Jaylen Brown to Cal

Congrats to Brown.

Lots of angles on this development.

1.  Georgia didn't get him

Disappointing, but only mildly so.  Would have fit well in the triangle offense.  Don't like it when the state's top hoops recruit goes elsewhere.  But...

2.  Kentucky didn't get him either

Now that's absolutely huge for UGA.  Kinda like when the cute girl next door, the one you helped with her Algebra homework, turns you down to prom.

If she up and joins the military after graduation, that's so much better than if she goes to vo-tech and ends up dating the captain of your high school's football team.

3.  Vindicates the Student-Athlete approach

Sure, UGA would love to get a bunch of five-star hoops players.  And sure there is a bit of envy when one or two schools get the top athletes year after year.

But there's more to it.  College sports fans enjoy cheering for the legitimate amateur athlete.

An occasional guy who goes early to the pros is part of sports life.  But there is something hollow about a school that constantly churns one-year athletes.

Kentucky coach John Calipari has made it part of his MO.  He actually tells guys not to come back to school.  He says that that advice is for the student-athlete's benefit, but I, for one, don't believe him.  Not that it matters what I think, but my point is that some college freshmen, talented though they may be, aren't physically and mentally ready for the NBA.

Ready or not, if Calipari can clear his roster of players and thereby have room for the next monster haul of recruits, he'll do it.  That keeps the fan base excited and prevents other teams from getting high-level athletes.

Well, if that is his strategy, it didn't work this year.  Zimmerman committed to UNLV.  Bryant to Indiana, Swanigan to Michigan State.  Ingram to Duke.  Newman to Mississippi State.  Brown to California.

Kentucky fans have reacted with righteous indignation.  "How dare they!"

Not that anybody should feel sorry for Coach Calipari.  He still has a five-star point guard, five-star power forward, and two four-star shooting guards coming in.  And the cupboard isn't exactly bare, either, with Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress ready to play a lot more minutes.

At the same time, playing Kentucky next season will be different. UK dominated teams this year through superior length.  Lots of big guys.  Next year, not so much (although Thon Maker could pledge soon).  If Kentucky starts to lose games, Calipari may jump to the NBA himself.

4.  Went outside the SEC

If UGA didn't get Brown, the best case scenario for the Dawgs was that Brown go to a team outside the SEC.  That, he did.  Which brings up the last point:

5.  Parity in the SEC

Going to be interesting this year.  Have to like what LSU has put together.  Ben Simmons went there.

Mississippi State will have some good outings.  Malik Newman went there.

UK will still be quite good.  Briscoe went there.

Florida has some good recruits.  But with the coaching turnover, Florida's loss is Oklahoma City's gain.  Donovan went there.

The bottom line is that with Brown to California, there is no one dominant line-up in the SEC.  That's good for the SEC and great for UGA.

We were third in the SEC this season.  With our upgrade in talent, we should be right there to win the conference title this year.

True, we didn't get Jaylen Brown, but UGA basketball is in better shape than it has been in a long time.

Fox Bottom Five in SEC Coaches

according to Clay Travis, Fox Sports commentator.

Article

In answering a reader's question about the upgrade in talent in the SEC coaching ranks, Travis put two of the new guys in his top five coaching picks.

I.  Top Five

1.  Billy Donovan

2.  John Calipari

3.  Bruce Pearl

4.  Rick Barnes

5.  Ben Howland

Hard to challenge his top five, though I probably wouldn't put Bruce Pearl in there.  Pearl can coach, but can he stay out of trouble?  His margin for error is very thin, but he has some good recruits coming in.  Will Auburn finish the year in the SEC's top five?  I doubt it.

Billy Donovan can flat out coach.  I wonder how his team will perform this year.  Will his guys take a big leap forward?  Will Chris Walker show why he was a five-star recruit?  Donovan has Noah Dickerson coming in, but other than that, I don't remember any significant recruits.  I expect Donovan to struggle next season.  Maybe he runs off to the pro's.

John Calipari will ride his ridiculous recruiting classes until he leaves for the NBA.  Jaylen Brown will probably end up in Lexington.

I believe that if Georgia gets Mike Edwards, we will win one of the two games against UK next year.


II.  Next Four

6.  Mike Anderson

7.  Kevin Stallings

8.  Andy Kennedy

9.  Frank Martin

I think that Kevin Stallings is a good coach.  Runs the motion offense.  I still argue that the Vandy arena gives their guys an unfair home-court advantage.  Even so, Stallings gets a lot out of his talent.

Disagree that Frank Martin over at South Carolina is any better than Fox.  What has he done?  I mean, other than yell at his guys.


III.  Bottom Five

10.  Mark Fox

11.  Johnny Jones

12.  Billy Kennedy

13.  Alabama's Vacant Spot

14.  Kim Anderson

Wow.  Johnny Jones will win his fair share of games this upcoming season.  Jordan Mickey declaring for the pro's will hurt some, but the new kid Ben Simmons can flat out play.  Jones won't be considered bottom five for long.

