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.

Dawgs Lose

to Arkansas.  Final score:  85 to 67.

J.J. shot 5 of 15 from the floor.  He was pretty gassed, and battled foul trouble.

No other back court player picked him up.  Juwan Parker was 2 for 10.  Tyree Crump was 2 for 10.  Turtle Jackson was 2 of 7.  Throw in Jordan Harris at 0 for 1, and Pape Diatta at 0 for 2, and Georgia's other guards were 6 for 30 (20 percent).

Derek Ogbeide played well, and Mike Edwards was effective off the bench, but when they shoot 55 percent as a team compared to our 31 percent, a twenty-point loss or thereabouts is what you expect.

Sure could have used Yante Maten.

Can't see Georgia getting to the NCAA's unless we win the SEC Tournament.

Dawgs Edge Auburn: DaugMan's Ten Take-Aways

Dawgs beat Auburn by 1 last night.  Huge win for the team.  Proud of the guys.

Here are my 10 Take-Aways:

1.  J.J. Frazier is the Man!

31 points, with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.  Hit 5 of 9 three-pointers.  Clutch game on senior night.  Averaged 31 points a game in our last four contests.  He's the biggest little man in the country.

Loved the quote from Coach Avery Johnson at Alabama, who, at 5' 11", just an inch taller than J.J., and also left-handed, played for 15 years in the NBA.  Speaking of Frazier, Coach Johnson remarked, "He's the chef for the team.  He cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the Georgia Bulldogs."
 
Frazier has stated that he has sought to vindicate Mark Fox for giving him a scholarship.  And lest we forget, Fox gave Frazier second and third chances, after J.J. got arrested for driving without a license in March of 2014, and driving with a suspended license in August of 2015.

Well, I had my doubts, too, about how effective J.J. would be at finishing at the rim against SEC competition.  Had my doubts about whether he fully appreciated the opportunity to play basketball for the University of Georgia.  Thought he had some potential, but also saw that he shot 35 percent from the floor and 66 percent from the line (same percentage as center, Donte Williams) his freshman year.

No one doubts much about J.J. any longer.  He's improved as a basketball player and matured as a man.  Frazier loves Fox, loves to compete, and loves the University of Georgia.  Bravo, J.J.!

2.  Mark Fox is UGA's Coach

I posted previously that if Fox could pick up wins in more than half of our remaining games, he would be rightfully credited with doing his best coaching, and most assuredly would be back next year.  The Dawgs have gone 3 for 3 since.

Sure, there are those who would give the credit for the victories solely to J.J., but Fox correctly noted that for the Dawgs to have a chance to win after Yante Maten went down, UGA would have to play differently against each team.  We have, and we have won.

3.  Tyree Crump is pretty good

Didn't get to see the game on t.v., but the Box Score tells a compelling story.  Crump went 2 of 3 from behind the arc, and 2 of 2 from inside it.  He beat his man off the dribble in one of the highlights, and converted off the glass.

I have pushed for Fox to play Crump more.  Don't see how Fox can keep him on the bench with the production Crump is giving.

4.  Jordan Harris is okay

Not "okay" as a player, but "okay" as in reference to his health.  Fox had commented that Harris has had a chip in a bone, but he refused to say which bone, when the injury occurred, or for how long Jordan would be out.

Well, lo and behold, Harris played last night.  Hit a three, and converted two opportunities from the line.  His health is apparently fine, and even more mysteriously, he's not playing like a guy coming off an injury.

What went on?  We may never know.  All I can say is that Jordan Harris is okay.

5.  Georgia is not just Yante Maten

E'torrion Wilridge has picked up all the minutes from Yante's absence.  I don't think I've ever credited Fox for a personnel decision, but I'll do it now.  Playing Wilridge makes better sense than starting Mike Edwards.  Nothing against Mike, but Wilridge is able to defend better against quicker players, and we need to save Edwards as a guy who can give us "big man" minutes, in case Derek Ogbeide gets in foul trouble.

6.  Derek Ogbeide is a horse

Dude had 10 points and 15 boards last night.  Can't even remember when a Georgia player last got 15 rebounds.

7.  Dynamic Duo still not seen

J.J. has played his best basketball while Yante has been out.  He has carried the team because he's had to do it.

