I'm baaaaaaaaack

Listen, blogging is hard.  Blogging well is even harder.  Blogging well as a one-man show is nigh impossible.

I set a high standard for myself when I started this blog.  My goal was to emulate Get the Picture, the gold standard of Georgia football blogs.  I was shooting for short-form fan commentary on Georgia basketball and, to a lesser extent, SEC basketball.

I tried to write things I would want to read, knowing that no one out there was doing that for Georgia hoops.  It was always fun, but it was also much more time-consuming than I would have imagined.

Eventually, life just got in the way.  Things happened.  I got busy.  I stopped posting.  I considered for months putting up a final goodbye post, never imagining I'd have time to write again, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  I didn't want to slam the door.

So today, I'm cracking the door back open just a little bit.  The exhibition game is tonight, and my season tickets are sitting right next to me on my desk, and I'm just so excited to get this season started that I had to write something about it.  I still can't find a basketball blog I love, so I'll keep trying to create one.

I have no idea how frequently I'll be able to post.  It won't be like it used to, but I'll try to get game post mortems (my favorite posts to write) up as often as possible.  I'm not a coach or a tactician.  I'm a fan, and my writing will continue to reflect that.  Thanks to those of you who will see this and decide to read again.  I hope you'll interact with me.  We're in for a season of ups and downs, so let's ride it out together.

With that said, I clearly don't have time to get through a bunch of player profiles.  Instead, here's a question I have about each player on the roster:

• Charles Mann: how will the refs officiate him?  Two years ago, it was a free throw parade.  Last year, close calls were charges.  How the refs treat Charles is going to go a long way towards determining the Bulldogs' success this season.
• Kenny Gaines: can he stay healthy?  I know Kenny is tired of hearing about his foot.  When healthy, I believe Kenny is the best player on the team.  If he were 3 or 4 inches taller he'd be getting draft buzz.  A healthy season out of Gaines means trouble for the rest of the SEC.
• Yante Maten: can he pick up the rebounding slack?  Yante can score.  He can also block shots.  Can he replace Marcus Thornton's rebounding?  We shall see.
• J.J. Frazier: can he find shots now that the league is onto him?  After that explosion in Starkville last year, the league learned not to let J.J. shoot.  Can he still find opportunities?
• Juwan Parker: has the 3-point shot come around?  If he beats the yips, Juwan Parker might be the second or third best scorer on the team.
• Kenny Paul Geno: will the effort translate?  No one plays harder than Geno, and if that translates into production at the SF spot, it allows Parker to play his more natural position and takes pressure off of E'Torrion Wilridge.
• Derek Ogbeide: can he defend and rebound in the SEC? Ogbeide is a full grown man, and Georgia won't need him to score much.
• Turtle Jackson: can he find minutes?  Jackson steps into a guard heavy roster.
• E'Torrion Wilridge: can he shoot?  Word is that Wilridge may already have one of the better shots on the team.
• Mike Edwards: can he play big?  He IS big, but will he play that way?
• Houston Kessler: does he have some clutch 3's in his back pocket?  Kessler looked good shooting the ball in the open practice.
• Osahen Iduwe: is he a basketball player?  He's tall, and he's finally healthy, so now we find out what he can do.
• Brandon Young: can he score?  A tougher schedule likely means less garbage time this year.
• Connor O'Neill: will he play?

Those are mine.  What are yours?

See you at the game tonight!