What About This Guy?

Darius Hicks looks like a Yante Maten clone.  Elite mid-range game, good hands, nice body control.  Looks to be an inch or so shorter than Maten, but definitely more chiseled and explosive around the bucket.

Hicks was committed to Mississippi State, but has since re-opened his recruitment.  Can Coach Jonas Hayes get geared up and bring Hicks in?  Providence appears to lead, but if we show Hicks some film of how we use Maten, he might see himself fitting into what Georgia is building.

Best I can tell, UGA has four good options for its last remaining scholarship for 2016.

Deshaun Corprew.  I like Corprew and he would be a great addition, skill-wise.  6'5" wing who can drive the ball and shoot from the outside.  I saw it reported on Scout.com, however, that Corprew has narrowed his list to three or four schools.  Georgia was not one of them.

Kobi Simmons.  Simmons is a 5-star point guard.  Not an elite shooter, but at 6' 5", he is a big point guard.  Simmons might be a great fit, since Charles Mann will graduate this year, and UGA signees Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris are more in the shooting guard mode.  Simmons is from Alpharetta, and might be willing to stay in-state.  The problem is that he has already eliminated Georgia from consideration once.  Seemed like he really wanted to go to Kentucky, but Kentucky accepted commitments from other guards.  Could Simmons fall back to Georgia like Turtle Jackson?

Harold Baruti.  Baruti is a good shooter and a willing defender.  He would give Georgia depth on the wing. Baruti is another recruit at that 6' 5" height.  Not as physically ready as Corprew, but might be a better fit for other reasons.

Hicks.  Hicks is the lone big guy that I would see playing well at Georgia.  I wanted Udoka Azubuike, the Shaq-like center from the Georgia Stars AAU team, but for some reason we never offered him.  Looks like Azubuike will end up at Florida State.

So, do we need a point guard, a wing, or a big?  Since we were apparently prepared to accept a commitment from John Fulkerson, the combo forward who committed to UT, it looks like Fox wants to balance the roster some with a recruit who can play the 3 or the 4 position.  Hicks might just be the guy if we can make up some ground.