Early in the season, it was Yante having the huge games, and J.J.'s shooting seemed off.  Remember that Kansas game from back in November?  Georgia had a chance for a huge statement win.  Yante had 30 points and was killing them on the inside.  Kansas went to a zone and the Dawgs fell behind and lost by 11.

If J.J. had played big in that game, we would have destroyed Kansas.  However, Frazier fizzled.  He played 33 minutes, but never really got on track, achieving just 2 points and 3 turnovers, going 1 for 10 for the floor and 0 for 6 from behind the arc.

Or take our first game against Kentucky.  The Dawgs lost in overtime at Rupp.  Yante went 8 of 15.  J.J. went 8 of 21.  Not a terrible game, but had J.J. played up to his standards, Georgia would have taken that game.

When the Cats came to Athens, J.J. played huge.  Scored 35 points on 11 for 22 shooting.  Problem?  Yante had gone down earlier in the game with a knee injury.

Don't know if Yante can come back this season, or if he does, how effective he will be.  If J.J. and Yante both play dynamically, we can beat anybody in the country.  

8.  Everybody Else

Georgia got contributions from up and down in the roster.  Sure we've got a Dynamic Duo, but it's great to see we've got a Justice League, too.  I mentioned Crump, Harris and Ogbeide already.  Juwan Parker didn't shoot that well, going 4 for 12 from the field, but he grabbed 8 rebounds.

9.  Momentum

Georgia finally seems to have it.  Momemtum and even karma seems to be trending our way.

Didn't expect to be able to say that when Yante got hurt in a freak accident.  Everything that could go wrong was seeming to happen.

However, after the overtime loss at Florida, the overtime loss at Kentucky, and the clock debacle at Texas A&M, we're actually coming out ahead in close games.  We won by 1 at Tennessee, by 2 against LSU, by 5 at Alabama, and by 1 against Auburn.  We're 5 out of our last 6.

Who's to say that we couldn't go into Arkansas and win?  If so, Georgia would have huge momentum going into the SEC Tournament.

10.  NCAA Tournament

The win at Auburn and the victories accomplished in this stretch run all strengthen the possibilities of Georgia going to the NCAA Tournament.  If we win the SEC Tournament, of course, then we punch our own ticket to the Big Dance.  But if we fall short of the SEC tourney title, there's still a slim chance of an at-large bid.

Win at Arkansas, and get a couple of victories in the SEC Tournament, then perhaps the NCAA Selection Committee will look at all the above:  J.J. Frazier as one of the most exciting players in America.  A recovering Yante Maten.  Other guys doing just enough in support.  Momentum.  Playing Kentucky, Kansas and Florida and giving them all they could handle.  Overcoming the odds.

Sure, we're an underdog, but what better feeling is there than seeing a Cinderella dance?  Than seeing an underdog win?  Than the Dynamic Duo and the Justice League vanquishing their foes at the end?

I'm a hoops fan.  Hope you are, too.  Go Dawgs, beat Arkansas!!!

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.

Georgia Beats Texas: Ten Good Signs

Georgia beat Texas by 2 yesterday evening.  Boy, did we ever need that win.  Fox needed that win.  Not sure he would have survived a third consecutive loss.  Since some UGA fans have wanted UT coach, Shaka Smart, to come to Athens, it was good to see Fox get the W.

There were numerous good signs in the game.

1.  J.J. Frazier has good second half

Frazier didn't shoot the ball well.  If memory serves me, he was 0 for 5 from the field in the first half.

His stats for the game weren't great.  I think he ended up shooting 5 for 16.  The key, however, is that he came back in the second half and hit some key buckets.  Frazier also resisted the urge to do it all by himself, passing up at least one long-range jumper and getting the ball to Maten.

2.  Maten had a good game

Yante seems to play well against big physical line-ups.  Shaquille Cleare, the Texas center, is a huge man at 6' 8", 275.  Jarrett Allen is 6' 11", 235, and they bring Georgia native, James Banks, off the bench at 6' 10", 240.  

Yet with all of their physicality, Maten was able to post up and still not get knocked out of position by the Texas front line.  Yante finished with 21 points and 7 boards, outscoring the combined total of their big guys.

3.  Georgia won the turnover battle

Texas had 14 turnovers.  UGA had just 12.  That's huge.

