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]

Player profiles: what it all means

We've finished our rundown of your 2014-15 Georgia basketball team, complete with glass-half-full thinking, wild, unfounded speculation, and uneducated fan rambling.  If that's your sort of thing, here are the links:

Guards:
Charles Mann
Kenny Gaines
Juwan Parker
J.J. Frazier
Kenny Paul Geno
Brandon Young


Forwards/Centers:
Marcus Thornton
Yante Maten
Nemanja DjurisicOsahen Iduwe
Cameron Forte
Houston KesslerDusan Langura

But what does it all mean?

Here's a table laying out all my statistical guesses:

Player	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks
Charles Mann	26	12.4	4.2	4.1	0
Kenny Gaines	26.5	15.4	2.6	1	0.5
Marcus Thornton	27	9.9	7.4	0.3	1.4
Yante Maten	16.7	6.1	5.3	0.1	0.9
Juwan Parker	20.5	7.3	3.2	1.6	0
Nemanja Djurisic	23	8.1	4.1	0.8	0.3
J.J. Frazier	15	6.5	1.1	2.3	0
Osahen Iduwe	11	1.5	3.2	0	1.7
Cameron Forte	13.5	5.1	4.7	0.6	0.3
Taylor Echols	6.3	1.1	0.3	0.6	0
Kenny Paul Geno	8.3	1.9	1	0.1	0.1
Houston Kessler	2.5	0.2	0.5	0.1	0
Dusan Langura	2.5	0.7	0	0.1	0
Brandon Young	1.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0
	200	76.4	37.7	11.8	5.2

A few notes:

1. Minutes per game are averaged out over a season.  In other words, I don't expect Brandon Young to play 1 minute in every single game.  Instead, I expect him to eat up about 1 out of every 200 game minutes, meaning he'll play 3 or 4 minutes in a few games, and 0 minutes in others.
2. 76.4 points/game would have tied Georgia for #47 in the country last year.
3. 37.7 rebounds/game would have tied Georgia for #41 in the country last year.
4. 11.8 assists/game would have tied Georgia for #241 in the country last year which, sadly, would be a huge improvement.
5. 5.2 blocks/game would have tied Georgia for #30 in the country last year.

Considering the style of basketball Georgia plays under Mark Fox, top 50 in scoring may be asking a bit too much.  However, the farther north of 70 points/game that number goes, the more likely Georgia is having a great season.

The good news for Georgia is that, in the end, basketball is not a complicated sport:  get good looks, don't turn the ball over, and don't give up offensive rebounds.

The first two points fall squarely on the shoulders of Charles Mann and, to a lesser extent, Kenny Gaines.  The third is on Marcus Thornton and his two young understudies.  Now ask yourself:  do you have faith that they can get it done?

I do, which is why I expect nothing less than a tournament berth this season.  What about you?

Player profile: Charles Mann

Photo Credit:  redandblack.com

Previously:  Kenny Gaines 
Previously:  Marcus Thornton 
Previously:  Yante Maten 
Previously:  Juwan Parker 
Previously:  Nemanja Djurisic 
Previously:  J.J. Frazier 
Previously:  Osahen Iduwe 
Previously:  Cameron Forte 
Previously:  Kenny Paul Geno 
Previously:  Houston Kessler 
Previously:  Dusan Langura 
Previously:  Brandon Young 

Charles Mann

Height:  6'5"
Weight:  215
Position:  PG
Year:  Junior
Role:  El Capitan

Overview:  At the Charleston Classic last year, I happened to sit in front of Charles Mann's mother.  On the monitors in front of us, we saw an advertisement for the upcoming Georgia - Davidson game (ugh), and Mann was used as the face of the Bulldogs for the promo.  I asked her if it was still weird seeing her son like that.  "It's still a little crazy," she told me.

She better get used to it, because this is Charles Mann's team.

Mann has NBA size, and maybe even NBA upside, but he doesn't quite have a full NBA skill-set yet.  He was a 3* recruit with quite a few major offers out of high school, and he was thrown into the fire pretty quickly at Georgia.

It was clear right away that he would round into an impact player, but there have been plenty of rough edges to sand off.  His jumper has never been a weapon, and he has a tendency to get himself in trouble on his drives, leading to turnovers or fouls.  In fact, early foul trouble had him riding pine in the first half of a few key games last year for the Dawgs (the SEC tournament semifinal leaps to mind).

When Charles is right, the offense can really hum.  When he's disengaged, things tend to stagnate quickly.  There are other scorers on this Georgia team, but no one who can initiate the offense quite like him.

Expectations:  I am really curious how Charles spent his summer.  If he spent it working on that jumper, then we can all expect big things from him this year.

