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.

Clemson: gut feeling

My gut says Georgia is a much better team than Clemson and would roll them in front of a big crowd, but there won't be a big crowd tonight.  Will it matter?

My gut says Kenny Gaines gets it rolling again tonight.  Clemson will do everything they can to take Maten out of the game, so Gaines should get some good looks.

My gut says Mark Fox should keep a close eye on Jaron Blossomgame tonight, just in case the Alpharetta native hits the graduate transfer market next spring.

My gut says at least one of those baby hooks finds the basket tonight for Derek Ogbeide.

My gut says Georgia finds a way to 70 points against a slow, stingy Clemson team and wins the game.  Don't fail me now, gut.

Georgia Tech: post mortem

I was in Jacksonville for the Georgia - Florida football game this year, and I didn't have anything red to wear, so I bought a t-shirt.  I wore the shirt for that game (yuck) and the Chattanooga basketball game (ugh).  I decided to give it one more chance today, and it got it done.  This was a big win for my t-shirt:

• I didn't get a chance to put up a "gut feeling" post, but everything I was going to say would turn out to be wrong.
• I thought Charles Mitchell was going to have a big day: wrong.  I thought James White was going to have a big day: wrong.  I thought Georgia Tech was going to win the game: wrong.
• Admit it, though...when Quinton Stephens banked in that 3-pointer in the first half, you flashed back to last year and thought, "Oh no, not again."
• Going into the locker room down only 1 after getting nothing from Gaines in the first half actually felt pretty good.
• Starting the second half on a 9-0 run felt really good.  That's two games in a row where Georgia has come out smoking in the second half.  I'd love it if that became a habit.
• Georgia only shot 14 3-pointers, and I think that's a recipe for success - especially when J.J. Frazier hits 6 of them.
• Houston Kessler had good and (very) bad moments, but 5 offensive rebounds will always get you praise around these parts.
• Derek Ogbeide struggled like you'd expect a freshman playing his first real minutes to struggle, but the talent is evident.  He and Maten are going to be a scary pair in the post for the next two years.
• Less turnovers, more assists, and even on the boards.  I'll take that every single night.
• When Adam Smith hit those three bombs in quick succession and Georgia came out of it unscathed, that's when it felt like it might just be the Dawgs' day.
• Nick Jacobs is a large man.  Yante Maten did a fantastic job of denying him the ball, and I loved the quick double every time Jacobs got his hands on it.  It was obvious Fox didn't believe the Jackets could win the game from the 3-point line.
• And seriously, Yante Maten is a grown man.  He had an off night at the line, but it's easily forgiven considering everything else he's doing for this team.  And I love the fact that he threw that shot into the stands with .4 seconds left on the game clock instead of giving up the layup.  Play to the whistle.
• I also love the press Georgia showed in the last 4 minutes.  It caught Tech by surprise, ate some clock, and generated at least one turnover.  Excellent coaching.
• In fact, for a team that has struggled to close out games for years, Georgia did a fantastic job today.  There was very little drama.  They didn't turn the ball over, they (Frazier) hit their free throws, and they forced long possessions.  It was great to see.
• Brandon Young: on the board.

This was a good game, and Georgia can be so much better.  Will we see the typical after-finals surge out of the Bulldogs?  Let's hope so.  For now, it's just nice to be back on top of the nerds.

"Now, she just texted me and the phone's back on. We're good now."

Frustrated by missed free throws?  Here's a novel approach:

"Man, my mom turned my phone off after the game we just lost," Davis, who made 18 straight free throws in Wednesday night's win, said. "She was mad. Talking about my free throws and all this other stuff.

"She said 'Why are you missing free throws and all these jump shots?' So she just turned my phone off and she told me 'Get it together.'"

 I think we can all agree that Trey Davis's mom is a national hero.

[www.masslive.com]

Winthrop: post mortem

I admit, my heart sank when I realized Kenny Gaines hadn't started (it took me a few minutes of game time to notice he wasn't out there).  Not just because it made me feel worse about our chances, but also because the injury bug just hasn't been fair to Kenny.  Here's hoping it's nothing too serious:

• Another fast start for Georgia.  I hope this becomes a trend.
• And a fast start after halftime.  The 7-0 run to start the second half was as important to the outcome as anything else.
• What else is there to say about Yante Maten at this point?  He's pretty much doing everything, and Winthrop had no answer for him.
• Actually, I do have something else to say: Maten is clearly a guy who decided to take pride in his free throw shooting, and look what has happened.  Last year he was a 65% FT shooter, a number that ticked up as the year went on.  This year he's shooting 80%, and he's shooting 88% in the last 4 games.  It kept Georgia in the Seton Hall game, it won the Oakland game, and it helped last night.  It matters.
• The game is just so much easier when you hit your free throws.  Georgia made 29(!) of them last night.  If they hit their normal percentage, it would have been 5 less points, and it would have been a completely different game.
• I really liked the lineup with J.J. Frazier and Turtle Jackson in the game together.  Maybe a little sneak peek at next year.
• Jackson looks quick and confident out there.  Good news, since he probably has no idea what he's doing.  His shots aren't falling yet, but that will come in time.
• As for Frazier's shots, I think they'll start falling too.  He's getting good looks, and he needs to stay confident.  That's generally not a problem for shooters.
• How long do you think it's been since Charles Mann missed two bunnies at the rim like that?  Middle school?  It didn't cost the team, so shake it off.  His 9/10 performance at the FT line suggests that it didn't bother him all that much.
• He's only played 5 minutes so far, but you can tell how Derek Ogbeide is going to change things when he's healthy.  He's a grown man.
• Good for Mark Fox for letting the young guys play through some adversity.  When Roderick Perkins got hot and sparked that 8-0 run, Fox let his guys fight through it.  That kind of thing is going to pay off down the road.
• In fact, I appreciated his treatment of all the freshmen last night.  Mike Edwards had more minutes than Kessler, and should really be taking that starting spot (unless Ogbeide gets it first) before long.
• Toe looks more and more comfortable too, but oy vey, those free throws...
• Keon Johnson was as good as advertised.  Georgia was in his business all night and he still found a way to get 21 points.
• When the flagrant 1 was called on Okeke, I stood up and cheered.  It was a big play, and I was excited.  The guy behind me smacked me in the back and yelled at me to sit down so he could see.  He is a Georgia fan.
• Worse, he is a season ticket holder, so I'm stuck with him.  Time to win and get some fresh fans in the doors...and hopefully get rid of some of the old ones.  Oh, and I'll keep standing when I get excited.  If you want to sit through the game, SEC Network has you covered.

Good win over an average team.  Now things get real again.  Georgia Tech comes to town having beaten Georgia 4 times in a row.  They'll be favored to get a fifth.  If Georgia has any designs on an NCAA Tournament berth, the next 3 games are probably must-wins.

Get your butt to Stegeman if you can.  More Georgia fans means less Tech fans.  And by God, stand up and cheer when something exciting happens.

Winthrop: gut feeling

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have no idea what's going to happen in this game.  I am miles away from having this team figured out.

Watch out for Keon Johnson - don't need my gut to tell you that.

See you there?

Kansas State: post mortem

That one hurts.