4.  We broke the press

Late in the game, when the Longhorns threw their press against us, Georgia maintained composure.  

The way we played against A&M, you would think that we never practice against the press.  Well, we did enough this game, using J.J. as a decoy, getting the ball in to Turtle and having him attack from one side, then J.J. from the other.  We narrowly avoiding a J.J. Frazier turnover toward the end, but we didn't give the ball back to them, and they didn't have any fast-break opportunities off of our sloppiness.  I don't think they got a single turnover off of their press.  Good work, Dawgs.

5.  Turtle Jackson played well

His stats won't overwhelm you, but he had 2 points, 2 steals, 2 assists and 0 turnovers.  I like Jordan Harris and his athleticism, but late in the game when you need someone to bring the ball up court, Turtle Jackson is a better option.

6.  Fox gave Tyree Crump some time

Crump has to get used to playing.  We'll need him before the year is out, and he will absolutely have to play major minutes next year.  No sense for Fox to keep sitting him at the end of the bench.  Granted, Crump played only 4 minutes, but that's more than he's been getting, and the experience will help him later on.

7.  Enough contributions from other guys

Jordan Harris hit two long-range shots.  Juwan Parker scored 9, including two huge buckets late in the game.  Derek Ogbeide and Mike Edwards were physical enough against their guys.  Derek needs to learn to set screens, though.  

8.  Fans showed up

Well, the Steg didn't look full from what I could tell, but there was enough of a crowd.  The commentators said that all the tickets were sold.  

9.  The clock issues continued, but...

When the officials went to the monitor to check on whether Derek Ogbeide got the ball up before the shot clock expired, I had a bad feeling.  Sure enough, Derek's bucket was disallowed.  Yet up two, Georgia tightened up on defense and found a way to win.

10.  Georgia got lucky

Looked like the shot by their guy was going in.  The refs could have called a foul on Yante.  But neither happened.  The shot went in, then twisted out.  Lady Luck smiled on us instead of her usual scowl.  Dawgs won by 2. 

Georgia is now 13 and 8, heading into a tough stretch of opponents, including Kentucky, South Carolina, and Florida.  Would be amazing if Fox can win two out of these next three.  It can happen.  

Go Dawgs!

Lost in all the Commotion

over the poor substitution patterns was this fact:

The Dawgs starters and key reserves had a pretty good outing against Oakland.  I was particularly pleased that Juwan Parker seems to have his springs back.  He shot 5 for 11 from the field, and 5 of 5 from the line, for 15 points, which was by far his best performance of the year.

J.J. had 18 points in the first half, if memory serves me.  He was on target until Fox pulled him.  When Oakland took the lead in the second half, he went iso-J.J., and started missing from long distance.  The point is that J.J. found his touch, at least for a half.

Yante Maten didn't score much, and fouled out without hitting double figures, but Dawgs fans already know what he can do.

Derek Ogbeide is on a bit of a roll.  Had a double-double for the game, 13 points on 6 of 8 shooting, and 12 rebounds.  Will be a bit harder as he is matched with bigger players during the conference portion of the season, but Ogbeide is a force in the paint.

Turtle Jackson did a good job at the point.  He looked fantastic, in fact, except for that air-ball three-pointer he shot when the Dawgs were trying to catch up late in the game.  Still think he needs to work on his mechanics and focus on locking his elbow in tight and going straight up with his shot.  Firing across his body will lead to bad misses to the left or the right.

In any case, Jackson had 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting.  He was 2 of 4 from behind the arc, and had zero turnovers.  That's great work for a back-up point guard.

Jordan Harris scored 9 points.  Still turns the ball over too much.  He needs to focus on scoring when he drives the ball.  He is still getting used to added muscle, so as the season goes on, he will get better and better.

Mike Edwards had 4 points and 6 boards.  Tyree Crump was only given one minute of PT.

Diatta, KPG, Kessler, and Wilridge did not play well.  Thirty minutes between them, and zero points.

Bottom line:  If J.J. follows the Oakland game with regained scoring ability, Yante has his normal outing, and Jordan, Derek, Juwan, Mike and Turtle keep giving solid contributions, Georgia may overcome the Fox crazy substitutions and still win its share of SEC games.    

 

Season Ends

Congrats to the guys, particularly Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines.  You represented us well.  

