Quite the Irony

Or so it seems to me.

The New Jersey Nets have recently announced that former UGA coach Dennis Felton will be on the team's coaching staff for the summer league. Part of Coach Felton's duties will be to prepare the Nets' top draftee Derrick Favors for the rigors of the NBA.

So, Felton will get to coach Favors after all.

Felton's failure to attract Favors to Athens was the deciding factor that led to the coaching change in Athens (Who knows? Perhaps if Tech under-performs this year, Hewitt's failure to keep Favors in Atlanta could lead to a change in Atlanta).

Interesting.

More on Thornton

Anyone else agree with my Al Horford comparison? As a matter of fact, based on the video, I'm not sure Horford was as talented at the same stage.

I know I'm out on a limb here, probably all by myself, but if you look at the way Thornton handles the ball, goes to his right or left, keeps his head up while dribbling, shoots the ball from the free throw line, moves his feet on defense, and has good hands, I think you'd have to agree that he's a rare player. Doesn't have the size of Horford, but Horford never would be considered for the three position. Thornton looks to have enough skill to pull it off.

Thornton also has a little bit of "Alonzo Gee" (formerly of Univ. of Alabama) talent.

In my opinion, the difference in going to Tech vs. going to Georgia is that Coach Fox can develop Thornton into a serious player at the three position. I'm biased, of course, but I think that the offense that Hewitt uses, the pick and roll motion, is not the best system for a guy with Thornton's skills.

As a matter of fact, one could seriously argue that Georgia Tech is on its way down. Lawal, Favors and Peacock leaving. Controversy with Hewitt. They have some players left, but they won't be able to just feed it to the post and hope that Lawal scores.

Thornton is the kind of player that UGA should compete for and win.

Go Dawgs!

Dawgs "not Man Enough"

As you can tell by my title, I am hoping that the Dawgs come out and surprise everyone by whipping Tech tonight in Athens. Just like the football team took care of business not too long ago, I want UGA's basketball squad to upset the #20 ranked Tech team.

On paper, however, Georgia would not seem to have much of a chance. They have Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal, and Peacock as their big men. Tech has a size advantage on the perimeter, since Udofia and Shumpert go 6' 2" and 6' 5", respectively. My head says that Tech will win by 15 to 20 points. My heart says Georgia by 3.

Can we do it? I say, play zone all night until their guards prove they can hit a jumper. Udofia, Rice, Shumpert and Bell are all shooting 41 percent or worse from the floor.

Let's lace 'em up and play ball. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

Tech Loses to FSU

Ugly game. The ref's let 'em play. That part was not so bad. The part that was hard to take was the shooting. The first half was brutal. Neither team could make a bucket.

I don't understand what is wrong with Georgia Tech. Lawal and Favors should be dominating. Hewitt needs to set a fire under these guys.

Maybe Coach Hewitt isn't getting the job done. I still think it's early in the season to say that Tech won't be competitive. They'll clearly do better than their 2 and 14 ACC mark from last season.

So far, Hewitt is 8 and 2 on the season. But they did not look good against Mercer, and the game against Arkansas Pine Bluff sounded a lot closer than it should have been. Tech is now 0 and 1 in the ACC in this short season, and things will not get easier. UNC and Duke are still out there. Wake Forest is tough. NC State might give Tech a hard time. If Tech can't beat FSU at home, I don't see where the victories are to be had.

Well, while Tech is playing badly, let's hope that they continue to do so, and the Dawgs can find a way to beat them in Athens on January 5.

Georgia Tech Loses to Dayton?

What's up with that?

I kind of figured that Tech would be pretty much unstoppable with Lawal and Favors as their big men. But Glen Rice didn't score, Mfon Udofia went just 1 of 5 from the floor, and Dayton beat Tech by 4.

Favors to Stick with Tech

No surprise in this article. As such, I'll talk about one potential strategy that could bag Favors, and my thoughts about the idea.

The only way that UGA would have to bag Favors would be for UGA coach, Mark Fox, to call Coach Michael Reddick up and offer him an assistant coaching position. Now, that might be a smart move, but not for the reason of recruiting Derrick Favors.

Coach Reddick is a high quality guy, and has done a fantastic job of developing Favors. Assuming Coach Herrmann is not retained, Reddick could assume his role of being the designated "big man's" coach. Reddick might also be a fantastic recruiter.

However, offering Coach Reddick the job, solely to bag Derrick Favors would not be against the rules, as I understand them, but it would be a poor showing ethically for a new coach. That's my take on it.

Favors to Tech

Well, this was a momentous decision for him. I'm sure he's glad it's over.

Favors said that he made his mind up last week, so it sounds to me that as I mentioned earlier, it was the Georgia loss to Georgia Tech that was the deciding factor.

