question is whether or not any college team can beat them.  My heart says, "Oh, God, I hope so," but my head says no.

h/t ESPN

The road to the tournament

When Mark Fox was hired, he said it takes "5 or 6 years" to build a program.  With that in mind, I'd like to officially welcome you to year 6 of the Mark Fox regime.

I know it makes some Georgia fans uncomfortable to harbor any sort of expectations for the men's basketball team, but it's time to make the NCAA Tournament.  Period.

As a fanbase, we have been (relatively) patient as Fox has built the team his way, and now is when that has to pay off with a 2015 tournament bid.  Here are three ways that can happen:

1. Win every home game.  As a season ticket holder, I wouldn't hate it if this is the route they went.  There are 16 home games on the schedule, and sweeping all 16 would give Georgia wins over Seton Hall, Colorado, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Florida.  At that point, Georgia would only need 3 or 4 road or neutral site wins to punch their ticket.  Before you dismiss this as ridiculous, remember that Georgia was 14-2 in Stegeman last season, and one of those losses was the baffling choke job against Vanderbilt.
2. Avoid bad losses.  Barring anything disastrous, Georgia will likely be favored in close to 20 games this season.  Yes, that is a reflection on the conference as much as it is on Georgia, but by winning all of these games, Georgia avoids the dreaded "bad loss" blemish on the resume.  Mix in one or two upsets, and it becomes hard to leave the Dawgs out.
3. Win the SEC tournament.  The nice thing about playing in an automatic bid conference is that it's truly never over until it's over.

There's nothing revolutionary there at all, and if Georgia does go dancing, it will likely be due to a combination of #1 and #2.  My point is that it's there for the taking.  The team is sprinkled with veterans and the schedule really couldn't be better.

Don't be afraid of expectation and don't be afraid of hope.  The season is here and that, in and of itself, is reason for excitement.

Go Dawgs!

Remain calm

The exhibition was scary.  Kenny Gaines has the kissing disease.  Everyone forgot how to shoot.

These are all things we should set aside for the weekend.  Instead of thinking about all of that, let's watch this video of Georgia knocking Michael Jordan and the North Carolina Tar Heels out of the 1983 NCAA Tournament:

Have a good weekend, everyone, and think happy thoughts!

A squeaker in Gainesville

Just a reminder that, when it comes to exhibition games, it's about more than just the final score.  Unless you think Florida is only 9 points better than the might Barry Buccaneers, that is.

This is not to say there's nothing to be concerned about from a Georgia perspective, but the primary purpose of an exhibition for a team like Georgia is to experiment with rotations and see players at close to full speed.  You definitely don't want to lose, but margin is not much of a concern.

**Warning:  link contains excessive use of awful Florida color scheme.

h/t www.onlygators.com

Tennessee distractions

Did Tennessee continue a recent hot streak of disastrous head coach hiring by employing Donnie Tyndall?  Maybe.  Here's the story:

Need to handle expenses for a player before you can put him on scholarship?

Here's how you do it: You instruct the player to get an apartment near campus, enroll in classes and max-out on student loans. Tell him to get as much student-loan money as he can. Buy a nice TV. Hook an Xbox One up to it. Live life. Enjoy. And don't worry about a thing because those student loans will be "handled" down the road, one way or another.

Five years later, a booster will pay the balance off.

Maybe wait 10, just to play it safe.

"That's absolutely the way you'd do it," one coach told me Thursday. But, I'm told, that's not the way Tyndall -- or somebody connected to the Southern Miss program he ran from April 2012 to April 2014 -- allegedly did it, point being the first-year Tennessee coach now has some kind of mess on his hands.

Did he or didn't he?  I have no clue.   But the Tyndall hire reeked a bit of desperation when it was made, and you have to wonder if UT didn't vet him quite as well as they insisted they did.

h/t Garry Parrish

Exhibition: a post-mortem

Fletcher Page and Seth Emerson have some nice recaps of the exhibition up, so I'll try not to repeat too much of what has already been said.