I know that Juwan is frustrated that his bad wheel wouldn't let him get on the court this year.  If he has to hang up the sneakers and move on due to his injury, he's got a bright future.  

1.  Basketball when played well, is a fantastic sport

Not just to play, but to watch.  As Georgia gets better, the crowds will show up.  Jordan Harris plays an exciting brand.  So does J.J. Frazier.  

2.  UGA will be a better squad next year

Yante Maten will only get better.  This year's freshmen will mature and improve over the summer, and next year's freshmen are SEC-ready athletes.

3.    Still don't understand the sub patterns

Didn't watch the game, but from all I could tell, Derek Ogbeide was doing great.  Predictably, he was yanked right at what seemed to me to be the three-minute mark.  I don't think he scored another point all game.  Fort those of you who watched the game, let me know if I'm wrong.  I think we were leading or tied with St. Mary's when he was pulled.  We had an advantage with Ogbeide and the substitution broke his rhythm.  

4.  Yante Maten

Sad that he had to close out the season with a poor performance.  If he shoots under 30 percent for the game, Georgia will lose nine times out of ten.

5.  Wacky Gyms

Unfair advantage for the home team.  Hopefully, UGA will make the NCAA Tournament next year and it won't be as big an issue.  Still is a bit of one every time we go play at Vandy.  

6.  Recruiting

Hopeful UGA can pick up another Derek Ogbeide or Mike Edwards in the spring recruiting cycle.  

As I have posted previously, I would like to see us bring in Bruno Fernando, Harold Baruti or Deshaun Corprew.  It's frustrating to not see Georgia mentioned prominently by any of the top remaining recruits.

Proud of the Dawgs (Seven Thoughts)

1.  Momentum

 Knew we couldn't pull it out when J.J. got hurt.  He's the only guy on the roster with the speed to get past UK defenders off the bounce and finish with off-balance lay-ups or floaters.

It was one of those floaters that unfortunately led to Georgia's defeat.  Frazier penetrated, lofted up a floater, which went in, but he landed on one of their guys' foot.

Turned ankles happen like that all the time when you play basketball, but J.J.'s occurred at the worst possible moment for Georgia.

Calipari noted after the game, "The break we had was when J.J. hurt his ankle."  "That was a big break for us because we couldn't guard them."

2.  UK Strategy

Kentucky went right after J.J., post-injury, and Briscoe took advantage by driving him right to the basket.  J.J. is a willing defender, but with one bad wheel, Briscoe overpowered him.  Don't blame Calipari at all.

3.  UGA Strategy

Kudos to Coach Fox for finding a way to put UK on their heels.  Great coaching. It worked, too, for 3 quarters of the game.  In the end, we ran out of gas.  Kenny Gaines had a couple of good looks rim out that he might have hit when rested.

I guess J.J. probably "deserved" to have a chance to play through pain and give it his best shot. However, in retrospect, it probably would have been better to close out the game with Turtle Jackson at the point,

4.  Big Men

Once again, our big men outplayed Kentucky's.  Happened last year when Marcus Thornton and Nemi Djurisic led the charge.  This time, Maten went for 20 and Ogbeide did a great job on the boards.  Houston Kessler was scrappy.

UK starters Poythress and Labissiere didn't hurt us.  Lee was neutralized for the most part.  Kentucky has great depth, though, and as Georgia got tired, Willis hit free throws and open looks.

Proud of Derek Ogbeide, Mike Edwards, and Yante Maten.  Those guys will play a lot of great basketball for Georgia in the future.  Maten has another level to reach.  Want to see him come out chiseled next year.  When Edwards gets stronger and adds three or four inches of leaping ability, and Ogbeide gets down an improved right-hand jump hook, look out!

5.  Recruiting

I hope some guys watched UGA today.  Nothing better than representing the Dawgs on the floor.

Sure, you can choose to play way across the country, like Jaylen B. at California, Tony Parker at UCLA, or Kobi Simmons at Arizona.  But no one from this side of the country gets to see you play in person, and the games aren't even on t.v.  Tony Parker is finishing his senior year at UCLA.  His 13 points and 8 rebounds a game would have been huge for us.  Meanwhile, the Bruins are 10th in the PAC-12, and not going to the NCAA's.  With their losing record, it doesn't even look like they'll be invited to the NIT.