Alabama missed on Marshall from Wichita State.  Don't know who they will get.  I expect them to take a step back next year.

Fox is probably a year away from making a significant move.  He's got the program stabilized, but the SEC is getting tougher almost overnight.  The good news is that Jordan Harris and Tyree Crump from southwest Georgia are two 2016 recruits who will make a difference, assuming they sign their LOI's and enroll.  Team those two guys with Turtle Jackson and UGA has a perimeter line-up that can go toe-to-toe with anyone.  But that's year after next.

I expect 2015/16 will be pretty good.  Our line-up top to bottom is probably the best that Fox has had.

Turtle Jackson is better than most people think.  Fox may consider starting him at the point, keeping Charles Mann at the three and going to war with Kenny Gaines at the two, and Yante Maten and Derek Ogbeide in the post.  Now if UGA gets anything from Osahen Iduwe, we might end up quite good.  In any case, a healthy J.J. Frazier and Juwan Parker form a good guard rotation, and we are a recruit or two away from being competitive in the post.

If UGA ends up next season in the top five SEC teams for a third straight year, maybe move Pearl down and put Fox in his place.

Maybe it's a good thing

we didn't pull that game out yesterday.  Florida is absolutely killing LSU.

Who knows?  Maybe Houston Kessler will turn out to be a talented "stretch 4" like Erik Murphy.  Murphy is shooting lights out. 

Stopped Watching (Again)

We have 4 points in the second half, they have 21 and they're looking to totally blow us out.

We can't launch it from three all the time and expect to win.  The first half was fool's gold and I knew it.  The defensive clamp-down was coming.  Once the second half began and they did a better job at double-teaming KCP, we couldn't score. 

The most maddening thing is that here we are struggling offensively, and Kenny Gaines hits a pull-up three.  Instead of feeding the guy and seeing if he has the hot hand, Fox immediately pulls him. 

Meanwhile, Vincent Williams and Sherrard Brantley get a lot more minutes and they can't drive the ball to the basket and aren't hitting from outside either. 

Doesn't Fox get it?  We can't score if we can't handle the ball and get shot attempts. 

Against the press we need ball-handlers.  They go with a three-guard line-up continually.  Therefore match up with them. 

As bad as we're playing, the stats show that we are shooting the same percentage that they are.  We have the same number of free throws, at least right now.  We're even staying pretty close in rebounding. 

The difference is that we have 3x as many turnovers.  Play Brandon Morris and Kenny Gaines along with KCP and Charles Mann and we'd break their press.  Keep Donte Williams against Patric Young and match Morris against Murphy.   

Tired of losing by twenty points.

Dawgs Lose 77 to 44

I turned the t.v. off.

Love Georgia basketball (obviously), but I get angry when it's so obvious we don't have the talent to compete.  When we were coming off of NCAA sanctions, I understood we would be short-handed.  What's our excuse now?

I'm also frustrated that we didn't prepare at all for their traps and double-teams.  We had a million turnovers. 

Meanwhile, when we could get it across the half-court line, we then run our offensive sets 25 feet away from the basket. 

Hard to watch what we have become, and tonight I couldn't take it.

If Kentucky Thinks They're Going to Win the SEC,

they need to know that Patric Young is going to battle them. Young and the other bigs at UF were already chiseled. Well, this summer they added to their physicality a level of explosiveness that the freshmen at Kentucky probably aren't ready to match.

This video was impressive.

Strength and Conditioning

Man, I sure hope that the Dawgs can have a good season. There are no easy victories in the SEC, though, so we'd better be working hard.

Stopped Watching

Hate to say it, but that's the truth. We looked terrible. Struggled just to get Florida's lead down to 13, and I guess that was a moral victory. From there it looked like they might win by 25. Hopefully, Donovan will put in the bench-riders and we can make the final score look respectable.

I didn't post after the Alabama game because I was frustrated. I don't like losing to Anthony Grant because Georgia's continued losses only strengthens Grant's ability to recruit our state as well as his. I think this year's loss to Alabama makes it three straight over UGA in just a short period of time (end of last year and this year). As I have posted before, Grant doesn't need any help. He is an elite recruiter, getting all or most of the talent from Alabama, plus picking up the best big man from Georgia in Nick Jacobs.

A blow-out loss to Alabama, and now the same to Florida. Vanderbilt might be worse. They are more talented than Florida, in my opinion. Don't know when it ends. Discouraged.

Billy Donovan, Anthony Grant and John Pelphrey

United in tragedy.

Don't know if any of the Blog's readers saw this story, but it was so important that I wanted to link it.

Loss of a Child

SEC Preview

The SEC East is going to be tough. Kentucky, Florida, and Vandy are all superior teams. Georgia will probably struggle this year unless Marcus Thornton plays big.

