Around the League: Auburn

Everything is shiny and new at Auburn. New, highly rated coach, Tony Barbee. New offense, the John Calipari-style dribble drive. New arena.

Barbee even garnered commitments from new recruits. Chris Denson, a guard that Coach Fox considered for a time. Josh Langford, a wing that was a UGA recruit. Luke Cothron, high-ranked power forward, and Shawn Kemp, Jr., a center from the metro Atlanta area.

The problem is that Cothron and Kemp have apparently failed to qualify.

My take?

The dribble drive offense may be good, but it needs players to make it work. Barbee doesn't have enough of them.

Auburn's roster was thinned considerably by graduation. Frankie Sullivan and Ty Armstrong, returning players on whom Barbee expected to rely, have both been sidelined with knee injuries, and it is doubtful that either one will return to play this year. Barbee could have done some damage with Cothron and Kemp, but without them, he'll have to convince his team to play tough defense and and hope that they shoot very well from the perimeter.

Auburn will struggle. They went 15 and 17 last year, and won just 6 games in the conference. Maintaining that same record would be a success for Barbee.

Who gets UGA's Next 'Ship?

What say you?

Polee? Thornton? Langford? Steele?

Tell us who you think gets it and why you think so.

Josh Langford Still Looking at Georgia

Good article from Scout.

Looks like Georgia will get a great player with its last scholarship. Polee, Thornton, or Langford would all be nice additions. Hopefully, we won't get shut out entirely.

Langford

Zlovaric and Mayfield to Transfer

Really hate to see these two guys leave. Zlovaric didn't show much this year, but he has real potential. Fox said as much when he came on board. There seemed to be some disconnect for Drazen. Maybe things could have gotten better with more playing time, but he just didn't produce in the limited minutes he got, and the minutes were not going to be there next year.

Demario Mayfield also had potential. Not everyone on a roster is going to get significant minutes. A good team needs some guys who are willing to contribute and perhaps wait their turn. I thought that Mayfield might have an opportunity to play more in the future if he just worked hard on his game.

Oh well.

What does this mean for the future? Hopefully, we have recruits coming in that can replace them. Josh Langford? Dwayne Polee? Jucos? We'll find out in mid-April.

Good luck, Drazen and Demario!

Josh Langford Scores Big

Langford went for 25 points in the Mississippi vs. Alabama all-star game. Langford led all scorers and was the Alabama MVP.

Langord hit on 11 of 17. He had two dunks for the contest. He also corraled 9 rebounds.

Alabama lost the game. The guys from Mississippi were too fast and too good from long-range.

Not sure where we stand with Langford right now. I'm thinking that perhaps he'll end up witth Anthony Grant at Alabama. Clemson is also in the picture.

Langford

Help is on the way

Cady Lalanne scored 17 points and added 6 rebounds and 6 blocked shots in the championship game against Fort Myers.

Lalanne's team, Oak Ridge High, lost 59 to 57.

Now that Lalanne's basketball playing time in high school is done, both he and UGA's fans can look forward to his arrival in Athens. Cady will replace some of the size lost due to Albert Jackson's graduation. And we need at least one more quality big. As Georgia found out in the game against Kentucky, it's hard to score when the other team combines good big guys with long perimeter defenders.

Help is on the way for Coach Fox and the Dawgs. The question is, just how much? Trent Johnson went from an SEC championship to the worst record in the league not because he forgot how to coach, but because he lost really good players after last season.

So if Georgia is to move out of last place in the SEC East, we need Lalanne and Gerald Robinson to contribute right away. Will we have any other freshmen? Can we sign Dwayne Polee, Donte Williams or Josh Langford? What about still elite unsigned guys like Doron Lamb or Terrence Ross? Are there any other players in Alabama, middle Georgia or elsewhere that can help Georgia to win next year?

If Fox can bring in only two additional players this spring, who should it be? Who is it likely to be? Let me know your thoughts.

Josh Langford Leads Team to Championship Title

Josh Langford was named the MVP of the state basketball tournament held this past weekend. He scored 15 points with 10 rebounds in the championship game. Lee beat Carver High by a score of 62 to 48.

I don't know whether he will sign with Georgia next month, but if he does, UGA would be getting a versatile defender and scorer. With the right amount of hard work, Langford could blossom out on the wing.

Josh Langford Leads Lee

Had an incredible game on all fronts. Scored 23 points, with 8 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Devin Langford notched 16 points.

Lee Over Butler

Josh Langford Held to 10 Points

Lee wins anyway.

Josh picked up two fouls early in the first half and headed to the bench. The contest seemed to be going in Russellville's favor. However, Lee kept it together and got contributions from other players.

Devin Langford scored 19 points with 14 rebounds.

The final score was Lee, 71, Russellville, 68.

