Clemson: post mortem

Dawg fans, you deserve a pat on the back.  I expected to walk into an empty building last night, yet there I was stuck in traffic just hoping for a spot in the deck.  A 6:00 PM tip three days before Christmas turned into the best home crowd Georgia has seen all season, and the players made it worth the trip for everyone wearing red and black:

• If you were a neutral observer studying up on Georgia, who would you cite as their best player?  Yante Maten?  Good answer.  Kenny Gaines?  Another good answer.  How about their best scorer?  Maten?  Gaines?  J.J. Frazier?  The fact that these questions have no clear-cut answers tells you all you need to know about how dangerous Georgia can be.
• Clemson came into the game giving up 57 points per contest.  Georgia started and finished slow and still put up 71.
• The Tigers' offensive rebounding (they got 18 of them) is really all that kept what was a rout from becoming something far more embarrassing.
• If he doesn't already, Maten is eventually going to have the green light to take 3-point shots from the top of the key.  But for a sliver of his shoe on the line he hit one last night.  The way he has expanded his game in one season is remarkable.
• Clemson shot the ball poorly.  Some of that is just a team that doesn't score well, but some of it was also Georgia's defense.  The effort was inspiring, in particular on Jaron Blossomgame.
• Blossomgame scored the first 5 points of the game and he finished with...5 points, just a tick below the 16 he came in averaging.
• Georgia only missed four free throws, and two of them were by Frazier.  Weird.
• It was great to see Mike Edwards getting it done defensively.
• His jumper wasn't on last night, but on the season, Frazier has a 2.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.  That's getting it done.
• I continue to like what I see from Turtle Jackson.  Flashes of brilliance intermingled with flashes of looking like a freshman.  All combined the four scholarship freshmen logged 58 minutes in this game.  That will pay dividends.
• Nice to see E'Torrion Wilridge is confident enough to take that corner jumper.  Even nicer to see him make it.
• Derek Ogbeide is a work in progress on defense.  The fact that he was limited by foul trouble and still put up a 6/4/1 stat line is encouraging.
• Welcome back, Charles Mann.  Draining free throws.  Mostly good shot selection.  Solid defense.  Who knows if it's a trend, but it sure was nice to see.
• Osahen Iduwe logged a few good minutes.  He has a long way to go, but practicing against guys like Maten and Ogbeide can't hurt.
• Brandon Young getting greedy.  I like it.

A drama-free win in a packed Stegeman three days before Christmas.   It doesn't get much better than that.  Robert Morris probably won't demand the same attention, but these guys are playing well, so let's reward them with more butts in the seats.  It's just more fun that way.

Merry Christmas everyone.  God bless you and your loved ones.