The good:

• Yante Maten looks ready.  Sure, the competition wasn't stout, but he has good court awareness, he knows where the basket is, and he shows above-average touch around the rim.  These are all things most high school post players struggle with early on.
• J.J. Frazier was the best point guard on the floor.  He has a score-first mentality, too, which is what this team needs - especially without Kenny Gaines on the floor.  You can tell his finger is always on the trigger.  If he had it his way, he'd attempt 10 3-pointers per game.  He also had multiple steals and a blocked shot...just a really nice night for him.
• Marcus Thornton is primed for a big year.  He didn't play much (a combination of foul trouble and coaches choice), but when he did, he pretty much over-powered the (undersized) Georgia Southwestern defenders.
• There were open shots all night.  Hitting open shots is as important as getting open shots, but the looks were there.  The Dawgs seem to understand what Mark Fox wants them to do on offense...they just have to start cashing in.
• 16 assists.

The bad:

• Free throw shooting is still a major concern with this team.  It's 15 feet, fellas, and it's not moving.  Let's figure this out.
• Actually, ALL shooting is still a major concern with this team.  I suspect someone stayed late last night checking the rims for damage.
• J.J. Frazier was the best point guard on the floor.  This is no shot at J.J., but there was no evident improvement in Charles Mann's game.  On the second or third possession, Charles drove and kicked to a wide open Taylor Echols in the corner (it was beautiful).  Echols missed the shot, and it was almost like Charles said, "Forget this mess," and completely reverted back to bad Charles.  He turned it over way too much, and when he got to the rim, he couldn't finish.  He looked like he was sleepwalking.  Let's hope he just needs the bright lights of a regular season game to wake him up.
• No one wants the 3 spot.  Neither Cameron Forte nor Kenny Paul Geno did much to grab hold of the vacancy left by Brandon Morris.  Geno looks marginally improved, and he can jump out of the gym, but he's not yet the weapon that Morris was.  Forte had a couple of nice drives, but his range doesn't extend beyond about 5 feet from the basket.

The ugly:

• Georgia just couldn't finish in the paint.  Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Dawgs missed layups and chippies all night.  As sloppy as the game was, Georgia would have won by 20+ had they simply taken what they were given.

It's important to remember that this was an exhibition, and Mark Fox coached it as such.  Georgia Southwestern was playing to win, and good for them for doing so.  They also had a pretty nice contingent of fans, and they deserve props for that - Americus is not necessarily close.

Georgia didn't have Kenny Gaines (get well soon, Kenny), and bench players like Houston Kessler and Taylor Echols saw extensive court time.  There was absolutely no rhythm to the game because Fox spent so much time toying with lineups.  It was ugly to watch, but hopefully he saw what he needed to see.

Now we wait.  I have no idea what to expect next Friday.  Can this team beat Georgia Tech - even without Kenny Gaines?  Absolutely.  Can they lose by 20?  Absolutely.  We're a week from finding out what these guys are made of.

Repeat after me

It is not time to panic.  It is not time to panic.  It is not time to panic.

Be afraid

Another SEC team gets all they can handle in an exhibition:

Texas A&M got more than just an exhibition men's basketball game against Texas A&M-Commerce on Wednesday at Reed Arena.

The Lions led for a majority of the game and not until the Aggies began beating the Lone Star Conference team on the boards were they able to pull away 80-71.

I will refrain from any and all snark until I see what happens in Stegeman tonight...

h/t www.aggiesports.com

Tonight's exhibition

Fletcher Page does some good work in giving us a few things to watch for tonight.

He starts out talking about Charles Mann.  I've been tough on Charles and his jumper, but Fletcher hits the nail on the head when he talks about what needs the most work:

The former Milton High (Alpharetta) standout spent this offseason attacking the weaknesses in his game, particularly his assist-to-turnover ratio. Mann dished out 2.9 assists while committing 3.4 turnovers a game, a stat he says he wants to improve this season. 

“I’ve been watching film and tightening up on my ball handling skills,” Mann said. “I feel like I’m a much better player than last year and have improved my decision making as well.”