With that said, there are a lot of "woulda, coulda, shoulda's." I thought it did not help things to have Terrance Shannon and Favors come to campus, and from what I could tell, before either one could leave Athens, accept a commitment from someone else. Nothing against the other guy, of course, but if we had a chance for a "two-fer," we should have kept it open for a while.

There is a lot in recruiting that is behind the scenes and not reported in the media, so most of my notions are pure speculation. But speculation and rumors and the back and forth of teenagers making decisions is why recruiting is such a fun and fascinating part of the sports scene.

If I'm Dennis Felton, then I put the Favors situation behind me. As much as possible. I read on a message board that Felton did not sign a single player from the 2009 Rivals 150, despite the fact that 11 of the 150 were from Georgia.

The only thing that will take some of the sting off of tonight is to beat Vandy. After that, just keep winning.

I would also pump up the effort at getting a high quality shooting guard. I have one in mind, but I'm not sure if he's a fit for the program.

We lost out on Favors. May have lost a lot more. We'll see how this all plays out.

Well, the announcement has come out.

Derrick Favors will make his college choice today.

So, I'll make my own announcement. I'm calling Favors to Tech.

It's where I've been expecting him to go for months now. I didn't want to post my inclination on this forum or on any message board, because I didn't want anyone else to read my comments and possibly be influenced.

For that same reason, I was reluctant earlier this week to post the video of Favors playing against McEachern. Since this Blog is about Georgia basketball, and not Tech, I felt it might be a tough pill to swallow, if even for no one else but me, if I talked too much about Favors, only to see him sign with UGA's rival.

I am posting my comments now, because Favors said that he has made up his mind.

If I am correct and Favors announces his commitment to Tech, then you have to tip your hat to the other guys. We gave it our best shot within the rules.

And we had our chances. Could have really pushed for Mfon Udofia. Should have beaten Tech at their place this year. Might not have changed things, but when we lost the lead at Tech in the second half, we lost our biggest opportunity to state our case in front of Favors that Felton is the better coach.

One guy on the Rivals message board mentioned that after the Tech game, Favors was down with Udofia and others behind the Tech bench, trading high-fives with the guys. If true, and I have no reason to doubt the account, then Favors' emotions are with Tech. He wants them to win, and next year, he'll be helping.

Either way, whether Georgia or Georgia Tech (doubt that it would be N.C. State), congratulations to Favors. Great kid. Got his head on straight. The same to Coach Reddick for handling the situation with class.

As much as I dislike the phrase, the fact is that as of today Hewitt's seat will be a lot cooler, and Felton's a lot hotter.

Great Story on Coach Reddick and Favors.

These guys are classy. Both Coach Reddick and his star player.

Love the story on Derrick Favors' reaction after the loss.

Favors would fit well with what Coach Felton is trying to do with young men in his program. Just don't know if we can get him.

Loss to Indiana Squad

Derrick Favors Highlights

This is the YouTube video from the game at Kennesaw State between South Atlanta High and McEachern.

Favors looks bigger this year. Great hands and footwork. He had 32 for the game and South Atlanta won by one.

Trae Golden had a good game, too, with 25 points for McEachern.

I was a little bit hesitant to post the video, but I decided to get past it and put it up.

Favors and Golden

Trae Golden and McEachern against Favors and South Atlanta

Great match-up. South Atlanta edged McEachern.

Favors scored 34. Golden had 25, with 5 three-pointers.

Would love to get Favors in 2009 and Golden in 2010. Tall order, but it really would be a coup for Georgia.

Barn-Burner

South Atlanta Beaten in Tournament Final

Derrick Favors had a double-double. He played limited minutes, due to foul trouble. I suppose the other team congratulated themselves for "holding him in check." As I remember, he had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Anyway, Favors did not have his usual monster game. He actually fouled out of the game. Don't know whether there was some "home-cooking" going on, since the tournament was played in Indiana, and South Atlanta was going up against a team from Indiana in the tournament championship. But what's done is done. Hopefully, Coach Reddick helps him to keep his head up, and he is ready to compete for the rest of the season. Would be great, of course, if he signs with UGA.

Favors Registers Double-Double

Derrick Favors went 12 for 12 from the floor, including a three-pointer in South Atlanta High's game against Duncanville High of Texas.

Favors scored 30 points for the game, to go with 21 rebounds. He also had 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. South Atlanta won the game 67 to 53.

South Atlanta goes on to face Lawrence North in the T-Mobile Classic in Muncie, Indiana. Lawrence North is 7 and 1 on the year and is one of the top-rated schools in Indiana.

Should be a good game.

Derrick Favors Competes

Favors is playing today in the T-Mobile Invitational. His game begins at 1:45 p.m., in Muncie, Indiana.