Fox Preview

We Had Our Chances

Up 9 points, about to close out the half, and they get a rebound and a stick-back to give them momentum going into the locker room.

We're still up 7 opening up the second half. We get careless with the ball and they close the gap almost immediately.

They mix in a press off of made free throws or pressure Dustin Ware all the way up the floor. We don't set any picks to discourage the tough on-ball pressure and Ware turns it over on an offensive foul. Meanwhile, we play vanilla on defense. No pressure, just let them come down the floor and set up their offense. Their guys have their legs underneath them, then, and are able to knock down shots late in the game.

Parsons misses two free throws with the game going down to the wire. The Dawgs get fouled in the act of shooting and go to the line. Thompkins misses both, and then just a bit later, their big guy gets fouled. With the ugliest release on the planet, he drains both of his attempts.

Can't blame Leslie. He had 20 points for the night. Let the game come to him. Good outing. We need to get more than 3 points from Ware. He needs to have at least one mid-range shot or free throw so that he gets his timing right from long distance.

Tired of getting beat by Florida. Even worse, we really, really, need to close strong, or we'll miss the Big Dance.

Dawgs Win Big! (prediction)

Okay. UF has had our number in just about every sport but equestrian or gymnastics over the last I don't know how long. Time to turn the tide.

We have a sell-out, a packed house, a national audience and a chance to make an impression to the watching world of sports fans. If we win, we're in first place in the tough SEC East.

I think our crowd makes a difference. Dustin Ware hits the spot-up jumper, Travis goes to the basket with abandon, and everybody else gets involved.

We'll have to watch out for their traps. Billy Donovan always tries to neutralize the opponent by trapping along the sidelines or in the backcourt. Will Gerald Robinson be able to make them pay? Will his jumper be on tonight?

I think we can do it. Dawgs win by 15, 75 to 60.

Georgia Picked to Finish Fifth in the SEC East

Well, there are a couple of compliments thrown Georgia's way in the attached Rivals article (Team on the Rise and all that), but the writer still predicts that Georgia will finish the year near the bottom of the SEC East.

What say you? How will Georgia do in the Division?

Georgia gets respect from Florida Writer

Brockway things the Dawgs have some real possibilities next year.

I'll say this: the SEC East will be a battleground in 2010-11. Good teams all the way around. Patric Young will really help Florida. Kentucky will bring their all-star freshman class to every game. Bruce Pearl has Tobias Harris and others. Vandy lost some, but they will be a very good team as well.

Good basketball up ahead.

SEC East

SEC East Won't Get Any Easier

Florida, after their quick exit from the NCAA tourney, is expected to be much stronger next year.

Patric Young is a stud. He should flourish in Donovan's system. Casey Prather will perform well on the wing. If they get Knight, then look out.

UF

Can Donovan Turn it Around?

I doubt it.

He doesn't have the horses to win the race. And I think his approach to the questions of Florida's fans is right on the mark.

Manage expectations.

Florida will be a good team this year. They've got enough players to field a very competitive team. And everyone knows that Donovan can coach.

But can Florida beat Kentucky and University of Tennessee? Can they hold off Vanderbilt and South Carolina? Where will they finish in the SEC East? Can they do better than the NIT?

Calathes Turns Pro

Nick Calathes, former starting guard for the Florida Gators, has decided to go pro. He signed recently with a European team in Greece.

Nick's brother, Pat, also plays professionally in Greece, so the opportunity to join his brother abroad was attractive to the younger Calathes. Nick Calathes will earn approximately $2 million a year during his 3-year contract.

Although UF coach Billy Donovan has had difficulty in managing his roster, there won't be many tears shed at his plight-- not at least by those competing against him in the SEC. Donovan is a good coach, and he will still have a number of talented players to put on the floor when the season starts.

Gator Grumblings

Alex Tyus is out at University of Florida. I wonder what happened there? Why is he transferring and to which school will he go?

Tyus did an incredible job at UF last year. Great hands, played above the rim. We could use him at UGA, assuming that the reason for his departure was basketball-related, and not having to do with academics or off-court problems.

In any case, fans at Florida are concerned. Donovan has had success recruiting, and he'll shape his offense around the players he has. However, if you don't have quality big men, you're not going to compete well in the SEC. Some of his second year post players will have to step up.

Donovan excited about Gators

If a leopard cannot change his spots, can a Gator change his tune?

Apparently so, if the Gator involved is Billy Donovan and he is singing about the upcoming fortunes of his basketball team.

Now, Donovan is known, fairly or not, for changing his mind. He bolted for the pro's a couple of years ago and then decided that college coaching was not so bad after all.

His change of opinion in 2008 is due not so much to "buyer's remorse" as "player development." Turns out that Donovan sees some upside in his returning players that he didn't see at the end of last season. Add to their development the arrival of several talented freshmen, and Donovan is waxing optimistic on the team's chances this year.

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20080820/NEWS/152772/1016&title=About_face__Donovan_now_excited_about_these_Gators