Saturday, October 19, 2013

Bobo went vanilla, offense went sour, game went south

Funny, I predicted a Vandy win.  I just couldn't bring myself to post it on the Blog.

Congrats to their guys.  They whipped us at the line of scrimmage.  Their play-calling was better than ours.  More creative.  We looked tentative.  Their defense looked more inspired.

This might be the last go-round for Richt.  Not that he would ever get fired, but does he really want to start next season and break in a new quarterback?  Richt seemed to noticeably limp as he was walking, as if his hip replacement is giving him trouble.

Special teams play was awful.  They mostly kicked it deep in the end zone so we couldn't run it out.  When we had a chance to put the game away, we muffed it.

Their back-up quarterback looked like an all-star and Murray looked pedestrian.  Where were the passes to our tight ends?  Why hit Wooten over the middle?  Why run up the middle play after play?  The zone read only works when the quarterback is a running threat.  Murray will tuck it on occasion, but he's not big enough to absorb much punishment.  We seemed to run that expecting them to get faked out.  We're not Oregon.

I know.  We have no Gurley, and no Marshall.  Have no Bennett, no Scott-Wesley, no Malcolm Mitchell.  Our execution is left wanting when you're relying on Brendan Douglas and J.J. Green back there.  Please Douglas.  Hold on to the football.  Still don't see why Turman can't get a carry or two.

You have to put part of this loss on the refs.  The targeting calls are getting ridiculous.

Apparently Chris Conley may be injured.  I turned it off before the last play.  I'm almost glad I did.  Would have been tough to see another receiver go down.

I was mad at Damian Swann, but he gives it his all.  I just thought his all would be better than it has been.  Let's circle up in Athens, keep our heads on straight.  I'd rather Missouri win the East.  Let's be as competitive as we can be.  We could lose to Tech, folks.  We'd better not.  Let's beat Florida and Tech and call it a season.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Mark Fox, UGA and SEC Media Day

Interesting quote from UGA head coach Mark Fox:

"I think we finally have a level of experience and physicality and a full complement of players," Fox said.  "I'm not worried about our depth and I probably haven't been able to say that the last couple of years.  It's a team I'm excited about."

The interesting thing is that he said almost exactly the same thing at almost exactly the same time last year.  Here's his quote from the 2012 Media Day:

"I like our team," Fox said.  "This is a group that is deeper than a year ago, more physical than a year ago.  It's a team that I think has the right mentality.  So I think we're going to have a team that will be much improved..."

Similar comments to 11-alive

Some of his remarks are just "coach-speak."  Of course Fox is going to say that he expects the team to improve.  But whether he says it or not, fans generally expect improvement.  The problem is that the team arguably didn't get any better at all last year.  Hard for me to see much improvement from the 2011/2012 team that went 15 and 17 and the 2012/2013 one that also went 15 and 17.  We had losing seasons, finished toward the bottom of the SEC, didn't make the NCAA tourney, and followed that with frustrating recruiting results.

I agree that the 2013/14 team is deeper.  But hearing that Fox is optimistic doesn't translate into any higher expectation for me.  I am far from convinced that Fox will use his roster any better than he did last year.  He's the coach, so it's his team.  However, in my opinion, he played guys out of position, gave minutes to the wrong guys, and neither adjusted in-game nor in-season to significantly improve our outcome on the court or on the recruiting trail.

Red and Black recap

I want to win.  I hope Fox can make it happen.

I'm curious about what other fans are thinking.  Do you agree or disagree with the prediction that we will finish this season 11th in the league?


Monday, October 14, 2013

Troy Brewer in Denmark

Former UGA hoopster Troy Brewer has moved from Hungary to Denmark.

Brewer signed this spring with the team Vaerlose Basketball Club of the European League.  Vaerlose is a small town about 12 miles from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.  Troy is averaging 20 points per game so far this season.

A shooting guard from Rockville, Maryland, Troy was recruited by Dennis Felton to hopefully bring an element of athleticism and three-point shooting to the UGA basketball team.  Unfortunately, Brewer never found his shooting touch, and after two years was averaging just two points and one rebound per game.

When Coach Felton was relieved of his duties in 2009,  Brewer asked for his release.  Troy later transferred to American University in the D.C. area where he finished his collegiate career.  Troy averaged right at 12 points per game in his two seasons at American U.

Here is an interview with Troy after he signed with Vaerlose.

Brewer

For more background on Brewer, click on his name in the blue hyper-text below.

Good luck, Troy!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Tres Magnifique!

Travis Leslie dunks on Alex Ajinca during a recent game in the French hoops league.

Formidable!