Practice tidbits

Like a cold glass of water on a hot summer day, Marc Weiszer finally tosses some basketball news our way.  There are three videos - interviews with Mark Fox, Charles Mann, and Yante Maten - and a bunch of tidbits.  You should check it out, but I'll hit some highlights for you.

First, Mark Fox says what's on many of our minds:

“The goal for us is just to keep getting better,” sixth-year coach Mark Fox said, “but this is a team that I think can take another step forward if we stay healthy. We’ve got to continue to stay focused and really go into the season and the entire offseason with a response to success. …Do you stay hungry and driven after having some wins?”

Georgia has been slow out of the gate under Fox in the past.  This year, after tasting some success, it just can't happen.  From the opening tip, Georgia has to act like they belong.

He also continues cranking up the Yante hype machine just a little bit:

He’s shown good scoring touch around the basket and is a good rebounder.

“You see flashes where, `Wow, that play was easy for him to make,’” Fox said. “I think he’ll play significant minutes.”

It may just be coach speak, but don't underestimate a freshman post who knows where the basket is.  Some guys come into college as natural scorers (Trey Thompkins), and others go a full four years without ever really finding the cup (Chris Barnes).  If Maten can be more of the former, that can only be good news for Fox and company.  (as an aside, Yante looks pretty nervous in front of the camera, but here's betting he turns into a pretty good interview before it's all said and done)

Meanwhile, the effort to replace Brandon Morris is well underway:

With the dismissal this summer of starting small forward Brandon Morris after an arrest for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, the job at the “3” spot is “totally up for grabs,” Fox said.

The candidates include junior Cameron Forte and sophomores Kenny Paul Geno and Juwan Parker.

The 6-foot-7 Forte said he’s up to 217 pounds. He knows what’s key for him to be counted on.

“The key thing for me being on the court is me locking down and focusing more on my defense than my offense,” he said.

Fox said Georgia could turn to a three-guard lineup as an answer.

I think it's interesting Juwan Parker is mentioned as a candidate.  I would love to see more three-guard lineups out of the Dawgs this year.  Sounds like Fox may experiment with that after all.

And finally, two fantastic quotes from Fox.  The quote-of-the-day runner-up concerns the reason Fox didn't vote for his own team in the coaches' poll:

“You know what? We practiced so bad the day before I voted, I didn’t vote for them. I was mad at our team that day.”

The winner, though, concerns freshman Osahen Iduwe:

“He’s asked me to slow down,” Fox said. “He speaks five languages. I said I just need you to listen to a sixth. I don’t care if you can speak it, just as long as you can listen to it.”

Go check out the rest.

h/t Marc Weiszer

Player Profile: Osahen Iduwe

Previously:  Cameron Forte 
Previously:  Kenny Paul Geno 
Previously:  Houston Kessler 
Previously:  Dusan Langura 
Previously:  Brandon Young 

Osahen Iduwe

Photo Credit:  247sports.com

Height:  6'11"
Weight:  225
Position:  C
Year:  Freshman
Role:  Eraser

Overview:  First thing's first.  When researching Iduwe, you should consider the following searches:  Fred Iduwe, Osahen Iduwe, Fred Iduwe Osahen, and Iduwe Osahen.

Until he is officially christened Big Tabasco, this blog will henceforth refer to our new center as Osahen Iduwe.

Iduwe is relatively new to the game of basketball, but, as they say, you can't teach height, and he brings a lot of that to the table.  His high school numbers are what you'd expect from a very tall, raw young man playing against smaller competition:  lots of blocks and rebounds.  Fortunately, that lines up perfectly with what Georgia needs from the young man:  lots of blocks and rebounds.

Expectations:  It's almost impossible to know what to expect from a guy like Iduwe.  He is fairly new to basketball, and the level of competition is about to go way up.  Most nights, though, he'll still be the tallest guy on the court.

I'm guessing it is going to take at least a year or two before we see the best of Osahen, but that doesn't mean he can't contribute right away.  An elite shot blocker can change a game without ever scoring the basketball, and that's what I'm hoping to see right out of the gate.  Even if he blocks, contests, or alters 4 shots a game, that's enough to take 4-6 points off the opponents' score.

As for his offense, an offensive rebound and putback per game would be a great place to start.  If we ever see polished post moves from Iduwe, it won't be this year.  That's fine, because we have enough scorers on this team to get by.

You may recall I am ordering these by player impact.  I have Osahen as our tenth most impactful player for the upcoming season.  If he performs to his potential defensively, he could easily find himself in the top 5 going into the 2015 season.

2014-15 Stats I Could Get Excited About:  1.4/3.2/1.7 points/rebounds/blocks per game.

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

Atlanta recruiting

Mark Fox is tired of getting out-recruited in Atlanta.  How do I know?  Look at some of his talking points on the spring speaking tour.  There's this:

“I’ve got two native Atlanta guys on my staff now,” Fox said. “I think it’s healthy to have some change.”

And this:

“We started five guys from metro Atlanta. So I think we’ve made a lot of progress there,” Fox said.

His message to kids in the metro Atlanta area is clear:  we want you at Georgia.

Will it translate into more immediate recruiting success?  I don't know.  I'm pretty happy with the 2014 class as is, but neither kid is from Georgia.  The 2015 state class is, as discussed ad nauseum, absolutely loaded, so it won't take long to find out if kids and coaches are buying what he's selling.

Also worth reading in the linked article:  a story about Osahen Iduwe drinking a bottle of Tabasco sauce like it's water.  I'm not sure the correlation between "ability to drink Tabasco sauce" and post defense, but I hope it's strong.

h/t Seth Emerson

d more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/05/20/3112358/yasir-yante-and-the-fire-eater.html#storylink=ore here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/05/20/3112358/yasir-yante-and-the-fire-eater.html#storylin