If you're the team, nothing changes.  Your goal should still be a 20-win season and an NCAA Tournament berth.  Every loss has been close enough that it's clear you're competitive.

As a fan, however, I found myself recalibrating my expectations for this team on the long drive back to Atlanta.  It is early, but the Bulldogs have put themselves in a very bad situation.  Unless something changes fast, do you really see this team beating Georgia Tech and Clemson?  Me either:

• Was it goaltending or basket interference?  Yes, it probably was.  On the one hand, this game never should have come down to the last second.  On the other, it would have been nice to get that call and escape, and it's completely insane (especially after last year's NCAA Tournament) that it's not a reviewable play.
• Dean Wade isn't bashful, and he won his team the game.  He could have shut it down after a bad first half, but he kept shooting.  The fact that he was able to get two wide open looks in crunch time when he was clearly Kansas State's best option was...frustrating.
• Yante Maten: beast.
• That first half showed you what Georgia can be.  Unfortunately, so did the second half.
• Georgia gave up 16 offensive rebounds, was outshot 59-51, and missed 8 free throws.  Deja vu all over again.
• Mike Edwards is learning on the job, and he's having a tough time on the floor, but it's going to make him a better player.  A couple late offensive rebounds made his potential pretty obvious.  He just needs to get stronger.
• E'Torrion Wilridge looks lost on the floor right now, and that's a shame.  I'm sure it's partially because he doesn't know what he's doing - he's only played 6 games, after all.  However, some of it is because he's scared to make a mistake.  It's hard to blame him, because...
• ...Turtle Jackson came in 10 minutes into the game, went around a pick and took the ball straight to the basket for a layup, completed a brilliant no-look pass to Yante Maten the next time down the court for an assist, and then turned the ball over and committed a bad foul that led to a 3-point play.  In other words...he did what talented freshmen do - he flashed his potential, and he made mistakes.  What did Fox do?  He immediately yanked him off the floor, and Jackson only saw 4 more minutes all night.  I may write a longer post on this later, but it's insane.
• For what it's worth, Wade (a freshman) had a pretty bad first half, but Bruce Weber let him play 30 minutes, and we know how that turned out...
• I am hard on Houston Kessler around these parts, but his rebounding was pretty good.  His defense?  Still plenty of room for improvement...
• Great to see Ogbeide get a few trips down the floor.  Hopefully that is ramped up into meaningful minutes on Tuesday night.
• Osahen Iduwe needs to learn to stay on his feet on defense.  You're almost 7' tall, my man.  Defend without fouling.
• I guess I'll just give up on seeing much zone.  The last time it was employed extensively, Georgia cut a 10 point Seton Hall lead to 1.  We've barely seen it since...

So what now?  I have no idea.  I'm going to keep going to the games, but I worry that most Georgia fans have probably lost interest already.  The intrigue of a new football coach easily trumps a mediocre basketball team in Athens.

But it doesn't have to be this way!  The team we saw in the first half was an NCAA Tournament team.  Period.  Had that team come back out of the locker room, we'd be having a very different conversation right now.  Had they played close to that level all year, we'd be 6-0 and excited.

But they're not, and we're not.  They're 3-3, and we're uneasy.  Keep grinding.  See you Tuesday.

Kansas State: gut feeling

My gut says any revenge theme is probably overplayed a bit tonight as most of last year's Kansas State team (including Marcus Foster, pictured) is gone.

My gut says the Wildcats are closer to the team that scraped by South Carolina State than they are to the team that was leading North Carolina in the last 4 minutes.  Either way, they can't be taken lightly.

My gut says the crowd is tepid again tonight, which would be a shame.  This is the first true road game for a young Kansas State team.  It's the kind of game a good crowd can really affect.

My gut says we see more zone in this game.  Kansas State hasn't shot the ball very well, so turning it into a 3-point contest might not be the worst thing.

My gut says Houston Kessler starts again tonight.  My brain has no idea why.

My gut says Georgia finds a way to win this game in the 60's.

Oakland: post mortem

That was a fun game.  Nerve-wracking?  You bet.  Even more so because of its importance to Georgia.  A loss to Oakland may very well have been a "bad" loss on a tournament resume, so consider that a bullet dodged.

But really, that was fun.  Those boys from Oakland can score, and defense would appear to be optional:

• It's not often you survive a 3-point barrage the likes of which Max Hooper put on Georgia last night.  The 7 makes matches his career high.  And just for perspective, that was a career high for a kid who pretty much exclusively shoots 3's.  He has taken 281 shots in his career.  270 were 3-pointers.
• Then there's Kahlil Felder.  And Jalen Hayes.  And Percy Gibson.
• Oakland deserves a lot of credit.  They played at 100 mph, and they were always ready with a big shot when it looked like Georgia might pull away.  Georgia's biggest lead of the night was the final margin: 4.
• Jalen Hayes was like John Brown, part 2.  Yante Maten was the only one with a prayer of guarding him, and he even made Yante look silly a time or two.
• But Yante definitely got his.  He's given Georgia everything they could ask for in the past two games, and yet he has so much room to improve.  Remember: he's just a sophomore.
• Oh, and he's shooting 78% at the free throw line.  You know that gets me excited.
• A solid performance at the line overall thanks to the team going 6/6 down the stretch.  That's how you close a game.
• After a Femi Olujobi foul in the first half, a frustrated Coach Kampe (who apparently forgot to pack the top half of his suit) yelled quite loudly, "32 can't score!"
• 32 is Mike Edwards, and he finished with 14 points.  Give the kid credit, he's been thrown into the deep end and he's learning on the fly.  Extra credit for the breakaway dunk.  His angle didn't look great and the defender was there and then boom he just threw it down.  Incredibly athletic.
• If Edwards isn't starting in place of Houston Kessler this Friday, Fox is seeing something I'm not.  The Kessler family is full of great Dawgs, but the gentleman next to me put it best after one of his many defensive lapses: "He's just not D-1."
• Georgia ceded 13 offensive rebounds again.  Still too many.  I'm more and more anxious to see Ogbeide.  I hope he helps cut that number down a bit.
• Our post defenders are leaving their feet too often.  Edwards and Kessler are particularly guilty here, and it's leading to a lot of fouls and three point plays.
• Welcome back, J.J. Frazier.  23/4/6 with 1 turnover.  That's winning basketball.
• And doesn't this team look better when they run?  Frazier led some masterful breaks last night, and while some credit has to go to Oakland's atrocious defense, ad libbing led to some pretty good looks.  Meanwhile, the half-court sets continue to bog down.  Fox may have to loosen the reins a bit.

Let's credit Georgia for playing well on a tough night.  Coach Fox remarked in the postgame presser that they were all shaken up over what happened to Coach Richt, and that makes sense.  The crowd was incredibly sparse (non-conference Tuesday night game after the head football coach is fired is not a recipe for huge crowds) and the opponent was game.  Despite all of that, they got a big win.

Next up is a good Kansas State team.  We are going to learn a lot about these guys Friday night.  If you can make it to Athens, do so.  These kids deserve our support.

Oakland: gut feeling

My gut says Derek Ogbeide gets a few minutes in this game.

My gut says Kenny Paul Geno has cooled off a bit since the trip to New Jersey, but I also don't think it was fluky.  His shot looks pure right now.