Favors still has UGA in the mix. He considers himself, "wide open." It would be fun to pair him up with Howard Thompkins. It could happen.

Derrick Favors

Favors is averaging 29 pts, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals and 3 assists per game. South Atlanta is 9 and 0 on the year.

Derrick Favors, Jalen Kendrick, and others.

Justin Young gives an overview of some of the early season basketball action in Georgia.

Derrick Favors has given the standard all-around dominant performance. I appreciate his humility. Would love for Georgia to have Favors and Thompkins trade back and forth on the high-low game. We'll see.

Jalen Kendrick gets some of Justin's attention. Kendrick's shooting on the evening was probably not up to his standards, but you have to like a 6' 6" guy who can actually play the point guard position.

Manny Atkins had a great game recently. He'll fit in nicely at Virginia Tech. Tech already has Dorenzo Hudson, a guy that UGA offered, and Terrell Bell, a forward that I know we considered (may or may not have offered, I don't remember). Bell didn't score in today's game against Wisconsin. Dorenzo Hudson scored 8 points on 3 of 5 shooting. Hudson looked to have a lot of potential in that game, but he just is not getting too many shots.

Justin's High School Recaps

Derrick Favors to Tech?

Sounds like it.

I had seen in the Memphis press that Favors did not make a rumored upcoming visit with John Calipari's squad. Then, on the AJC blog, a reader reported that Favors did not go to Memphis because he was at Georgia Tech again.

We'll see how it all ends up. I trust that in Favors' case, he has smart advisors, and that Favors will go to a place that is best for him. Favors' high school coach, Coach Michael Reddick, has indicated that instead of waiting until April 2009, Favors will decide in November. Sure hope it ends up being UGA.

Derrick Favors to visit North Carolina State

Interesting article.

Indicates that Favors will be cutting his list down very soon.

He has no official visits set. So Georgia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina State have to be considered his front-runners.

Favors

Poll Resuts Regarding Recruitment of Shannon and Favors

It was time to go with a new Poll, so I pulled down the old one on the recruiting visit of Terrance Shannon and Derrick Favors.

As readers of this Blog know, Derrick Favors and Terrance Shannon came to UGA on a recruiting visit on August 30, 2008. Shannon and Favors took in the UGA vs Georgia Southern football game. I understand that Demario Mayfield was also present for the visit.

In view of the biggest recruiting weekend of the new season, I polled readers of the Blog to get their opinion on whether UGA could pull in either or both of Shannon and Favors. The result?

In case you missed it, half (50%) of the participants indicated that UGA wouldn't successfully recruit either player. One quarter (25%) said that UGA would sign one but not both. The remaining 25% said that UGA would get both Shannon and Favors.

Shortly after putting up the poll, Daniel Miller committed. As a result, I started to change my vote, but opted against it. The purpose of the poll was to see how well each one of us could predict what would likely happen, or at least to have some fun making a prediction.

So, can we successfully recruit either or both of these guys? ESPN seems to believe that Miller's commitment should help UGA with recruiting. I'm not sure. I am still hopeful. Let's find a way to bring both of these guys to Athens and keep Georgia's best high school talent playing for the states flagship university.

NBADraft.net releases their rankings for the

class of 2009.

Derrick Favors is #3, Xavier Henry #2, and John Wall #1.

The folks at NBADraft.net not only put John Wall at the top of their list, they go further to suggest that Wall might be the top pick in the NBA Draft in 2010. That's saying something for a prospect that still has a good bit of work to do on his jumpshot. I guess the other things Wall has, the speed, handles and jumping ability, make the case for him. He certainly looks impressive on the photo shot they have of him.

http://www.nbadraft.net/node/1827

Don't know where Wall will end up in college. I assume Baylor, since they have hired someone that Wall knows to work in their basketball program. If I remember correctly, the recent hire is Wall's former trainer. We'll see. It would be ironic if Wall ends up going somewhere else. I would hate to be a coach at Baylor who has hired a guy, and then not have the recruit to follow.

At any rate, if Georgia couldn't get both, I vote for NBADraft.net's #3 guy. Give me the home-grown big man.

Props also to Noel Johnson and Trae Golden for ranking high in the 2009 and 2010 lists, respectively.

The Sure Thing

Grassroots Ballin' put out another video of Derrick Favors at the Boost Elite game at Rucker Park.

It shows Favors going up for rebounds, effortlessly flushing the ball through the hoop.

In my opinion, that's the beauty of Favors' game. He rebounds, blocks shots, and is strong around the basket. Great hands.

As his Rucker Park nickname described, Favors is "The Sure Thing."

http://grassrootsballin.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/408/