Final Four: Is there any hope for UGA in 2018?

South Carolina defeats Florida, 77 to 70, and makes it to its first Final Four.

Kentucky loses to North Carolina and does not advance.

Great news for Georgia.  Here's why:

1)  The SEC is a pretty good league.

We got five teams in, and three advanced to the Elite Eight.  If Georgia is competitive next year, we might get an invite, just because the SEC arguably over-achieved with results in March 2017.

2)  Kentucky Loses

I would have loved for there to be two SEC teams in the Final Four--  as long as one of them wasn't Kentucky.  Yeah, okay.  Call it sour grapes if you want.  At the same time, I really do have issues with their one and done strategy.  It's legal, but at some point, churning guys through your squad and encouraging just about all your freshmen, some of whom aren't quite ready, to declare for the NBA, is bad for the kids, and bad for college basketball.

3)  Hard-Nosed Defense Works

South Carolina got it done with defense.  Don't know whether they will win the championship, but they are two games away, and they have made it thus far by being who they are.

The Florida game was an excellent example.  Florida was hot in the first half, ripping three-pointers.  For the game, South Carolina shot 10 three-pointers and only made 2.  But they kept going to the hole, getting fouled and going to the line.

In the second half, the fool's gold corroded.  Believe I saw that Florida went 0 for 15 from three-point range.  Meanwhile, South Carolina marched again and again to the free throw line.  Florida shot 30 three-pointers, and the Gamecocks shot 30 free throws.  Frank Martin's strategy won.

4)  Recruit the best you can

The Gamecocks don't have a bunch of five-stars.  Sindarius Thornwell was a four-star recruit.  Chris Silva was a three-star.  Maik Kotsar, the guy from Estonia, was a three-star.  Same for Duane Notice.

They don't have a bunch of seven-footers, either.  But they recruit to their system, and have enough guys in that 6' 4" to 6' 10" range who are wired in to giving it their all on the court.

Now, Frank Martin churns players, too.  I don't know if he intentionally pushes guys off the team, but he had a ton of players leave the program after a year or two.  I think the truth is that not everyone thrives under Frank Martin's in-your-face coaching style, and guys sometimes would rather go elsewhere.

In any case, my point is that Frank Martin has not been getting top-ranked recruiting classes.  He gets enough talented guys so that by the time they are juniors and seniors, they are very competitive.


So, there is hope for Georgia.  Frank Martin is the same coach that UGA beat three times in a row last year.  We knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament, it is widely believed.
 
This year, we lost by two at their place, and by six at ours.

If Maten stays and we get production from Mike Edwards, Derrick Ogbeide, and Rayshaun Hammonds, that front-court rotation, supported by Wilridge and Claxton, should be stout enough to make the NCAA's.

On the perimeter, we will have Turtle Jackson, Tyree Crump, and Jordan Harris, likely supported by Juwan Parker, Pape Diatta, and Teshaun Hightower.

Hopefully, we will bring in another contributor, a guy like Avery Wilson to play minutes at point guard, or Isaiah Miller (or even Isaiah Banks) on the perimeter.

We may actually be close to having the kind of team that we all want, one that can make it to the NCAA's, and even, advance.

Recruiting: Top Five Unsigned

Well, now that the Dawgs aren't going to the NCAA's (with Vanderbilt beating Florida and Alabama looking stronger, there just isn't much room for am at-large bid for UGA), I'm curious once again about recruiting.

UGA has an open scholarship, and perhaps two if Yante Maten opts for signing with an agent.

Here are my top five unsigned hoopsters for the class of 2017:

1.  Isaiah Miller

He's the high-flying combo guard from Newton County.  I know we have watched him, but we have yet to offer, and Miller doesn't have any other high major offers.  Leads me to believe that something's not quite right, and we ultimately will not offer.

2.  M.J. Walker

For some reason we have never been in the running for McDonald's All-American Walker.  I guess we have given up, because I don't get the sense that we are actively recruiting him.

3.  Ahmad Rand

Athletic forward from Lincoln County.  Would be a decent pick-up if Yante goes pro.

