Saturday, March 26, 2011

Sundiata Gaines Fractures Hip

Sad news for him.

He'll be on crutches 6 to 8 weeks before he can start rehab. Hopefully, he can get back on the court next year.

The bright side of the injury is that it occurred after he signed his contract and not before. If he would have gotten hurt while he was on one of the 10-day deals, he would have been in real trouble.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

She Just Wanted to Play

Awesome story of a young lady who postponed amputation of her leg so that she would get to live her dream of playing basketball for the team.

Great attitude. An inspiration to me.

Hoop Dream

Ajax Delivers Knockout Punch

Well, not quite. But that's what I thought of when I saw this picture.

His team, the Miranda Panthers, is looking for a back-up center to reduce Jackson's minutes and help keep him from fouling out of games. Miranda won a few games in a row earlier this month.

Looks like things are shaping up for Ajax to have a nice international career there in Venezuela.

Levi Stukes with the Hot Hand

He scored 17 in the latest game against Regatas. Stukes' team, Argentino, went cold in the second half and lost.

Levi had a game earlier this month in which he scored 28. I'll try to get around to updating the results from his games more regularly.

Sundiata Gaines Articles

I enjoyed reading the articles below so I wanted to preserve the links on the Blog.

Turns out that since Gaines was at home in New York and he had a valid passport, he got his opportunity with the Nets.

Since that time, he has made the most of it, scoring 18 points recently, on 6 of 11 shooting. He even earned a write-up from NBA.com

Big Shot Gaines

Monday, March 21, 2011

Fall-out at UT

Pearl is out. Fancher is in.

Orange Turnover

The fans are unhappy. So is the team. Apparently Tobias Harris and his Dad have no interest in a rebuilding year under a new coach. Harris is good enough to go pro, but if he were looking to continue his collegiate experience, UGA could accommodate, I'm sure. :-) In fact, we're so gracious about helping a team out in its time of need, we'll also take Hopson.

Harris

As indicated in the article above, Kevin Ware has requested his release from his letter of intent. He would consider a scholarship offer from UGA at this point, according to the AJC.

Where's Ware

Nemanja Djurisic

Well, there's video. #21

At first, I wasn't favorably impressed since Djurisic is a 3-star, and I didn't note any particular speed or leaping ability. I like for bigs to work from the inside out, instead of floating around the perimeter, and there seemed to be too much of that in Djurisic's game.

But I admit that I don't know anything else about him, and Djurisic could be just the kind of guy that we need. I don't think that Fox would spend a scholarship just to have a complete roster.

So let's wait and see how this one turns out.

Ten Questions for the 2012 Hoop Dawgs

Questions, questions.

1) Will Fox Become a Wolf?

Apparently N.C. State wants to talk to Mark Fox. If I'm Fox, I listen. Why? State can pay a lot more than UGA, and to be honest, that's why coaches have agents. The coaches can offer up polite denials, saying that they haven't spoken with anyone from such and such college, while they and their representatives are discussing details several times a day. The rep's try to get things lined up so that if the offer does have the kinds of terms that an up and coming coach wants, the coach can sign quickly.

2) Will Trey and Travis Test the Waters?

My best guess is that Trey is gone, but Travis will stay. Thompkins ended the season with a 26 and 9 game, in which he shot almost 80 percent from the floor, 100 percent from behind the arc, and 100 percent from the free throw line. He also showed that he had great hands and could even bring the ball up against the press.

With the injuries that Thompkins suffered this year, he might want to protect himself and his family. Travis, on the other hand, went 4 of 14 from the floor against Washington. If I'm not mistaken, all of his made shots were right at the basket, and he didn't hit a single jump-shot. He has enough to work on that the smart money says that he will take one more year to improve his handle and his mid-range game.

Of course my guesses about Trey and Travis assume that Fox stays in Athens and that the NBA season ends and begins as normal. The League's collective bargaining agreement ends in June. If things break down, then the best thing to do might be for both to stay for their senior seasons.

3) Can John Florveus and Tim Dixon Play?

Hate to say this, but from all I can tell, both will need a lot of work before they're big enough and strong enough to score consistently against SEC competition.

4) Who Will Man the Post?

If Trey leaves, Georgia will have a big void in the middle. With no JP, no Chris Barnes and no Thompkins, Georgia may wind up with the Bermuda Triangle Offense. If you throw the ball into the post, no one knows what will happen.

5) What's up with Recruiting?

Will Phillip Jurick sign? Anyone else? Who is this guy from Montenegro, and is he really better than the available kids from right here in Georgia?

6) Can Georgia Attract a Transfer?

If Sidney Lowe and Bruce Pearl are let go, Georgia may be able to pick up a guy like Marcus Thornton. Either a guy who decommits and asks for his release from the letter of intent, or a person who wants to find a new place to play, even if he has to sit out a year.

7) Will Georgia be Good Enough to Escape the Lower Half of the SEC East?

Florida and Kentucky are in the Sweet Sixteen again. Georgia, again, is not. They will have a deep bench next year. Vandy will be good again and so will Tennessee. I know it's early yet, but we all hope that we can close the gap some between those guys and Georgia.

8) Can Thornton and Williams Step Up?

Marcus Thornton and Donte Williams will be the only post players with any experience. They both did quite well in high school, and they have a good bit of athleticism. They'll have to show it next year.

9) How well will Kentavious Caldwell Play?

He'll be a freshman, and he'll have to learn the triangle offense. But can Caldwell-Pope give Georgia the kind of size and shooting ability that the team needs?

10) Will 2012 be a Year of Stability and Steady Improvement, or Transition and Rebuilding for the Dawgs?

What do you think?

Congrats to the Dawgs for the 2010/2011 Season

Okay. So things didn't go as well as we hoped. Still, the team won over 20 games and made it to the Tournament.

The guys all acquitted themselves well. They competed and were in just about every game. We didn't finish games with a lot of energy. There were a few at the beginning of the season that we closed out fairly well. But by the time of the SEC season, our late-game magic disappeared.

Our last game, the NCAA Tournament contest against Washington, ended up just like so many other games this season-- We would have won if we could have gotten a couple more stops and scored one or two more baskets at the end. After playing well in the first stanza, we fizzled in the second and lost by single digits.

All in all, though, I'm fairly pleased. Before you can be great, you have to be good. Before you can be good, you have to be competitive. The Dawgs had a good season and I wanted to congratulate the entire team, and especially the seniors.

Thanks JP and Chris. You represented us well. Keep up the good work.

DM