My gut says J.J. Frazier finally hits a few bombs tonight.  That would certainly be nice.

My gut says we see more zone defense tonight as Fox tries to adjust to the new officiating landscape.

My gut says Oakland wins the game with some good outside shooting.  I haven't seen enough from Georgia yet to feel confident about this one.  I sure hope I'm wrong.

Seton Hall: post mortem

That's a tough loss, but it won't go down as a bad loss.  This Seton Hall team isn't going to light the Big East on fire necessarily, but they also won't melt down like last year's version.  That would have been a great road win, but if Mark Fox can bring that same team home with him, there's a chance to win every remaining non-conference game on the schedule:

• Tonight you saw what Yante Maten can be.  Eventually, the shots were going to start falling.
• The Charles Mann roller coaster continues.
• Kenny Gaines only took 10 shots.  That's just not enough for the team's best scorer.  And yes, Seton Hall had something to do with that, but Fox has to find a way to get him more chances.
• Kenny Paul Geno: where did that come from?  If he can start hitting that long jumper consistently he becomes a surprise weapon for the Bulldogs.
• Where was this game lost?  The 13 turnovers weren't great, but Seton Hall's 13 offensive rebounds were killer.  Houston Kessler was handled on the boards all night.  Unfortunately, Fox doesn't have an answer until Ogbeide is healthy.  I sure hope the kid can clean the glass...
• Isaiah Whitehead is talented, but not always smart.  Two of the biggest daggers in the game were shots he never should have taken: the long three late in the first half and the long three late in the game.
• And since when is raking a guy across the face not a foul?
• But really, we'll just say Kenny Paul Geno's armbar evened that one out...
• The officiating was infuriating, and not necessarily because it was bad.  It was just totally inconsistent.  There were 41 fouls called in the game (a fine amount), but at least 30 of them were in the second half.  It's not fair to the players to officiate the first half one way, then come out and officiate the second half completely differently.
• And before I get off the officials, that offensive foul against Charles Mann was baaaaad...
• Ok, one more comment: Seton Hall took 9 more free throws than Georgia, but that's because they pushed the ball into the paint.  Georgia hasn't all year, and they didn't again tonight.
• Whitehead was the leading scorer, but Khadeen Carrington won that game.  He hit difficult shot after difficult shot at critical times in the game.  Impressive.
• And if those 4 sophomores stick around for another year, look out.
• E'Torrion Wilridge disappeared again.  Mike Edwards was over-matched again.  It's going to take time with these freshman.
• J.J. Frazier is ice cold.  The three that could have tied it late looked money, and I'd let him take it again and again.  He'll find his stroke soon enough.
• Maybe Fox should have gone to that zone earlier.   It had the Pirates flustered.
• I confess, I normally hate play-by-play guys and color commentators, but I really liked Donny Marshall!  That was a pleasant surprise.

So where do we go from here?  The problems Fox needs to fix seem obvious.  First and foremost, Georgia needs to rebound better.  They were outshot by 8 in this game (and by 9 at the free throw line).  That just can't keep happening.

If Yante Maten keeps playing like he played tonight, that will help.  It can't be all Kenny Gaines.  This team needs another scorer (or two) to emerge.

Next up is a scary Oakland team.  If Georgia can run off 6 straight wins in the non-conference, things will be looking downright rosy heading into conference play.  Lose one or two, and you can probably forget about a return to the NCAA tournament.  The fact that one seems just as likely as the other tells you all you need to know about these Bulldogs.

High Point: post mortem

Well, that happened.

It's hard to know how to feel about this team right now.  Take the fact that Mark Fox teams always seem to start slow, add in the loss of veterans Marcus Thornton and Nemi Djurisic, then mix in the loss of two potential starters to injury before the season even begins and you have a recipe for disaster.  But "disaster" is a kind word for what we saw Wednesday night:

• We have to start with Charles Mann going 8-8 from the FT line, and the team going 17-20.  That won the game, and High Point's 7-17 performance lost it for them.  It was nice to experience the other side of that coin for once.
• It could have been even better.  Two of the misses were by Kenny Gaines and J.J. Frazier.
• Gaines only took 8 shots.  That's not even close to enough considering he's the only Bulldog who can put the ball in the basket right now.
• E'Torrion Wilridge showed a little more aggression, at least in the first half.  I liked it.  8 rebounds too.
• Kenny Paul Geno missed two bunnies.  Houston Kessler was a defensive liability for most of the night.  Those two have to play better, or we have to hope Ogbeide and Wilridge start taking their minutes very soon.
• 15 offensive rebounds for High Point.  That's 2 out of 3 games in which Georgia has rebounded very poorly.  Mark Fox teams win when they defend and rebound, so that's not a good sign.  Derek Ogbeide hasn't even taken the court and there's already real pressure on the young man.
• High Point attempted 20 more shots than Georgia.  Through three games, Georgia has been out-shot by their opponents 189-149.  Yikes.
• Georgia had 16 turnovers and 13 made baskets.  Through three games, Georgia has made 56 field goals and turned it over 47 times.  Amazing.
• J.J. Frazier had 8 rebounds!  Need to get him shooting better, but that ain't too shabby.
• From the start, it looked like it was going to be Georgia's night.  John Brown's first foul came mere seconds into the game.  Him being stuck on the bench contributed to Georgia's big first half lead and was a major factor in the Bulldogs' win.
• I say that because John Brown is probably going to be playing in the NBA next year.  Once Yante Maten was gone, there wasn't a person in Stegeman who could have guarded him.  If I see High Point on TV, I'll stop just to watch him play.
• Some ridiculous calls on Yante, too.  With that said, the refs probably would have called it the other way as well if we could have gotten the ball inside.  And with John Brown on the bench, Maten could have and should have had his way inside.  The refusal and/or inability to feed the post was maddening.
• Mike Edwards, on the other hand, was completely over-matched.  That was a redshirt senior bound for the NBA up against a true freshman and it showed.
• Sincere congratulations to Osahen Iduwe on his first collegiate point.  Here's to many more.

Georgia is 2-1.  What does that mean?  I have no idea.  On one hand, we're a hot Kenny Gaines and a cold High Point team away from 0-3.  On the other, we're a couple made free throws away from 3-0.

Next up is a Seton Hall team that just knocked off Ole Miss and shut down Stefan Moody.  If Gaines is the only Dawg that makes the trip, 2-2 is a certainty.

High Point: gut feeling

My gut says High Point's John Brown throws down at least once during this game.  As long as Georgia wins, I'll enjoy it.

My gut says this is a good matchup for Georgia.  High Point doesn't shoot threes in high volumes, so a zone defense could be effective and help keep the Dawgs out of foul trouble.

My gut says Charles Mann and Yante Maten will score more than 9 combined points tonight.

My gut says this is going to be a small crowd.  Ok, that's as much common sense as it is my gut.

My gut says this game is close for a half, but that Georgia pulls away for a double-digit win.