We'll find out soon enough if this is just happy offseason talk, but if he really has cleaned up that part of his game, look out.

Page also touches on my favorite offseason topic, the emergence of Yante Maten:

The early word is the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder has impressed with his ability to score in the paint and also to use teaching moments in a constructive manner.

Rumor is that Maten played well in the secret scrimmage against N.C. State.  I'm really looking forward to taking this kid out of the box tonight and seeing what he can do.

Go read the whole article, and I'll see you tonight in Athens.

h/t Fletcher Page

Kenny is questionable

I mentioned that Kenny Gaines did little more than shoot on the side during the open practice last week.  Turns out, it's mono:

Kenny Gaines, the team's dynamic shooting guard, has been ill and might miss the team's season opener on Nov. 14 against Georgia Tech. Gaines will definitely miss Thursday's night's exhibition game, and head coach Mark Fox said he was "a little pessimistic" about Gaines' availability for the opener.

Fox would not disclose the illness, though indications were it was mononucleosis.

On the one hand, I had seen speculation that it may be a suspension instead of an illness, so finding out it's the latter is good news.  However, Gaines is no worse than third on the list of players Georgia can ill afford to lose this season:

Gaines, a 6-foot-3 junior, was Georgia's second-leading scorer last year, and its main outside shooting threat. He accounted for 34 percent (52) of the team's made 3-pointers, and 32 percent of its 3-point attempts.

If he can't go, expect to see a healthy dose of Juwan Parker at shooting guard and (just a guess) Kenny Paul Geno at small forward.  You may even see some 3 guard looks with Mann, Frazier, and Parker on the floor together.  Fox does have Thursday night's exhibition to play with lineups ahead of the opener next Friday.

There's no sugar-coating this:  it's bad news.  Fox, more than ever, needs a strong start to non-conference play, and the oddity of playing Georgia Tech right off the bat may come back to bite him.

Get well soon, Kenny, will ya?

h/t Seth Emerson

Some incredibly important news

This is delightful.

I'm a huge Raftery fan, so sign me up for an "Onions!" t-shirt.

h/t ESPN

For such a time as this

You may assume otherwise because of this blog, but I am a huge Georgia football fan as well.  From kickoff to final whistle, you would be hard pressed to find someone more invested.  This past Saturday left me as disappointed as many of you surely were.  It got me to thinking, though - does Georgia basketball have a window?

If you choose to be intellectually honest, you probably didn't expect a national championship out of the football team this year.  There was way too much attrition on the defense, and the offense lost one of the best quarterbacks to ever strap it up between the hedges.  The end result is probably going to be a good-not-great season that ratchets up expectations for 2015.

So here we have the basketball team - forever the step-child of UGA athletics.  Expectations are modest, but higher than we're accustomed to.  The team is experienced and should be primed for at least two consecutive tournament runs.  Mark Fox seems to have gotten the message on recruiting and is starting to get some real talent committed to the G.

In a healthy athletic department, football and basketball should feed off of one another.  There's no rule that you can only be good at one or the other.  A challenging (but manageable) non-conference schedule means the Dawgs have a real shot at creating some buzz before SEC play rolls around.

If the football team beats Kentucky, that creates a monster matchup in Athens against Auburn on 11/15.  You know what happens the night before?  Georgia vs. Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Wouldn't it be nice if some of the tailgate conversation was, "Hey, did you see what the basketball team did to the Jackets last night?"  Fox and company have a chance, right off the bat, to convince folks that they are worth watching.

Slow starts in non-conference play have dogged Mark Fox since he got to Athens.  If he's going to change that narrative, now would be a good time to do so.  A 4-0 start heading into the game with Gonzaga would surely turn some heads - and some of them might even be in Athens.

The Pikeville measuring stick

Exhibition games aren't worth much, so we should take this with a grain of salt, but a night after Kentucky destroyed Pikeville 116-68, this happened:

...but the Vols came back from an early deficit to beat NAIA Pikeville 80-62 in their exhibition opener at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Donnie Tyndall has some work to do.

h/t The Tennessean