Thursday, October 28, 2010

Georgia Picked to Finish Fifth in the SEC East

Well, there are a couple of compliments thrown Georgia's way in the attached Rivals article (Team on the Rise and all that), but the writer still predicts that Georgia will finish the year near the bottom of the SEC East.

What say you? How will Georgia do in the Division?

Jeremy Jacob has Surgery

The bad news keeps coming for Oregon. Jeremy Jacob, one of just ten scholarship players on the team's hoops roster, had arthroscopic surgery yesterday.

He'll be out three to six weeks.

Jacob took a redshirt year in 2008 when he was with the Dawgs due to a stress fracture in his right foot. Jacob transferred to a junior college at the end of the 2008 season, and from there was recruited to Oregon.

Hopefully Jacob can recover soon from this latest setback and contribute to the team as the season progresses.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

"I'll Tell You Who I Love-- Georgia"

I'll say it again. Calipari gives great interviews.

He sounded like Vince Dooley at the beginning, the way he was talking down his team. Of interest to me is that in every interview that I've seen recently, Calipari has something positive to say about the Dawgs.

Man, I hope we can live up to it.

ESPN's coverage of SEC Media Day has the Calipari video, a rather dull interview with Jeff Taylor of Vanderbilt, and the article on Trey Thompkins.

ESPN, Calipari, and SEC Hoops

Jacobs Commits to Alabama

One of my fears when Anthony Grant left VCU and ended up in the SEC was that it put one of the country's elite recruiters right on Georgia's doorstep.

Sure enough, Grant is getting it done. He's locking up the key recruits from Alabama and now venturing into the Atlanta basketball scene and snatching away a guy that really could have helped UGA.

And I will say with no offense to Florveus or Dixon, Georgia's two post signees for 2011, that Jacobs was the power forward that I hoped Fox would have been able to get. Even more so than Julian Royal, the other big-time power forward from the Atlanta area.

As it turns out, we didn't get either. Disappointing, but not totally unexpected.

We still have a shot at Dai-Jon Parker, which would be a huge accomplishment for Fox and staff. And beyond that, there could be a surprise commitment from someone, a coach could leave unexpectedly and open up a recruit in 2011, and there are some talented guys in the 2012 class.

If Georgia plays big this season, then recruiting will be much easier in the future.

Basketball Notebook

The attached Red and Black article is full of good news.

1) Fox expects Ware, Robinson and Price to Score

Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie are Georgia's two big returning scorers. Thompkins averaged right at 18 points last season. Leslie, a shade under 15.

Winning teams have balance. Who will give Georgia that crucial third scorer in 2010/2011? Fox thinks that it could be Price, Ware or Robinson.

Most fans who follow the hoops squad have high expectations of Robinson, in part because Coach Fox talks about him so much. To have Price and Ware mentioned, along with Robinson, as expected scorers is fantastic. These guys are obviously showing something in practice.

2) Marcus Thornton

Okay. He has a lot to learn. But Fox indicates, and I heartily agree, that once Thornton gets down the details he will be able to put up points in a hurry.

The good news is that Thornton is playing on the wing. He can help at either the power forward or the wing position, but he is most needed this year on the perimeter. The fact that he is out there and "doing a nice job" bodes well for the future.

3) More Efficient Practices and Better Locker Room Attitude

The team has already had a year under the Fox system, so there's less to learn. The transition between high school and college ball represents a huge leap, so it's good that the upperclassmen aren't having to pick up a new system at the same time that the freshmen are doing so.

4) Travis Leslie Summer Experience

He got a chance to "D up" Kevin Durant during the summer camp run by Paul Pierce. There was lots of information out there on Thompkins' summer experience, so I appreciated the quote from Leslie on his activities during the break.

Here's the article:

Notebook

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Jacobs Decides

Okay. I'm not optimistic about this one. As I wrote before, Georgia is still in it, and there are loads of reasons why Jacobs should choose Georgia.

1) Home School

I'm a homer, but why wear the colors of some other state's school when you can represent your own?

2) Cousin Effect

I've written before about David Jacobs, former starting defensive lineman for the Dawgs, who is Nick's cousin. UGA took care of David, which would mean a lot to me if I were advising Nick.

3) Playing Time

Jeremy Price and Chris Barnes graduate. HTIII is likely gone after this year. Marcus Thornton will be at the 3 position. Dixon and Florveus, commitments for 2011, are more center prospects than guys who will earn minutes at the 4. While Georgia does have Donte Williams, you have to figure that with the lean frame that Williams has, Jacobs would have the playing time advantage. They call the position "power forward" for a reason. I look to see Williams move toward backing up Thornton at the 3 spot.

4) Academics

Georgia is doing ground-breaking work (literally and figuratively) in the medical field. Hopefully, Jacobs has kept abreast of the news on this front.

My guess? I suppose it's still Clemson. UGA would have had to make up a lot of ground in the last week or so, and although I think he would have compelling reasons for picking us, we probably were not able to close the gap in the recruiting race.