Honest Thoughts on Recruiting

I'm disappointed with our signing class. Nothing against the guys we brought in. It's just that I was expecting so much more.

We had 8 members of the 2011 Rivals 150 available in the state of Georgia. Plenty of scholarships to give and playing time to offer. Of the eight, we only got one, and no other elite recruits from other states.

I didn't expect we would get Kevin Ware or Shannon Scott. They announced fairly early that they were going out of state. Victor Nickerson was a three-star recruit that I didn't follow.

However, I was almost positive we would sign at least one of Malcolm Brogdon, Nick Jacobs, Julian Royal and Dai-Jon Parker. All those guys are top level talents with good grades. I actually thought we would get two out of the four, and I hate it that we lost out to Tech yet again, and let out of state teams like UVA, Alabama and Vandy clean the cupboards.

Coach Fox has a lot of good will. I like the notion that he'll be able to develop the talent that he brings in. He didn't have a reputation coming in as an elite recruiter, so expectations have been modest. Many fans are more focused on the prospects for the 2010/2011 Dawgs than on recruiting. But to be the program that we all want Georgia to be, Fox will have to lock down the borders and keep the best players in-state.

I think we'll be okay for next year. I can foresee us with a 2011/2012 starting line-up of Dustin Ware, Gerald Robinson, Kentavious Caldwell, Marcus Thornton and Donte Williams, while we bring the big men along slowly. Who knows? Travis or Trey could decide to stick around for their senior years.

But as the Felton recruits of Trey Thompkins, Travis Leslie, Dustin Ware, Chris Barnes and Jeremy Price move on, we'll need to get some players in the fold to replace them, or the rest of the SEC East will pass us by. Don't get me wrong. We're doing okay. It's just that I want to be great.

The prospects for success on the floor this year make me fairly optimistic about recruiting for 2012. If we perform well, win the SEC or at least do well in the NCAA Tournament, there's no reason why we shouldn't bag local talent like Shaq Goodwin, Jarmal Reid, Tony Parker, Shaq Johnson and others.

What do you think?

Dawgs Ink Three

Georgia has signed letters of intent from the three hoopsters who committed earlier. John Florveus, Tim Dixon and Kentavious Caldwell are all on board.

Welcome, guys!