We already know he will pile up some points (he was 11th in the nation in free throws attempted).  I suspect that trend will continue.  However, if he can prove to be a legitimate 3-point threat, the court will open up for him, and for Georgia.

Areas for Improvement:  This is probably obvious by now, but the outside jumper needs work.  He doesn't need to be deadly, but he has to force defenses to respect him.  He shot 31% from 3-point range last season (a slightly lower number than his freshman total, but with quite a few more attempts).  That needs to be closer to 35%.

It's also time to occasionally turn drive and shoot into drive and kick.  Getting fouled is a huge part of Mann's game, and there's no reason to try to take that away from him.  However, if he can get defenses to collapse on him, then, depending on rotations, he will have at least one of Kenny Gaines, Nemanja Djurisic, or J.J. Frazier camped behind the 3-point line.  Not a bad plan B if there's no clear path to the bucket.

Finally, it's time to raise the free throw percentage from 70% up to around 80%.  Simply doing that last season would have raised his per-game scoring average almost an entire point.  That's nothing to sneeze at.

2014-15 Stats I Could Get Excited About:  12.4/4.2/4.1 points/rebounds/assists per game.

That's the last player profile.  I'll wrap it all up later, but for now, let's go Charles, and let's go Dawgs!

Player profile: Kenny Gaines

Photo Credit:  dawnofthedawg.com

Previously:  Marcus Thornton 
Previously:  Yante Maten 
Previously:  Juwan Parker 
Previously:  Nemanja Djurisic 
Previously:  J.J. Frazier 
Previously:  Osahen Iduwe 
Previously:  Cameron Forte 
Previously:  Kenny Paul Geno 
Previously:  Houston Kessler 
Previously:  Dusan Langura 
Previously:  Brandon Young 

Kenny Gaines

Height:  6'3"
Weight:  200
Position: SG
Year:  Junior
Role:  Fire Starter

Overview:  If Kenny Gaines were 3 inches taller, we would be talking about him as a potential first round draft pick in 2016.  That's how high the ceiling is.

Gaines came to Georgia as a relatively modest 3* prospect out of Whitfield Academy in Georgia.  Rivals.com had him rated just outside the top 100 (127 to be exact), and during his freshman season, it was easy to see why.  There were moments when Gaines looked capable of taking over a game, and there were long stretches where he was just invisible.  A nothing-but-net 3-pointer would be followed by an airball.  From the beginning, it's been clear that Kenny is just a little streaky.

Last season, though, he got hot and stayed hot, especially from the 3-point line.  He twice hit 6 of them in a single game, and he led the SEC in 3-point percentage (45.1%) during the conference schedule.

Beyond that, his defense is stellar.  Just ask Marshall Henderson who, regardless of how you feel about him as a person, was the most dangerous scorer in the SEC the past two seasons.  If not for a really, really bad flagrant foul call his freshman season, we would be talking about how Kenny Gaines led Georgia to three victories over Henderson's Ole Miss teams.

Consider this 2 minute stretch in last year's game at Stegeman:

11:26		40-40	Kenny Gaines made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Juwan Parker.
11:24	Foul on LaDarius White.	40-40
11:24		40-41	Kenny Gaines made Free Throw.
11:08	Derrick Millinghaus missed Three Point Jumper.	40-41
11:08		40-41	Nemanja Djurisic Defensive Rebound.
11:00		40-41	Juwan Parker missed Three Point Jumper.
11:00		40-41	Donte' Williams Offensive Rebound.
10:29		40-44	Kenny Gaines made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Juwan Parker.
10:15	Ole Miss Timeout
10:11	Marshall Henderson missed Three Point Jumper.	40-44
10:11		40-44	Kenny Gaines Block.
10:10		40-44	Kenny Gaines Defensive Rebound.
10:10	Foul on Marshall Henderson.	40-44
10:10		40-45	Kenny Gaines made Free Throw.
10:10		40-46	Kenny Gaines made Free Throw.
10:02	Jarvis Summers missed Three Point Jumper.	40-46
10:02		40-46	Charles Mann Defensive Rebound.
9:31		40-46	Kenny Gaines missed Three Point Jumper.
9:31		40-46	Juwan Parker Offensive Rebound.
9:26		40-46	Juwan Parker missed Jumper.
9:26		40-46	Kenny Gaines Offensive Rebound.
9:11		40-48	Donte' Williams made Dunk. Assisted by Juwan Parker.

This was literally the most fun I had watching Georgia basketball last season.  The block at 10:11?  That was a Marshall Henderson 3-pointer (one of at least two Kenny blocked in that game alone).  The foul on Marshall Henderson immediately afterward?  A frustration foul, plain and simple.  This all happened in front of a sold out Stegeman which was as loud as it was all year after the 4-point play, and it broke open a game that would eventually be won by a single point.