Josh Langford Scores 31

Langford led the Lee Generals to a 92 to 91 triple over-time victory over Butler.

Langford hit the game-winning three-pointer from deep.

http://www.al.com/hsbasketball/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1265710548244150.xml&coll=1

Good pictures by the Examiner from a recent game.

http://www.examiner.com/ExaminerSlideshow.html?entryid=987272&slide=1

Josh Langford Powers Through Knee Injury

Langford "manned up" against the Johnson High Jaguars last night. Wearing a knee brace to protect himself from further injury, Langford was pretty much held in check in the first half, scoring just one bucket.

In the third quarter, Langford came to life. Josh scored 10 of the Lee Generals' first 14 points. Langford ended the game with a total of 18.

I don't know if Langford is one of the "spring signees" to whom Mark Fox was referring, but the Dawgs could do a lot worse.

Langford Leads Lee

to victory over Sparkman.

Langford's school won the Huntsville Times Classic, beating Sparkman High in the championship game yesterday by a final score of 68 to 66.

Josh Langford was everywhere. Huge game. He tallied 31 points with 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

Langford is "Special"

Josh Langford was saddled with foul trouble in yesterday's semi-final game of the Huntsville Times Classic, but he played just enough in the second half to dominate the game and lead Lee High to another victory.

Langford scored 25 points with 8 rebounds, an effort that caused his coach to glowingly describe Josh as "special."

Josh Langford to Georgia?

He is definitely Georgia's to lose. Langford has said for a while that UGA is his leader, and when asked during a holiday tournament about recruitment, Langford mentioned Georgia as the school likely to secure his commitment.

Langford scored a double-double in his most recent contest. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead Lee High over Decatur of Alabama. Lee High will proceed to the second round in the Huntsville Times Classic.

A class of Langford, Lalanne and Robinson would add a lot of punch to Georgia's bench. Wonder if there is a Juco shooter out there looking for a place to call home...

Double-Doubles for Double Langfords

Josh Langford and Lee High played Langford's old school, Johnson High, over the weekend.

Both Josh and his cousin, Devin Langford, registered double-doubles.

Lee over Johnson

Looks Like Billy, Plays Like Terrance?

I recently saw a picture of Josh Langford, UGA's basketball recruit, and it occurred to me that he looked a bit like Billy Humphrey. I guess it was the tatoos that made me think that way.

Josh Langford has reportedly moved Georgia to the top of his list, and if we can get him for 2010, it sounds like a good move to me. That means that next year we would lose Albert Jackson and Ricky McPhee, and add Gerald Robinson (the transfer who will be newly eligible in 2010/11), Cady Lalanne, and Langford.

If Langford signs, I'd still be somewhat concerned with the make-up of the 2010 class, because we really need a shooter, and Langford has been described as more of a combo forward than a sweet-shooting small forward. Then I remembered Terrance Woodbury. When Felton brought Woodbury in from Coastal Christian Academy, Terrance had mostly played center or power forward. It wasn't until the last part of his high school career that Woodbury began to develop the skill-set to play on the wing.

I remembered, too, that Woodbury had transferred from Granby High School to Coastal Christian. Although I wonder about players that jump from school to school (Langford transferred as a senior to Lee High School, where he plays now, and de-committed from Louisville), Woodbury worked out great for Georgia.

Maybe the same will be true for Langford. He has good hops, and is a slasher. He likes to get to the rim. At 6' 6", he has played mostly in the post. Can he work on his handles and find his niche at the 3-spot?

I sure hope so. If Langford keeps developing his jump-shot, Georgia might be okay offensively with Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins, Cady Lalanne, Josh Langford, and Gerald Robinson providing the team with scoring punch.

At any rate, I think Langford will end up at Georgia. He is said to have Auburn and Alabama as the other major schools he is considering, and Auburn already has a jam-packed class for 2010 (something like 6 signees already). If I'm Langford, I see the lack of a scoring wing on UGA's squad, and I sign up at the next opportunity.

Josh Langford Leads Team to Victory

UGA recruit Josh Langford is playing well these days.

In his last game, Langford scored 24 points with 11 boards.

Lee High Wins

Tobias Harris to UT

Bruce Pearl continues to roll on the recruiting front. Tobias Harris is a good combo forward who should fit in well with UT's style of play.

I'm still hoping that there will be good news eventually for the Dawgs. That may be a stretch, I know. The early signing period has come and gone without much activity. There aren't a lot of elite athletes left for the class of 2010.

I refuse to believe that the Dawgs will sign just one player. My understanding is that Josh Langford is interested. Well, let's get him.

Josh and Devin Langford

Cousins play well for Lee High. Both showed strong all-around games. Huntsville stayed in the game, but Lee was able to come out with the victory.

Recap