Derrick Walker was our previous insurance policy, but he committed to Tennessee.

4.  Avery Wilson

Wilson should be at or near the top of our list.  We need a guy who can handle the rock, and Wilson is a strongly built point guard who can also score.  Reminds me a bit of J.J. Frazier, in the sense that he is an overlooked guy who has real potential

5.  Isaiah Banks

Tough defender and uber athlete from the Metro Atlanta area has become well-known through the video of him throwing down a tomahawk dunk and breaking the backboard.  From all I have seen, Banks doesn't have any high major offers either.


Bottom Line:  I'd be satisfied with Wilson if Miller is unavailable.  I believe that a point guard is more of a need than another big man.

Any other potential recruits out there?

Dawgs Edge LSU

LSU is really, really struggling.  Hard to even think of how they were set up for success last year with Ben Simmons running point guard.  Antonio Blakeny was in that same recruiting class.  He has been performing pretty well over the last few games, but I had no idea that the very next year LSU would beat Missouri in a race to last place in the SEC.

So glad the Dawgs pulled this one out.  Wasn't able to watch the game, but from all I understand, J.J. was huge yet again.  29 points, 8 assists.  Dude is incredible.

Well, I guess Mark Fox is your coach for next year.  If we had lost to LSU, I'm not sure he would have survived.  

However, after losing Yante Maten to injury, and has recently been revealed, Jordan Harris to a bone chip, Mark Fox has coached us to a win in the next two games.  Sure, we lost to Kentucky in that game that Yante was hurt, but we were neck and neck to the end.  Alabama and LSU aren't that great (Alabama will be a top three SEC team next year, though), but the point is that UGA finally was able to win close games.  

I'm thinking Yante will be back next year, and you have to like a front court of a seasoned and healthy Maten with Derek Ogbeide in the middle, and a multi-skilled Hammonds at the three.  You still have Mike Edwards and Nicolas Claxton off the bench.  Our back court will be challenged after J.J. graduates, but a rotation of Crump, Harris, Jackson, Hightower, and Parker might be okay if any of those five can advance the ball against pressure and drive the ball to the rim.

Can we bring in Isaiah Miller or Isaiah Banks?  I'd love Miller, since he could give us help at point guard.  But if for any reason Miller isn't the guy, then Banks from the metro Atlanta area is a 6' 5" shooting guard/small forward who can defend multiple positions.  Neither one of them are being heavily recruited, but both are super-athletic, and would be great additions.

As far as closing the 2017 season out, Georgia could indeed go on a run.  Have to figure that Auburn, our opponent in the last home game, won't be able to exploit the lack of Yante in the middle.  They mostly dribble-drive and shoot three pointers.  

We wouldn't play Kentucky until the end, and though we have Florida in our side of the bracket, they're not the same team without Egbunu.

Felton did it.  Perhaps Fox can harness the "Tornado Terriers" spirit and somehow win the SEC Tournament.  Let's play hard to end the season and see what happens.

Texas A&M Game Shows we need to Recruit another Guard

It was so obvious watching the Texas A&M game today that Jordan Harris is a small small forward, and Tyree Crump is a small shooting guard.  Maybe we can help both freshmen with their ball-handling skills over the summer, but for the present, at least, these guys aren't able to advance the ball against SEC-level defenses.

As it stands, we will have Turtle Jackson as our point guard next year.  I'm not convinced that Teshaun Hightower has point guard skills.

So, to keep UGA from losing every game next year to teams which press, we have to recruit someone like Isaiah Miller.  Better yet, find a way to bring in Avery Wilson as well.  He can probably get in to UGA as a student, so maybe we can ask him to come in as a preferred walk-on.

I like Derrick Walker, and would welcome him, especially if Yante Maten goes to the NBA, but since we only have so many scholarship spots, we just have to get a couple of unsigned guys who can handle the ball.

Teshaun Hightower to the Dawgs (plus recruiting update)

Welcome, Teshaun!

Solid pick-up.  Good shooter.   Will defend and fit in the well with the guys on the roster.


I've posted about Hightower recently, so it's time now to take a look at how the 2017 class is shaping up overall.