Murray State: post mortem

You win some, you lose some, and Kenny Gaines puts you on his back and drags you to victory in some.  It's clearly not a sustainable strategy, but it was good for at least one night:

• If there was any doubt who the best player on the Georgia roster is, that doubt was erased against Murray State.  The combination of explosive offense and suffocating defense you get out of Kenny Gaines is unmatched in the locker room.  I've said it before: if Kenny was three inches taller we'd be talking about him as a late first rounder.
• Had you told me Maten and Mann would combine for 9 points, I might not have made the drive to Athens at all.
• Their nights felt different, though.  Charles was a victim of his own shot selection (that is to say...it felt poor).  Yante just couldn't get anything to roll in.  I liked the looks, though, and they'll go in more often than not.  Remember, he's just a sophomore.
• The rebounding was so much better than in the Chattanooga game.  Maten, Mike Edwards and, surprisingly, Houston Kessler were all strong on the glass.
• I wonder how often J.J. Frazier has missed two consecutive wide-open threes.  The whole arena thought the second one was going in.  Keep shooting J.J.
• The free throw story was better, largely due to who was taking them.  Maten and Mann still have work to do, and they're going to be at the line a lot this year.
• Kenny Gaines: 10 field goals.  The rest of the team: 7 fields goals.
• Lots of missed bunnies tonight, too.  This game could have easily been a 20 point win for Georgia.
• E'Torrion Wilridge had an incredibly quiet 16 minutes.  He's going to be really good once he gets more comfortable, but he just wasn't assertive at all against the Racers.
• It helped that Murray State just isn't a high volume 3-point shooting team.  They had some nice looks but didn't knock them down like the Mocs were able to.
• Brilliant spin move by Wayne Langston that made Yante Maten look silly on defense (hard to do).  Then he tried to go to the well again and Maten blocked it easily.  Fun to watch.
• Osahen Iduwe needs to keep his feet on defense.  He tends to get himself in the air.
• Only 10 turnovers.  Much better.
• The defensive strategy against Georgia is going to be pretty obvious from here on out: blanket Kenny Gaines.  Can guys like Mann, Maten, and Frazier take advantage?  If they can, Georgia becomes a very dangerous team.
• Traffic-wise, these Friday games are brutal.  Just brutal.

Another scary game next Wednesday.  The crowd will be light, and High Point is no joke.  So if you can, bring the family to Stegeman Coliseum and make a little noise.  These guys are fighting hard.

OK then

My gut was right about at least one thing...

Murray State: gut feeling

My gut says this game is a must-win for Georgia.  Of course it technically isn't - there is no such thing this early in the season.  But a loss here tells me this team has problems that aren't going to be easily fixed.

My gut says Georgia Basketball Blog is right: the new officiating strategy is going to hurt Georgia, at least at first.  The additional trips to the line will be cancelled out by an inability to consistently hit free throws and the necessity to play softer defense.  I think the NCAA has over-corrected so far, and I hope they're able to find a happy medium.

My gut says Kenny Gaines has a big game tonight.  I suspect he's been stewing over those offensive fouls all week.

My gut says Georgia would be looking for win number 2 if Juwan Parker was healthy.  Unfortunately, that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon...and maybe ever.

My gut says, unless there's foul trouble, Houston Kessler gets less minutes tonight and Mike Edwards gets more.

My gut says Georgia wins tonight - barely.

The season ain't over

It hasn't even started yet.

For those of you tempted to write off the Bulldogs after one loss, remember, it can happen to anyone.

Make some noise in Stegeman on Friday, and let's get the train back on the tracks.

Chattanooga: post mortem

Let's start by saying the season is not over.  This isn't football.

Let's also point out, as many have, that Chattanooga is a pretty good team that's probably going to win their conference and go to the NCAA tournament.  It's not an embarrassing loss.

With that said, Georgia should have won this game.  Georgia beat this same team by 31 points two years in a row, and Chattanooga is not 31 points better than they were last year.  It was a disappointing home opener for a Georgia team hoping to "take the next step:"

• Thanks to Friday traffic (these weekday drives from Alpharetta are brutal), it was already 11-3 by the time my butt hit my seat, and the energy had been completely sucked out of the building.  Credit the Mocs for that.  They didn't come to play, they came to win.  Their team - and bench - brought energy all night long.
• If Georgia defends the 3-point line as poorly as they did last night, it's going to be a long season.  Vanderbilt might win by 100.
• Here are some numbers explaining the Georgia loss:
• 21: turnovers.  7 for Charles Mann.  Ugh.
• 17: number of missed free throws.  Chattanooga missed 11, but about half of those were in overtime.  If Georgia takes care of business at the line, they don't just win - they blow the Mocs out of the building.
• 16: number of minutes for Kenny Gaines before he fouled out.  Is the result different if Kenny is on the floor for 30 minutes?  Almost certainly.
• 15: number of offensive rebounds given up by Georgia.  If you're not defending the 3-point line, and you're not rebounding, what are you doing exactly?
•  Does the fact that E'Torrion Wilridge got 26 minutes mean Fox thinks he's farther along than the other freshmen, or is it just that injuries and fouls dictated that strategy?  My guess is a little bit of both.  Fortunately, there was more good than bad with Toe.  Now get in the gym and shoot a couple hundred free throws.
• I'd rather see more of Mike Edwards and less of Houston Kessler.  Kessler is a great kid, but his minutes feel wasted.
• Keep shooting, Kenny.
• Keep shooting, J.J.
• Keep working, Yante.  Way more good than bad out of him tonight, and remember, he's just sophomore. 
• Does Juwan Parker make a difference if he plays tonight?  I'm betting he does, particularly his experience on the defensive end.
• A word on the officiating: it was painful.  It reminded me of the atrocity that was Georgia's loss to Davidson in Charleston two years ago.  Just like then, officials are trying to adjust to the new points of emphasis this season.  Let's hope things settle down a bit.  Basketball is a game of rhythm, and even though the score was much higher, I doubt anyone particularly enjoyed watching that game last night.
• Another word on the officiating: it did feel a tad uneven at times, yes (Chattanooga was called for more fouls, sure, but Georgia was way more aggressive in trying to get the ball inside), but when you blow as many chances as Georgia did at the line, you're not allowed to complain about the zebras.
• As bad as it all was, but for a circus layup by (I think) Casey Jones, Georgia still wins the game. 

Because of the schedule, Georgia is a team without much margin for error.  That margin just got slimmer.  Wins will not be easy to come by this year, and I think the Dawgs need at least 8 in the non-conference.  There are no gimmes.

See you next Friday.

Season predictions

We're only 1 day away from tipping off the 2015-16 men's basketball season.  Let's celebrate with some wild, unfounded, and completely worthless predictions from yours truly!

1. Georgia will average over 70 points/game this season.  It will be the first time they've done that since 2006-07 under Dennis Felton.
2. Georgia will lose at least one non-conference game they shouldn't.
3. Georgia will win at least 20 games for the third season in a row.  It will be the second time in program history, and the first under a single coach.
4. Vanderbilt will continue to annoy me by shooting 57 3-pointers per game.  Move the arc back already!
5. Kentucky will win the SEC regular season, but they will not win the SEC tournament.  Whereas last year's team was one of the most talented in history, this year's version strikes me as somewhat overrated...but still very, very good.
6. Georgia will not earn a double-bye again this year, but they will make it back to the SEC tournament semifinals.  This isn't because Georgia is getting worse.  The conference is just getting better.
7. Georgia will be one of the last four in, and they'll finally win an NCAA tournament game - in Dayton.  It will be the first NCAA tournament win for Georgia since 2002.
8. Six SEC teams will make the NCAA tournament, and three of them will still be alive in the Sweet 16.
9. None of them will be alive in the Final Four.
10. Arizona will cut down the nets after beating North Carolina in the championship.  This will be Roy Williams' last chance at a title as the program buckles under the weight of intense NCAA sanctions as a result of the academic ha ha just kidding he's untouchable.

