Dawgs Lose to Southern Miss

Could be a long season, folks.

Not trying to be discouraging, but the results speak for themselves.

We shot 38 percent from the field. Missed half our free throws. Sixty percent of our shot attempts were from behind the arc (57.7%)! We got out-rebounded again. I know we came back and made the game close, but we can't expect to win if we perform like we did tonight.

We are now 1 and 2 on the year. I don't like getting beat by the directional schools at home.

I don't understand our coach's substitution patterns. Kenny Gaines and Brandon Morris are two guys on the roster who can drive the ball to the basket. They need more than 6 minutes a piece, especially when Gaines was busting it on the defensive end, recording 2 blocks in those six minutes.

I want Georgia basketball to be special. I don't agree with how Fox is building and utilizing his roster. Fox is making the big bucks. Hopefully he knows how we can turn things around so that we can beat Indiana on Monday.

I Like Big Basketball (and I cannot lie)

Saw the Duke vs Kentucky game last night and it was incredible. Don't get me wrong, I hate both squads. Different reasons, but the fact remains that I root for whoever is playing against either Kentucky or Duke.

With that said, the game was fantastic. Guards who could penetrate and dish, lay it up high off the glass, or shoot the three. Big men who could run and jump and block shots. Everyone was competitive. Guys finished with power.

Great coaches, plotting against each other. Teaching their players what to do in certain situtations. Willing their teams to win.

It was big-time basketball and I won't lie-- Despite the teams on the floor, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Will UGA ever get there?

Yada a Sturgeon

Sundiata Gaines has landed in the international leagues again. This time, he has signed with the Fujian Sturgeons.

Fujian is a mostly mountainous province in southeast China, just across the water from Taiwan. The province's basketball team, the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association, are a relatively young team, being founded in 1999 and playing their first season in the CBA just a few years ago.

The fact that Sundiata wound up in China was a surprise to me. After he didn't make it this season with the Indiana Pacers, I thought Sundiata might head back to Italy, since he played there previously. It was reported, in fact, that Gaines' former team, Pallacanestro Cantu, made it public that they would like to bring him back. I imagine that the Chinese team offered a lot more money.

Dawgs hoops fans wish Sundiata well in this new phase of his career.

Note: For more on Yada's playing history, click on his name in the blue hypertext below (Label Section). Information on other current and former players (like Terrance Woodbury, Chris Daniels, Takais Brown and Alec Kessler) can be found by inserting their names in the search box in the upper left-hand corner of the Blog, and hitting the return key.

DM

UGA Basketball: Five Steps to get back on track

1. Don't Panic

Take a page from Mark Richt. After the blow-out loss to South Carolina, Richt said that the one thing that his team was not going to do was panic. Same thing for Coach Fox. Lot of basketball left to be played. Put the Youngstown State loss behind us and focus on starting fast against Southern Miss.

2. Go Young

I guess one of the most disappointing aspects of the first couple of games has been our seniors' performance. I don't know what I was expecting from Vincent Williams, Sherrard Brantley and John Florveus, but we've got to get quality minutes from those guys. Fox should go young. Get Charles Mann, Brandon Morris and Kenny Gaines out there and let them play through the jitters. Have the seniors come in and back them up, instead of the other way around.

3. Go Small

We have a height advantage over a lot of teams, but it doesn't matter if our bigs cannot score and we're being out-rebounded by 12. Put Brandon Morris at the four spot and team him up with Donte Williams in the post. If Donte Williams is still not eligible this next game, then let Nemi or Tim Dixon play the five. See what happens.

4. Don't Rely on Just One Set

The triangle offense is good if you have Trey Thompkins at the top who is a great shooter, Jeremy Price with a big body to post up, and Travis Leslie to catch lobs off of the flex cut. But without those guys, teams will just push us farther and farther from the basket. Fox has to make adjustments and cobble together some offensive sets more conducive to scoring with the personnel we have.

Use the screen and roll, isolate Charles Mann or Kenny Gaines in the post against a weaker guard, use the old UCLA 1-cut (where the point guard passes to the wing and then breaks toward the basket), try to get our shooters the ball at the top of the key, even use a double high-post set at the free throw line, run KCP off of staggered screens along the base-line. After changing things up a bit, the triangle offense will be more effective.

5. Press

If Sherrard and Vincent are not shooting well, then make them defensive superstars. Whenever they're in, go to the press. Put Florveus under the basket during the press and have him stop the opponents' fast breaks. See if our defense can get us some easy baskets.

Bottom Line: A total of 3 buckets in a half, all scored by one player, won't get it done. If UGA plays poorly and is non-competitive against Southern Miss, fans will be up in arms. Let's get Donte back as soon as possible, play the young guys and at least impress the fans with our adjustments and defensive effort. We can right the ship, but we need to start baling now.

"First Team that I Have Recruited Every Player"

Fox might not ought'a said that. He must be channeling his inner Jim Donnan.

We'll get better during the year, but the schedule will be tougher. Fox's problem is that without Felton recruits like Trey Thompkins, Travis Leslie and Jeremy Price, we just about have no inside game. We won't beat too many SEC teams chunking the ball up from three.

This is the Progressive Legends Classic. Anybody know if "Flo" has any eligibility?

UGA Begins Masonry Major

I've never seen a Georgia team score just 3 baskets for an entire half. We were 3 for 24 from the floor. 12 percent. D.R. Horton has fewer bricks.

We're not playing Kentucky, people. This is Youngstown State. It's early in the season, but I challenge anyone to find a UGA game that we've ever been this bad.

This is Pitiful

We're a lot worse than I thought we would be. With the extra practice allowed and the competition in Italy, why in the world are we going so long (nine minutes!) without a score?

It's 21 to 8. Eight points and there are only 2 minutes and change left in the first half.

Maybe KCP will get hot and put up 6 or 7 points in the next couple of minutes.

Now it's 23 to 13. They have the ball and we're on track to score all of 26 points for the entire game. Their guy Steve Ergkle is killing us!

Dawgs vs. Penguins Tonight

Hard to say who wins tonight's game.

Neither team did much last year. The Youngstown State Penguins went 16 and 15 overall, and 10 and 8 in their conference. UGA had a losing record, going 15 and 17, and Georgia lost 11 out of their 16 SEC games.

The results from each team's first game this new season aren't encouraging. Georgia was very unimpressive in the opener against Jacksonville. Poor shooting, 23 turnovers, and an "awful" defensive effort in the second half, according to Coach Fox. KCP led the Dawgs in scoring, but he shot just 3 of 12 from the floor. Youngstown State won at George Washington, but they didn't look so hot either.

The Dawgs will have to play tough against 6' 10" freshman Bobby Hain, who can score inside and out, and Blake Allen, a 6' 1" senior point guard, who shoots well (hit 4 three-pointers in their opener) and can both rebound and dish the ball effectively.

I expect Fox to give his freshmen more playing time and the Dawgs to win by 7, final score of 70 to 63.

The game is nationally televised on ESPNU. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.