Four current players, J.J. Frazier, Kenny Paul Geno, Houston Kessler and Brandon Young, are graduating.  UGA has signatures from Rayshaun Hammonds and Nic Claxton, and now, a pledge from Teshaun Hightower.

Kessler, Geno and Young have been good Dawgs, but admittedly, they really aren't offensive threats, probably averaging four points a game between the three of them.  J.J. Frazier is another matter.  He's our primary ball handler, best free throw shooter and second leading scorer. Losing J.J. will hurt. Can't be helped though.  Guys graduate.

The issue for a college coach is whether he can upgrade his roster with the next signing class.

It's hard to argue that with the latest recruits Coach Fox is on track to do just that.  But can he really put recruiting over the top with his last spot?

Derrick Walker, the power forward from Kansas, will be on an unofficial visit on January 28th.  If he commits, that would give Georgia six bigs, two small forwards, and five guards.  Walker is also considering St. Johns and Tennessee, so if he ends up choosing one of his other suitors, we need to swiftly shift focus to a small forward or another athletic guard.

Besides Walker, there are other good possibilities out there who have gone overlooked.  Isaiah Banks, the rim-wrecking 6' 5" guard/small forward, only has one D-1 offer, last I checked.

Avery Wilson is an available true scoring point guard, able to help break the press and also convert from long range.  Wilson, who has a little bit of J.J. Frazier in his game, is averaging 29 points a game for his Forest Park squad.

And then there is Isaiah Miller, the high-flying combo guard from just east of Atlanta.  The video speaks for itself.

Of course, if we have a transfer, or Yante Maten decides to forego his senior season, then Georgia would have two more spots open, and we'd really need to close the class on an upward swing.

Stay tuned, folks.

Isaiah Miller is a Bad Dude

Wasn't expecting Newton County to beat Zion Williamson's Spartanburg Day squad.   Of course, Zion doesn't have much help, and at the end of the day he got his (31 points and 14 boards), but Newton County still got the W.

Isaiah Miller led Newton with 24 points.  Hudl has some of the highlights of that game toward the end of the video below.

The video brings up a question:  Just one D-1 offer?  And Newton County is #1 in the state?  Hard to believe that everybody is just missing on this kid.  Has to be something else.  I'm sure some would say that Miller is undersized, but he sure doesn't play like it.  Besides, Miller has big feet.  Could grow another couple of inches.

Unfair to speculate further.  However, on a purely basketball basis, I'd rather have Miller than Derrick Walker.  Nothing against Walker, but UGA's backcourt is a more pressing need for next year.

Would take both in a heartbeat if Yante leaves, or if someone transfers.

Newton County is just an hour away.  Coach Hayes, if UNC-Greensboro is offering, why not UGA?

Very impressive.

More on Recruiting (Isaiah Miller)

Since we have more scholarships to fill and at least one should go to a point guard, UGA should bring on Isaiah Miller.

Sure, as I said in my last post, I would have loved to successfully recruit a 5-star guard like Collin Sexton.  But if Sexton is bound and determined to go to Alabama, Georgia has to move on.  And if we land with Isaiah Miller, I say, "great recovery!"

Miller is a right-handed J.J. Frazier with bounce.  Fastest guy on the court, willing defender (averaged 25 points with 4 steals and 1 block per game last year), and someone who can surprise with scoring ability.  Has some "Allen Iverson" to his game.

Saw somewhere that Miller is 6' 2".  A tad generous, perhaps, but whatever his height, he is definitely an above-the-rim athlete.  Guy had 15 points with 5 dunks in Covington's season-opening victory over AAAA #1-ranked Henry County.  Miller scored 29 points with 7 rebounds in a104 to 71 blowout win over last year's AAAA state champ, Liberty County (including their D-1 ranked backcourt of Will Richardson and Auburn signee Davion Mitchell), and notched 22 against Berkmar.

At the present time, Miller is not ranked nationally by any of the recruiting services.  I suppose that the various evaluation teams consider him under-sized.  Well, my eyes say that he's a player.

Jonas, if the guy has the grades to be recruited, get him committed now before everyone else catches on.

Miller