If I remember I'll check back on these after the season so we can all get a good laugh at how far off I was.

And feel free to play along at home.

Is it time for basketball to make a move?

Photo credit: Red and Black

It pains me to say it, but Georgia football may be wandering the wilderness for a few years.  An uninspiring win over Kentucky aside, things are not going well on the gridiron.

I have to ask, though: is this an opportunity for basketball to expand its footprint?

There is no rule stating that a school can only have one good major sports program, and while Georgia will be a "football school" for the foreseeable future, the current state of affairs makes me think another tournament run out of the basketball team might add valuable numbers to the fan base.  I became a fan for life in college, and 15 years later I'm a devoted season-ticket holder putting money back into the program.  A healthy program will add new fans like me every year.  Why might this be a critical season?

Last year was actually fun.  The Ole Miss and Arkansas games were great environments.  The team went to the tournament and played an eventual Final Four team without embarrassing themselves.  On top of that, the Kentucky game, a loss, was the most fun I've ever had at a live sporting event, and I guarantee a lot of new fans were minted that Tuesday night.  I promise you last season piqued some interest.  Another fun year, and the program could really pick up some momentum.

The home schedule is no joke.  There are some interesting teams coming to Stegeman Coliseum this year: Clemson, Kansas State, and Georgia Tech, just to name a few.  The names are good enough to get a few hundred fans per game that wouldn't otherwise be there.  Wins would keep those fans coming back.  Stegeman is an incredible experience when there's energy and excitement.

The freshmen look promising.  You know what gets fans even more excited than the present?  The future.  Winning now is critical, but getting people thinking, "Hey, we're going to be really good in a year or two," is just as important.  Every freshman showed something during the exhibition game, and there's reason to believe the future is bright.  Let's hope these guys build some big leads so Mark Fox can show off what the young pups are capable of.

Just to be clear, I don't want the basketball team to steal football fans.  I want football fans to see that what's happening in Stegeman is worth paying attention to.  If Georgia can run off 7 or 8 wins to start the season - a real possibility - things might get fun fast.  Stay tuned.

Armstrong State: post mortem

What did we learn last night?  Almost nothing!

Winning is not the goal of an exhibition game for a team like Georgia.  Not losing while learning as much about your team as possible is the goal, and I think Mark Fox accomplished that.  Ignore the final score.  Georgia isn't quite "name the score" good, but they could have put 80 points on the board without much difficulty:

• Nice turnout.  If you moved everyone to the bottom bowl it would have been nearly full.  Not bad for a meaningless basketball game at UGA.
• Fox had all 4 scholarship freshmen in the game less than 10 minutes in.  It's immediately obvious that this is the most talented class he's brought to Georgia.  Each one had at least one "moment" in the game:
• Turtle Jackson had a steal and breakaway dunk for Georgia's first field goal of the game.  That came on the heels of a Michael Edwards blocked shot.
• Edwards had several nice moves in the post, and while he'll struggle against teams with more size, the skill is very evident.
• E'Torrion Wilridge canned his first jumper (a 3) and had the dunk of the night after driving baseline in the second half.
• Derek Ogbeide, who seemed to struggle the most of the 4, had two nice, assertive post moves, one a miss and one the final basket of the game.
• Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann are...well...Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann for all the good and bad that entails.  And it's way more good than bad...
• Houston Kessler passed up a couple of 3-point shots he could have taken in rhythm, and he missed another after he thought way, way too hard about whether or not to shoot.  He needs to be more assertive.
• Juwan Parker is still struggling with his outside shot.  That may be something he never solves in his time at Georgia.
• Iduwe looks healthier, but he's not ready.  I don't think we'll see many meaningful minutes out of him this year.
• Perhaps my favorite moment of the night: Kyle Callanan driving towards the basket, seeing Yante Maten waiting, and choosing to jump, turn, and throw the basketball out of bounds as opposed to challenging him.  Honestly, it was probably the right choice.
• Good work on the video board.  The "get to know the players" segments were fantastic - so much so I was actually disappointed when I missed one heading for the bathroom - and the hype video with 4 minutes left gave me chills at the end of a blowout exhibition win.  Any time is a good time to use that Kenny Gaines dunk against Kentucky...
• And good work on the halftime show.  I'm 34, and I admit I had to look up K CAMP to figure out who he is, but you know who didn't have to look him up?  Every college student at the game.  Ryan Cameron and K CAMP is certainly better than tricycle races...
• I stopped at the Wendy's off Loganville Highway and 316 and they had excellent counter service.  I point this out because I had literally never been to a Wendy's with good counter service before last night.  Normally a 3 person line at Wendy's is a guaranteed 15 minute wait, but I was in and out.  Oh, and the drink machines were not behind the counter.  Bravo!

Again, not much to learn.  Georgia did what they should have done against a completely over-matched team: blocked a ton of shots, grabbed a ton of rebounds, caused a ton of misses, and got out healthy.  The real fun starts next Friday.  See you there.

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!

Player profile: Connor O'Neill

Connor O'Neill

Height:  6'6"
Weight:  220
Position:  F
Year:  Freshman

Overview:  The picture you see is some guy named Conor O'Neill.  It is the first image that comes up when you search for "Connor O'Neill" using Google Images, and it is not the Connor O'Neill we care about around here.

Something called Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub & Restaurant comes up in a standard Google web search.  It is also not the Connor O'Neill we're after.

This is literally everything I know about Connor O'Neill, a preferred walk-on from Roswell, GA.

The Bulldogs need forwards (related:  I'd honestly rather be writing a James White profile, no offense intended to Connor), and O'Neill would seem to provide just that if his bio is to be believed.  It takes a little digging to find the Connor O'Neill we're interested in, but here's an actual picture if you're curious:

If you're Mark Fox, what you're hoping for here is a practice superstar.  You want someone to dog and pester and challenge and annoy E'Torrion Wilridge and Yante Maten and Derek Ogbeide and Michael Edwards all week so they're ready to go come game time.  O'Neill isn't going to see any meaningful time (barring catastrophic injuries or disastrous foul trouble), so he's going to have to make a name for himself an hour at a time during practice.

2015-16 Season Goals:  Assuming the Dawgs get a couple of comfortable wins, Connor could see 6-8 minutes of game action this season.  Hoist something up.  Get a rebound.  Commit a turnover.  Just book something in the stat line.  Anything to start sorting out these Google results.  He's up against a lot of Con(n)or O'Neills.

2015-16 Stats I Could Get Excited About:  0's.  Doesn't matter.  In this case, game stats don't tell the story.

Let's go Connor, and let's go Dawgs!

[GeorgiaDogs.com]

Player profiles

As I wind down my summer sabbatical (even though, yes, summer just started), I'm anxious to get back into player profiles - probably as soon as next week.