Some elite players may want to head north up the east coast.  Same answer as above.  Why go to Duke or another school, when you can be the man at Georgia?  Even out of state players should give Georgia a serious look.

Who wouldn't want to come in and help?  J.J. and next year's four sophomores will be that much better, and Jordan Harris and Tyree Crump will ratchet things up on offense.  We're just a player or two away from having an incredible run.

6.  Coach Fox

For those who wanted a coaching change, it ain't gonna happen.  If Fox will use his momentum and continue to play fast on offense and zone on defense, that would be enough of a coaching change for most of us.  That, and #5 above.

7.  NCAA Tournament

Makes sense to me to have four teams from the SEC in the NCAA Tournament:  UK, Texas AM, South Carolina and UGA.  I think we're in.  Sure, I'm biased, but Georgia closed the season with five straight wins and a close one against Kentucky.   That's a lot for the selection committee to disregard.


All in all, great game, Dawgs.  A win would have been huge, but you represented us well.

Can Dawgs Win at Rupp?

Very, very difficult to win there.  We have had some talented squads at Georgia, and we go up there and the environment, the talent and the refs get us all flustered.

With that said, we almost beat Kentucky last season (at Stegeman, though), and this year's Kentucky team isn't nearly as good.  Besides that, we haven't had a game all year during which Gaines, Mann, Frazier and Maten all play well.  If we can hit some outside shots and UK has a let-down after their big Florida win, UGA might steal one.  If we do, Georgia and Kentucky will be tied for second place in the SEC with matching 7 and 4 records.

Come to think of it, it's not inconceivable that Georgia could end up winning the SEC.  LSU will have to lose some, and Texas A&M and South Carolina will have to stumble, but it could happen.

Let's see what Fox does with the match-up zone.  Maybe Poythress will be out with an injury.  Perhaps Fox will start Mike Edwards and see if he can beat their big men off the dribble.

Are you ready?  Let's get started!

Why? Ten Things I Don't Understand

Got lots of questions.  Maybe some of the readers can help me, 'cause I don't get Coach Mark Fox's strategy.

1)  Why is Kessler still starting?

Nothing against him, but the centers in the SEC are bigger and stronger.  I suppose that Kessler knows the offense better than Ogbeide or Edwards, but by the time of SEC competition, the freshmen should know the plays.  I think Egbunu had 2 or 3 dunks on Kessler within the first two or three minutes in the game.  That allowed Florida to play from ahead, and we were playing catch-up from there.

Besides that, when Kessler screened a defender, Florida would double-team the ball and just let Kessler run loose, knowing that he isn't an offensive threat.  Kessler was 0 for 2 from the floor, with 0 rebounds, 0 assists and a turnover.  We have to get some production from that position, or it's going to be a long year.

2)  Why do we allow teams to walk the ball up the floor uncontested?

UF uses the 2-2-1 press as a staple to slow teams down.  By the time we get into our offense, the 30 second clock is working against us.  We have a press.  Mike Edwards played for a high school team on which the full court press was used every game with Edwards on the ball.  Why not press at least some?

3)  Why don't we put at least two guys along the lane to rebound missed foul shots?

If Ogbeide is shooting a one and one, then put somebody along the lane to catch the long rebound.  We generally don't have rebounders line up when we shoot free throws.  If we were shooting 80 percent or above as a team, I guess it would make more sense to me.  Predictably, Ogbeide missed the one and one, the ball caromed off the rim, but we didn't have anyone on that side of the line to rebound it.

4)  Why run the zone when we need to speed up their offense?

We sat back and let them run clock.  Made no sense to me.

5)  Why not foul when we need to get more possessions?

They shot 57 percent from the line.  Florida was already in the double bonus.  Might as well use the hack-a-Gator strategy so we can get the ball back.

6)  If Chuck is struggling, why not give Jackson more minutes?

Charles was 1 for 7 from the field with 3 turnovers and 0 assists.  Jackson did not score, but he needs to get minutes if Charles is off.  Most of Jackson's shot attempts were long ones at the end of the game when the clock was running out.

Chuck's free throws are better this year, but everything else seems off.

7)  Why not try some 1-3-1?

Seems like Fox goes with the zone when I would play man, and he plays man when I would play zone.  You can get some turnovers when you spring the 1-3-1 on opposing teams.  I don't think I've ever seen us use the 1-3-1.