The bottom line?  Kenny Gaines is good enough to take over a game at either end of the floor.  For Georgia to meet expectations this year, he's going to have to shake off the "streaky" label and bring it every single night.

Expectations:  This may be Charles Mann's team, but Gaines is no worse than co-pilot.  I expect big things from Kenny this year.

Offensively, Kenny is Georgia's biggest 3-point threat, so there can't be any regression in that area.  If that continues (and there's no reason to believe it won't), it opens the court up for Charles Mann.  That's huge since Mann is at his best when he's driving and getting to the line.

Defensively, Kenny is a pest, and I mean that as a compliment.  You stick Kenny on the other team's best scoring guard every single night.  If you like defense, you'll want to watch him work on that end of the floor.  He's tireless, and it's fun to watch.

Areas for Improvement:  Anything I say here will be nitpicky, but there are always thing to improve.

Kenny shot 77% from the free throw line, but his form is pure, and that number should creep over 80% this year.  I'd also like to see the 3-point percentage north of 40%, which would simply require a continuation of the way he was playing in conference last season.

Finally, I'd like to see a tad more aggression at the offensive end.  Gaines is athletic enough to get to the basket on his own, and if opposing defenses have to worry about him taking it to the rim, they can't over-commit to blocking his 3-point attempts.  In other words, it makes him a nightmare to defend.

2014-15 Stats I Could Get Excited About:  15.4/2.6/1/.5 points/rebounds/assists/blocks per game.

We're about 6 weeks away, folks.  Let's go Kenny, and let's go Dawgs!

Player profile: Marcus Thornton

Photo Credit:  redandblack.com

Previously:  Yante Maten 
Previously:  Juwan Parker 
Previously:  Nemanja Djurisic 
Previously:  J.J. Frazier 
Previously:  Osahen Iduwe 
Previously:  Cameron Forte 
Previously:  Kenny Paul Geno 
Previously:  Houston Kessler 
Previously:  Dusan Langura 
Previously:  Brandon Young 

Marcus Thornton

Height:  6'8"
Weight:  235
Position: PF
Year:  Senior
Role:  Pied Piper

Overview:  Marcus Thornton originally committed to play for Clemson after being named 2010 "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Georgia, but he was released from that commitment and allowed to come to Georgia when head coach Oliver Purnell left Clemson for DePaul.  Even though Mark Fox needed a little help to win the recruiting battle, it was a big get at the time.  Thornton appeared to be the kind of player that could come in and make an immediate impact.


He showed promise as a defender almost immediately during his freshman season, but Thornton's offense was nowhere near polished enough.  He looked timid and, at times, downright lost on the offensive end.  Nonetheless, he showed enough to get Georgia fans excited about his sophomore campaign.

Unfortunately, knee issues and mono took their toll, and Marcus never looked like the promising player he was coming out of high school.  Ultimately, a medical redshirt cost him most of the 2012-13 season.

Marcus easily could have packed it up at this point, but to his credit, he continued working hard and emerged in 2013-14 as a completely different player.  He led the team in rebounds, played tenacious defense, blocked shot, and flashed some quickness and fluidity on the offensive end.  Georgia's overall turnaround can't be credited to a single player, but the conversation probably starts with Thornton's resurgence.

I confess I'm not entirely objective on Marcus.  His quiet perseverance in the face of quite a bit of adversity (nagging injuries and sickness) have absolutely won me over as a fan.  I'll be sad to see him go, but I'm already looking forward to standing and applauding Marcus when Senior Day rolls around.

Expectations:  It's a good thing Marcus has broad shoulders, because there will be times when he has to carry this team inside.  Quite frankly, I expect a fantastic year out of the big fella.

His defense is fine.  Any improvement there should be considered a bonus.  The real question is what kind of improvement Marcus can show at the offensive end.  What we saw out of him last year was night and day from where he was his freshman season, but he still has issues finishing around the basket at times.  I suspect polishing up the post offense has been a point of emphasis with him, and I believe Thornton's scoring numbers will tick up a bit because of that.  Combine that with some steady defense, and he's a guy who could be in the team-MVP discussion once March rolls around.

Areas for Improvement:  Free throw shooting.  Marcus finished last season shooting 65% from the line.  That's a big improvement for him, and it got better and better as the season progressed, but he needs to keep working and get it closer to 75%.  The way Marcus plays, he will get fouled, and he has to make other teams pay when that happens.

2014-15 Stats I Could Get Excited About:  9.9/7.4/1.4 points/rebounds/blocks per game.

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