In the mean time, I've been enjoying the player previews posted at the Georgia Basketball Blog.  They have lots of great information, so if you haven't read them yet, go check them out.

I had to chuckle, though, when I started doing the math on the "expectations" section of the previews.  Here are the scoring numbers:

Mann:  15
Maten:  13
Gaines:  16
Frazier:  14
Edwards:  4
Ogbeide:  5.5
Wilridge:  7
Parker:  8 (healthy/yips)
Geno:  3
Jackson:  4
Kessler:  3.5

Add it up, and that's 93 points per game for our Bulldogs.  That'd be quite a leap for a Mark Fox-coached team.

Let's just say I'd take it no questions asked...

See you next week.  Enjoy your (hopefully) long weekend.

[Georgia Sports Blog]

Tennessee does it again

Oh hey, Tennessee, how's it going?  Not so good?

Not so good:

The University of Texas at Austin has hired an independent investigator following allegations of academic fraud within the men’s basketball program. The allegations were brought to light in an article published in the Chronicle of Higher Education last Wednesday.

The school announced Monday that it had hired former NCAA infractions committee member Gene Marsh to head the investigation—a decision made by the university’s new president, Greg Fenves.

The article highlights instances of academic fraud involving three former Texas players—Martez Walker, P.J. Tucker and J’Covan Brown—including one in which a professor saw Walker cheating on an exam but still allowed him to pass the class. Tucker was said to have received help on a paper while preparing for the NBA Draft, and a former academic mentor said that he helped Brown write papers on multiple occasions.

The allegations were made public just 13 days after the Longhorns canned head coach Rick Barnes, who is now head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers. On a conference call Tuesday, Fenvus told reporters that Barnes’ dismissal—which came after 17 years at the helm in Austin— was not a result of the allegations.

The Volunteers hired Barnes following the dismissal of Donnie Tyndall, who was fired after the university learned of his involvement into a series of academic violations that occurred during his tenure at Southern Mississippi.

Pretty remarkable run of hires Tennessee has going.  I'm sure, though, that they "vetted him" just as thoroughly as they vetted Tyndall, right?

[Deadspin]

“When we won a couple of those games how we won them...I just didn't think we'd lose."

If there's a silver lining to Georgia's loss to Kentucky in Stegeman last season it's just how painful it made the loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four:

"When we had a four-point lead with five minutes to go (against Wisconsin), I don't think there was anybody in the universe that didn't think we were winning the game, because we always did."

Fortunately, there were at least a few guys in red who thought they had a chance...

[Vaughtsviews.com]

This 2015 class

I've been quiet lately, but it's not because there's nothing to talk about.  So what did I miss?

Let's go all the way back to May 7 and a Marc Weiszer Q&A with Dan McDonald of Rivals.com.  In it, they talk recruiting, specifically the class of 2015:

ABH: The transfer of Cameron Forte opened up a spot on the roster. Who could Georgia add this late in the process for 2015?

DM: “The top option would be to get Tevin Mack, who just opened up (after signing with) VCU (before Shaka Smart left for Texas). He picked VCU over Georgia back in the fall, but I’m pretty confident when I say Georgia was the second choice then. They’re in pretty good there. He just visited (Sunday). Texas and Kansas are trying to get him, so that will probably drag out a couple more weeks.

The other option they’re looking at is a fifth-year post player from Arkansas Little-Rock named James White. He’s a pretty good player, originally from Georgia (Jonesboro). Those are the two main options right now at that spot.”

Off to a bad start here.  Let's pretend that question never happened...

Seriously, though, will the lack of a graduate transfer in the post go down as one of Fox's biggest misses in his time at Georgia?  My gut right now says the Bulldogs can overcome it with the talent on the roster, but leaving an open scholarship is something you almost never want to do, and Georgia has now done it two years in a row.  I don't think the whiff on James White is going to cost Georgia a trip to the tournament, but it will probably cost them a win or two along the way.

There's more good news than bad, though:

ABH: What do you like about what’s already assembled and signed in the 2015 class?

DM: “I liked that they added another ball handler in Will Jackson. He’s another versatile 6-5 guy who can play all three spots in the backcourt, kind of like Charles (Mann) does. Will is another guy that can shoot pretty well, and in college you can never have enough shooters. Derek Ogbeide was a huge get because he’s a guy that can come in and is physically ready to contribute right now, maybe not from a skill standpoint but from an athletic and strength standpoint he can come in and be a presence inside. Mike Edwards is the other post they got, maybe not next year he won’t be quite as ready to make a high impact, but off the bench he can play 10, 15, 20 minutes and grow into a good player. E’ttorion Wilridge, he basically replaces (former small forward) Brandon Morris. He’s kind of that 6-7 versatile wing that maybe can play the 4 for you. I think they did pretty well in this class.”

Two things excite me about this class.  One, Will Jackson and E'torrion Wilridge are both rumored to be good shooters, and as Dan says, you can never have too many of those.  Even with the losses of Djurisic and Thornton, Georgia shouldn't lack for scoring options this year.  Two, Derek Ogbeide seems like the real deal in the post.  He won't light the nets on fire in year 1, but if he can bring the defensive presence Yante Maten did last season, those two should be a nice duo down low.

So if we agree things are going better on the trail, the question becomes...why?

ABH: You’ve had high praise for Fox’s 2015 class and 2016 is off to a good start. Why is Fox having more success on the recruiting trail these days?

DM: “The first thing is obviously when you win, going to the NCAA Tournament this year and the NIT last season, those were steps in the right direction. Obviously that’s a big thing. The changes to staff with Jonas Hayes and Yasir being vocal guys — they just have bigger personalities to begin with. I think those two have done a good job vocally and closing the deal with these kids. They’re upgrades as recruiters. And the last thing, I think Coach Fox has changed a little bit. I think Jonas and Yasir have kind of changed him a little bit. He went outside of his comfort zone in hiring those two and I think it’s helped change him and for the better.

“One thing I think Coach Fox has always done is identify the kids early, but they’ve had a hard time closing out when it comes time to make the decision. I think they’ve done a good job helping that part out.”

This isn't rocket science.  The first answer is simply because Fox has hired better recruiters, and better recruiters recruit better.

The second answer is one I've been espousing around here since day 1:  just win baby.

[dobbytesonline.com]

Farewell, Marcus Thornton

Let's take a moment to appreciate those who won't be lacing them up again for the Bulldogs next season.

Previously:  Taylor Echols
Previously:  Cameron Forte
Previously:  Nemanja Djurisic

I regret that it has taken me so long to post this.  Marcus Thornton goes down as one of my favorite Dawgs to cheer for, well, ever.  The personal fortitude it took to overcome early illness and injury was remarkable.  That he did all of that while transforming himself from a high school small forward into one of the SEC's best post players is just incredible.

Marcus Thornton

Relevant Career Totals

• 133 games played
• 6.2 ppg
• 5.0 rebounds per game
• 36% 3-point

Now You Know

Marcus improved his free throw percentage every year on campus, from a low of 41% during his true freshman campaign all the way to a high of 69% during his redshirt senior season.  His attempts increased each season as well, peaking at 6.6/game.

My Favorite Marcus Thornton Moment

If it was hard to pick a single moment with Nemi, it's near impossible with Marcus.  His game isn't flashy.  Unfortunately, what could have been his best dunk instead turned into a season-defining play for Georgia (and not in a good way).