8)  Why can't we get some rebounds?

I suppose this goes back to giving Ogbeide and Edwards more time.  Do we need to start Wilridge and bring Chuck off the bench?

9)  Why didn't we recruit Egbunu?

Egbunu went to school in the Atlanta area.  I pushed for us to give him a look.  Hard for me to believe that we couldn't have fought off USF for his recruitment.

10)  Are we really bad, or did we just have a bad night?

Hate to lose to a first-year coach when Fox has been here seven years.  I know you can lose a game down in Gainesville when they are shooting the ball well, but it just looked like they out-coached us.

Uggghh.  We'll play better, but the SEC is tougher this year.  Hope we can get things turned around.  As for now, I just have a lot of questions.

Georgia Can Win at Florida: Five Keys

Always difficult to come away with a victory when playing down in Gainesville.  However, the Dawgs can get it done.  Here are my five keys.

1)  Watch for the trap

Florida runs a 2-2-1 full court press.  The way to beat it is by using a 1-1-1-2 concept in bringing the ball up.

In other words, Georgia should keep a man behind the guard dribbling the ball up the floor,  If the trap comes, UGA's guard should throw the ball back to the guard trailing the action.  That guard should then have the angle to advance the ball quickly.

In addition, there should be a guy posted in the middle of the floor, and two guys on the baseline, close enough to their hoop so our guys have to be guarded, but far enough away so that they can become an outlet on the side of the floor, if needed.

In no case should we dribble the ball to the corner and stop. They will run us out of the gym if we give them easy steals and transition buckets.

Georgia's three-guard line-up of Gaines, Frazier and Mann should be able to break Florida's press.

2)  Make them shoot over the top

UF does not have a guy this year like Michael Frazier II, who was Florida's designated three-point marksman last season.  He set the Florida record for three-pointers made in a season, and once made 11 in a game against South Carolina.  Frazier declared for the NBA draft last season.

Since Florida struggles with outside shooting, I would sag on their on-ball screens and make sure the screen-man diving to the hoop isn't open.

KeVaughn Allen is a guy who can shoot the ball pretty well, but even still I'd make him prove that he is hot, before risking giving Florida the chance to drive the ball to the hole and make relatively easy shots or get our guys in foul trouble.

3)  Don't fall for the fake shot-clock

Some of their fans have started yelling out a count-down, as if the shot clock is going down to zero.  Our point guards should keep track of the actual clock and ignore their fans.

4)  Run when we can

If we get some turnovers, or rebound some of their long misses, we have to push the ball up the floor and score quickly.  Let's take their crowd out of the game.

5)  Play the match-ups

That means, use the match-up zone some.  Cut off their guards' penetration angles and avoid getting our guards in foul trouble.  But it also means that Fox should utilize his bench.  Give Ogbeide and Mike Edwards enough time for them to get Egbunu in foul trouble.  

We owe Mike White one.  Let's go to Gainesville and come back with the W.

Bruno Fernando

6' 10" post player.  Plays with aggression.  Has pretty good skill, too.  Could be a great late pick-up, a guy like Mike Edwards.  Bruno's coach, who coached Ben Simmons last year, calls Fernando the most underrated player in the country.  Some SEC schools are in the mix already, so if UGA wants him, we'd better catch up soon.

Hard to say how many spots UGA will have for 2016.  Likewise, it's hard to say what kind of player UGA is going for with the third scholarship after the additions of Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris.

I've said before that I like Harold Baruti, Deshaun Corprew and Darius Hicks.  But if we are looking for a big, or if we somehow end up with two spots instead of one, Coach Hayes might be wise to scout Fernando and then work his recruiting magic.  I could see Fernando being a 4/5 guy, like Yante Maten.

Lot to like about Bruno Fernando.

Time for Mike Edwards

to play big.  The game against Robert Morris tonight at 7:00 p.m. should be a win for UGA.  With that said, nobody wins by just showing up.  The Dawgs will have to jump on RM quickly and not let them get their confidence going.  Robert Morris has some size and ability.

The key to the game could be the play of Mike Edwards.  It's hard to get comfortable when you first come in as an athlete.  You don't know the guys and you have to learn the plays.  Totally, totally different than high school.  But after a while, as you keep working on things in practice, the game slows down.

