The problem with Charles Mann

It should be noted how highly I regard Charles Mann.  You have to think a lot of someone who is averaging 11.1/5.6/3.7 if you're then going to assert that there are problems.  That alone tells you I believe his ceiling is very high.

Let's also be clear that I admire Mann's attitude this season.  Someone whose season - through no fault of his own - has not gone as planned could pack it in and pout.  Charles has not done that.  He continues to play hard at both ends of the court and do whatever is asked of him.

With that said, there are problems.  Here's what I see:

1. Charles is not a point guard.  More than anything, his high turnover numbers suggest this.  He does not have elite ball-handling skills, and his court vision is lacking at times.  His career assist/turnover ratio is just under 1.  Unfortunately, until this season, Georgia has never had a better option at that position so Mann was tasked with running the point.  Until now, he was masked some of his inefficiency by playing with reckless abandon and getting to the free throw line at a fairly astonishing rate (over 8 times per game last year).  That is no longer happening because...
2. The referees have changed the way they officiate Charles.  The freedom of movement emphasis last year was the best thing that could have happened to Mann.  His lack of efficiency in the drive-and-kick game was compensated for by the fact that most of his drives ended in shooting fouls.  This year, the relaxation of that emphasis combined with (I believe) a conscious decision by SEC officials not to reward Mann with free throws on his more careless drives has led to a less trips to the line (down over 1/game) and a lot more missed layups.  Mann still drives looking for contact instead of looking to finish, and you can see the frustration when he doesn't get the calls.  This leads me to believe that...
3. Charles is struggling with his confidence.  More than anything, this is evident in his free throw shooting.  He actually started the year well, shooting well over 70% for the first seven games of the season.  However, as injuries have taken their toll and Charles has been forced out of the role he's played for the past two seasons, his free throw shooting has suffered.  Fortunately, the last two games have been better, and hopefully that portends good things down the road.

Keep in mind, I'm a fan, not a coach, so I could be way off base.  The good news is, all of this is fixable.

Coach Fox's offense is notoriously difficult to learn (but fun to watch when run correctly), so it's hard to blame Charles for looking lost now that he's playing more small forward.  The good news long term is that small forward is a much better fit for him.  With the addition of Turtle Jackson next season, Georgia will have a strong 2-deep at point guard (with a veteran Echols for emergencies), and Charles Mann will likely have a full offseason of training at small forward.  We can expect to see a lot more confident player.

As for the officiating, the best way to force their hand is to drive looking to score instead of just looking to get fouled (easy for me to say).  Many of Mann's drives end in wild shots that look designed to get a call, and that's no longer happening.  Getting to the basket (intelligently) and finishing is the best way to get the officials back on your side.

That Charles is averaging 5.6 rebounds per game and scoring 11.1 points while not playing his best basketball should ultimately be encouraging.  Charles - just like his team - has yet to reach his full potential, and that's ok.  That's the beauty of college basketball.

Just keep fighting.