If pressed, though, I'd say the disastrous tournament in Charleston stands out in my mind.  Why?  Because that's when a finally-healthy Marcus Thornton started to flash some of the post presence that would ultimately transform his career.  None of the lines he put up were spectacular, but the pieces started to fall into place.  The body was there.  The spin move was there.  The rebounding was there.

I left that tournament dejected, but I also left thinking, "Hey, Marcus may be onto something here."

It's too easy to get lost in what-ifs with Marcus.  What if he had been healthy from the start?  What if his knees never gave out?

Let's not play that game.  Instead, let's be thankful we had Marcus at all, by all accounts as good a citizen off of the court as he was a player on it.

Farewell, Marcus.  You're a DGD, and you're welcome around these parts anytime.

Swing and a miss

I normally like to keep things positive on Friday, but yesterday news came down that James White would be playing his senior season of basketball at Georgia...Tech.  This is a baffling decision on so many levels, and it admittedly scuffs up my spirited defense of Mark Fox's recruiting from a few weeks ago.

White averaged 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks last season at Arkansas-Little Rock, and he said he was looking for a place to go and make the tournament in his senior season.

Georgia is coming off a tournament berth, returns most of their key players, and has a glaring need in the post (where White plays).  White would have made them a near-lock to return to the tournament in 2016.

Georgia Tech is a sinking ship.  They finished near the bottom of the ACC, their coach is a dead man walking, and their one position of relative strength is the one White will try to man next season.  He'll be competing for playing time with Nick Jacobs and Charles Mitchell, and, you heard it hear first, he will not go to the NCAA Tournament.

So what went wrong here?  In recruiting, you always have to account for the "kids do strange things" factor.  With Tevin Mack, it was pretty clear from the outset that he liked Georgia just fine, but he didn't love Georgia.  With White, though, it felt different.  Every indication was that he was all but a lock in Athens, and Mark Fox even got his final visit.

I have no inside information, so I can't answer the question.  I can tell you, though, that Fox has to fix it.  You could probably build an all-star team out of the kids for which Fox has finished second at this point.  Are we not doing something on our official visits that other schools are doing?  Are we getting over-confident and not closing the deal like we should?

I don't know, but I know it's time to fix it.

[AJC]

Mack to Texas

Tevin Mack is gone to Texas, which should come as no surprise.  That doesn't make it any less disappointing.

The pitch he cited was the ability to play right away.  Either Wilridge scares him, or that's just an excuse.  He never seemed to love Georgia, so it could be he's just saying the right things.

Regardless, Georgia still has one spot, and if it gets filled, it'll be a graduate transfer.  Don't be surprised if James White steps into that spot.

Head on over to Georgia Basketball Blog for the full recruiting skinny.

[ESPN]
[Georgia Basketball Blog]

Farewell, Nemanja Djurisic

Let's take a moment to appreciate those who won't be lacing them up again for the Bulldogs next season.

Previously:  Taylor Echols
Previously:  Cameron Forte

Nemanja Djurisic

Relevant Career Totals

• 131 games played
• 8.6 ppg
• 4.4 rebounds per game
• 36% 3-point

Now You Know

Since 1997-98 (the time period available at www.sports-reference.com/cbb), Nemi is top 20 in career SEC minutes played (3188), offensive rebounds (209), and defensive rebounds (372).

My Favorite Nemanja Djurisic Moment

It's hard to pick one moment with Nemi, and that's simply because there were too many great moments to choose from.  His skill was evident from the first time he took the court, and his improvement was steady and, ultimately, quite dramatic by the time his senior year rolled around.

I loved his little soccer volleys before inbounds plays.  I loved his shooter's mentality (the next one is always going in).  I loved his slow-but-effective European post moves.

But my favorite moment comes from way back in January, 2014.  That's when Georgia announced themselves as a player in the SEC by going on the road and beating Missouri, and it never would have happened if not for Mr. Djurisic.

Farewell, Nemanja.  You're a DGD, and you're welcome around these parts anytime.

Scheduling news

Georgia will play at Baylor on January 30th as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.  ESPN has it as the 6th best game in the lineup.

Quick:  what is Mark Fox's record against ranked opponents as coach of the Georgia Bulldogs?

My math says 7-29.  That is...not good.  Odds are that Baylor will be ranked, and we will be in their gym, so it's an excellent chance to pick up a big time non-conference win in front of national TV eyeballs.

I guess what I'm saying is, go ahead and circle that one on your refrigerator magnet.

[Ledger-Enquirer]
[ESPN]

Farewell: Cameron Forte

Let's take a moment to appreciate those who won't be lacing them up again for the Bulldogs next season.

Previously:  Taylor Echols

Cameron Forte

 

Relevant Career Totals (Georgia only)

• 64 games played
• 3.7 ppg
• 2.4 rebounds per game
• 1 offensive rebound per game

Now You Know

Forte was extremely productive considering his relatively low playing time.  He averaged 13.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks for every 40 minutes on the court.  Cam was instant energy off the bench, and his numbers bear that out.

My Favorite Cameron Forte Moment

The game winner against Alabama, right?  Actually, no.  That was a huge shot (perhaps the biggest of 2014-15), but my favorite moment came on January 17th in the wire-to-wire victory against Florida.  Highlight not available, unfortunately, but Cam caught the ball at the free throw line, put it on the floor, went left, and spun to the basket for a layup.  It was one of many "no no yes!" moments from Forte, and it produced two of my favorite points this season.

Farewell, Cameron.  You're a DGD, and you're welcome around these parts anytime.

Farewell: Taylor Echols

It's hard to turn the page and focus on 2016 before the class of 2015 is even finalized (and we all hope it is not), so let's take a moment to appreciate those who won't be lacing them up again for the Bulldogs next season.

Taylor Echols

 

Relevant Career Totals

• 48 games played
• 1.4 ppg
• 36% three point percentage

Now You Know

Taylor attempted 65 shots in his career and only three of those shots were from inside the 3-point arc.  He was 0/3.

My Favorite Taylor Echols Moment

Georgia was without Kenny Gaines in the 2015 SEC Tournament semifinal match-up against Arkansas, and everyone had the Razorbacks winning.  Turns out everyone was right.  No one told Echols, though, and he scored 10 points (15% of his career output) in the second half to keep things interesting.  Having a national TV audience watch you rain threes in the SEC Tournament isn't a bad way to end your career.

Farewell, Taylor.  You're a DGD, and you're welcome around these parts anytime.

Jaylen Brown to California

Jaylen Brown has committed to California.  Most Dawg fans saw the writing on the wall a while ago and knew he wasn't coming to Athens, so there's no need to be too upset.

In fact, instead of being upset, just find your closest Tennessee Volunteer and remind them that the guy they ran out of town is bringing in two top 10 recruits along with a 4-star small forward and a 3-star wing.  That should make you feel better.

And if you're still in the dumps, just mull this over:

On the flip side, Brown continues a surprising run of misses for Kentucky this spring. John Calipari and the Wildcats have now missed on all of their five-star targets in the last month, including Brandon Ingram (No. 3), Cheick Diallo (No. 7), Malik Newman (No. 10), Stephen Zimmerman (No. 12) and now Brown.