I enjoyed reading the Red and Black article on Edwards.  I missed it when it came out a month or so ago.  I especially appreciated the comments about Mike Edwards' high school experience and the role that John Glenn High's Coach Rod Watts had on Edwards.

Edwards wasn't initially highly recruited, as the article explains:

"The spot with the Bulldogs came after a breakout senior season in Michigan. He started his last year of high school with one college scholarship offer — Akron — and eventually gained notice across the country with his improved play.

An influence in Edwards’ late bloom was Rod Watts. Watts took over as the head basketball coach at John Glenn High School in Westland, Michigan, after Edwards’ junior season. With experience coaching players like Al Horford and Draymond Green, Watts recognized Edwards had unique talent. His task was to make him even better."

Takes some time to get on the court and play like you know you can.  Coach Jonas Hayes is high on Mike Edwards, and I have come around to the same viewpoint.  When Edwards gets the plays down and learns the nuances like setting screens properly (the refs never give the new guys the benefit of the doubt), his natural speed and athleticism will have a chance to emerge.

Like tonight.  Edwards should get some playing time in relief of either Yante Maten or Houston Kessler.  We haven't seen much from Edwards since the game against Oakland, in which Edwards scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds (Edwards averages 3 points and 3 boards a game this season).  Well, like the Oakland game, Edwards can perform at a high level, and I'm looking forward to seeing him play more and play well.

You've been practicing enough.  It's time to play.  Let's go, Mike!

Great Game Against Clemson

Charles Mann scored 18 points on 5 of 8 shooting, and 8 of 8 from the free throw line.  Fantastic game.  He did have the one offensive foul when he should have pulled up for the jumper or gone with the floater, but that's okay.  Aggressive players will have one of those per outing.  Otherwise, Mann handled the ball well and made great decisions.

Yante Maten went 3 for 3 from the field and 2 for 2 from the line.  Just 8 points in 15 minutes.  He had foul trouble going against Clemson's burly front line.

Kenny Gaines was 6 of 10 from the floor.  Was 3 of 6 from deep.  Finished with 17 points.

J.J. Frazier wasn't on.  He was 3 of 9 from the field and just 1 of 3 from the line.  He still had 5 boards and 4 assists with 0 turnovers.

DO got 11 minutes of playing time.  Seemed like more.  Ogbeide is steadily recovering from the shoulder injury. Shot 3 of 6 from the floor.  Mike Edwards had 3 points and 3 blocked shots in 24 minutes.  He'll get better as he learns what to do and gets stronger.

Clemson scored 48 points,  Just 27 percent shooting.  Georgia's defense was good.  Probably not that good.  Clemson is a bad team.  They've beaten Presbyterian, Wofford, and South Carolina Upstate, but not much of anybody else.  Clemson will struggle mightily in the ACC this year. They lack an elite ball handler and a few other pieces.

Still, Clemson is a major university, and the win should be a huge confidence builder for Mark Fox, Charles Mann and Dawg fans.

Never, ever supposed to lose to Tech

in any sport.

Glad that order has been restored.  We still owe them a few games in basketball, though.  I think that with the recruits coming in next year and with what we have now, we should be able to win at their place.

Congrats to the whole Dawgs team.  Somewhat concerned that neither Charles Mann nor Kenny Gaines played well.  I know that Chuck has been moved around a bit and that Gaines had the knee injury, but I hope they get their mojo back.  Chuck was 1 for 6 from the floor. Maybe he needs to stretch more.  He has bulked up a good bit over the last couple of years.  I wonder whether he needs to work on flexibility.

After seeing James White play for the first time, I think Georgia fans will be thrilled that UGA ended up with Mike Edwards and not White.  White has potential, and he did score 4 points against us.  At the end of the day, however, I'm not sure how much he would have helped UGA this year if he had in fact signed with us.  Same with Tevin Mack.  Mack is averaging 5 points a game on 24% shooting.

The fact that neither White nor Mack signed meant the scholarship was open for Mike Edwards to take.  James White, having only one year of eligibility, would have had to fit in and produce right away.  Meanwhile, Edwards has four years to develop, and he has all the physical tools to have a breakout year next year.

J.J. Frazier was the story today.  Totally outplayed their guards and ended up with 35 points.  Hope it was a cramp there for him at the end.