[ESPN]

One more roster spot

Seth Emerson reports that Georgia is 'actively' trying to fill that last roster spot:

"We're still actively looking, and recruiting some guys," Fox said Tuesday before the UGA Day in Albany. "So you shouldn't be surprised if we fill it. It's gotta be the right guy. So you shouldn't be surprised if we don't (use the scholarship.) But we'll see where it goes."

Ok, so Mark Fox hedges a bit, but clearly if the right player says he wants to be a Bulldog next year it's going to happen.  So who might that be?  Georgia Basketball Blog has some thoughts.

I'll let you read the whole write-up, but it sounds like James White and Tevin Mack are the most likely to fill that spot (and in that order) followed in a distant third place by Kobe Eubanks.  So who would you like to see in red and black next year?

Put me squarely in the Tevin Mack camp.  I know all the talk is about how thin Georgia is in the post, and that's true, but I think Mack makes Georgia a Sweet 16 contender as soon as next season.  That means I believe Yante Maten and Derek Ogbeide (with just a pinch of Osahen Iduwe, a sprinkle of Houston Kessler, and a splash of Michael Edwards) can hold down the interior next year.

Mack brings big-time scoring at the 3 position to a team desperately in need of big-time scoring from the 3 position.  If he wants a program which he can elevate, and which can return the favor by putting him in the NBA, he doesn't have to look any farther than Athens, GA.

[Ledger-Enquirer]
[Georgia Basketball Blog]

Donovan out at Florida

Billy Donovan - unless he pulls a Billy Donovan - will be the next head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Let's not mince words here.  Donovan was an all-time great hire by Florida who pulled a moribund program up from the muck and mire and made it elite.  Replacing him will not be easy.  The fact that it's nearly May complicates things more.  Does Florida try to go steal a coach now, or do they turn it over to Anthony Grant for a year?  If they do give it to Grant, does he have a chance to earn the job (please make this happen)?

The SEC coaching ranks got a lot weaker today, but Georgia's position in the conference likely improved.  I'm happy to make that trade.

Best of luck to Coach Donovan in the show.  I suspect he'll do just fine.

[ESPN]

Donovan to the NBA?

Sorry for the light posting.  It's not you, it's me.

Just wanted to check in and note that the Billy Donovan to Oklahoma City rumors are not cooling off.  That would certainly have the potential to shake up SEC power rankings over the next few years.

[ESPN]

Georgia's assistants just got paid

All three of Mark Fox's assistance coaches got a very nice bump in pay.  The tournament berth surely had something to do with that, but the uptick in recruiting success hasn't hurt, either.

Jonas Hayes, in particular, was instrumental in landing Yante Maten and Michael Edwards, two big-time players out of Michigan.  Yasir Rosemond and Hayes look like they'll be a nice one-two punch on the recruiting trail as long as Fox can keep them in Athens.

Pearson is no slouch, either, as he was the lead recruiter on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope a few years ago.

[Ledger-Enquirer]

Forte out

In news that will likely surprise no one, Cameron Forte will transfer after he graduates.  Statement from Cam:

“I am extremely grateful to the University of Georgia and Coach Fox for giving me the opportunity to represent this institution on and off the basketball court,” Forte said. “This summer I will graduate and believe it is in my best interest to play my last year of collegiate basketball at an institution closer to home. I am thankful to my teammates, the UGA Athletic Association, academic staff, and coaches for the outgoing support over the last two years. Go Dawgs!”

Forte and Mark Fox were oil and water from the beginning, and Forte's practice habits in particular drove the head coach nuts.  With that said, no one loved game day like Cam, and I, for one, will miss him.

Bon voyage, Cam.  We'll always have this:



[Bulldawg Illustrated]

In defense of Mark Fox: winning, losing, and the postseason

Previously:  Program stability
Previously:  Recruiting

Just win, baby.

Want to keep your job even though things seem shady now and then?  Just win.

Want to keep your job even though you can't seem to recruit the big-time athletes?  Just win.

It is true and obvious, of course, in more than just college basketball that winning trumps almost everything else in coaching.  So has Mark Fox won enough to deserve more time?  I say yes.

Here is where program history matters.  If you expected Final Four berths and National Championships out of Mark Fox by this point, that's your problem, not his.  Do I want those things?  Yes.  Do I expect Mark Fox to build towards those things?  Yes.  However, those things take time.  It took Billy Donovan - one of the greatest coaching hires, well...maybe ever - 10 years to achieve those goals (and yes, he had more interim success along the way).

So let's look at Georgia program history, starting with the hiring of John Guthrie in 1973 (because you have to start somewhere):

Coach	Wins	Losses	%	Conference Titles	Tournament Berths	Tournament Wins
John Guthrie	46	86	35	0	0	0
Hugh Durham	298	216	58	0	5	4
Tubby Smith	45	19	70	0	2	2
Ron Jirsa	35	30	54	1	0	0
Jim Harrick	67	53	56	0	2	1
Dennis Felton*	75	80	48	1	1	0
Mark Fox	106	89	54	0	2	0

*Felton/Herman in 2008-09

The Hugh Durham years have to be considered the Golden Age of Georgia Basketball.  Tubby won at a high rate, but he only did it for 2 years.  Jim Harrick looked like he was building something, but then he did what Jim Harrick does...

So how does Mark Fox compare?  Not too badly.  In fact, his winning percentage and the program winning percentage match over the time span I laid out - 54%.  He trails Jim Harrick and Tubby Smith, but the sample size is very, very small with those two.

The program has 12 20-win seasons in its history.  Mark Fox owns 3 of those.  The current streak of two 20-win seasons in a row matches the longest in program history.

The program has 12 NCAA tournament berths.  Mark Fox owns 2 of those.  The longest streak of tournament berths in program history is 2 (accomplished three times) and Fox could match that with a berth next season (something I'm expecting).

Where Fox falls short, of course, is tournament wins - but just barely.  Some perspective is necessary.  Georgia has won 7 tournament games in its history, but has only won a game in 4 individual tournaments.  In 8 out of 12 tournaments in which they've participated, Georgia was ousted in their first game (including Fox's two).  Personally, I don't like to place a lot of emphasis on tournament wins.  Are they important?  Sure!  But there's a randomness to the tournament (that's what makes it great) that only the elite programs consistently overcome.

It may sound like over-simplifying, but the way to win tournament games is to make a lot of tournaments.  If Fox can do that, the wins will come.

To the naysayers, this will all sounds like excuse-making.  Believe me.  I get that.  But like you, I have no vested interest in making excuses for Mark Fox.  I just want to win, and right now, I believe Georgia is winning enough that the future is bright.

What Fox has done wouldn't be enough for an established powerhouse like North Carolina or Duke, but he has raised the level of play at Georgia to near-historic levels.  Now we want more.  Instead of just tournament berths, we want tournament wins.  We want Sweet 16's.  We want conference championships.

If you read my three-pronged defense of Fox, you know I think things are trending upwards.  He has the program on a solid footing, he's building depth that we haven't seen in many years, and he's creating a culture that won't just be satisfied with mediocre results.

So thanks for a couple of nice seasons, Coach Mark.  Now just keep winning.