Great win for the Dawgs.

Watched what I could of the live practice

Enjoyed seeing Jarvis Hayes again.  Good to have the interviews, but I would have preferred to see the team do more drills.  It was much more "Media Day" than "Live Stream of Practice."  Guess we won't know about much about how the guys look until the exhibition game.

With that said, here are a few observations:

Kenny Gaines looks thicker.  Without seeing him move around, it's hard to tell if he's put on good weight, or whether he has gained weight because he hasn't been able to participate fully in conditioning drills.

Juwan Parker has a brace on his leg.  Likely means he won't play much at the beginning of the year.

Fox has Turtle Jackson learning the point.  Great to be three-deep at the point guard position, especially in light of the two recruits scheduled to come in next year, but it makes me wonder what we will do this year if Kenny and Juwan don't heal completely.  I guess that by learning the point, Jackson should be able to know where the two-guard is supposed to go, so it stands to reason that he could play the shooting guard position if needed.

E'Torrion Wilridge does indeed have a nice stroke.  Elbow is locked in tight and good follow-through.

Derek Ogbeide is a man in the post.  Once again, I am reminded of Cordy Glenn, a guy who got better and better every year on the O-line for the football Dawgs.  It's rare to get a stocky guy who also plays above the rim.  Jeremy Price and Takais Brown were two former Dawgs hoops players who had the beef, but lacked the explosiveness.  Chris Barnes of a few years ago is probably the best comparison.

Fox seems to think that Kenny Paul Geno took a significant step forward in the off-season.  KPG is such a "tweener" that I really don't expect him to get a lot of minutes.  He can jump and has a fairly reasonable shooting motion if he gets his feet set.  However, he doesn't seem big enough for the power forward position, nor quick enough for the wing.  If he scores 5 points a night, I would be surprised.  I would love to be wrong.

They are referring to Mike Edwards as being 6' 10".  Is that right?  Whether he's 6' 9" or 10", if he runs the floor like they say he can, he will be a load for other teams to handle this year.

Looking forward to the season.

Bring in Baruti Now!

Harold Baruti is a player.  Guy is 6' 6", shoots 40 percent from behind the arc, and has impressive hops.  Defends.  Gets you 10 points, 5 boards, and a steal per game on a Mountain Mission team with other D1 recruits.  What's not to like?

Harold Baruti has only one or two D1 offers, best I can tell from the published reports.  He's a diamond in the rough like Mike Edwards.

Bring Baruti in and he can play either the 2 or the 3 position.  We need another scorer, since we're losing Kenny Gaines and Charles Mann after this year.  I know we will have Jordan Harris and Tyree Crump, but we don't have any depth at the three position behind Wilridge.

While we're at it, let's recruit Jethro Tshisumpa, too.  Not the most skilled player right now, but he's a big man who can block shots, rebound, run the floor, catch passes cleanly and dunk.  With a year behind Derek Ogbeide, Tshisumpa could really blossom.  I don't see where that scholarship would come from, but if we had one available beyond the one given to Baruti, Tshisumpa would be a good catch.

Jonas, I know we might be eyeing another stretch 4.  I really think that in a year like this one, you bring in the best player available.  That's Harold Baruti, in my opinion.

Interesting Pieces

1,  News Articles

Good to see some news about the basketball Dawgs.  GeorgiaDogs.com has a video featuring Houston Kessler.  Here's the one on Kenny Gaines.

There's more out on the Web.  If you haven't checked it out already, you should visit the Dawgs' Twitter page.

2.  Roster

I'm about as curious as anyone on how Fox will develop and use his players.  Sure, Charles Mann and Kenny Gaines (if healthy) will lead the charge this season.  Yante Maten, as the only post with significant experience, will start.

But will we get anything from Osahen Iduwe this year?  How about Mike Edwards?  Derek Ogbeide?  How much will Turtle Jackson play?  Where will J.J. Frazier get his playing time?

The 3-position has been a mystery for Georgia since Brandon Morris left.  Does Wilridge have the talent to lock it down?  Will Fox go big with Edwards?  Is Juwan Parker recovered from surgery enough to give us minutes?  How about KPG?  Did he work hard enough during the off-season to contribute on the wing?

3.  Recruiting

UGA commits Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris can play.  Who else will we bring in?  I figure we need at least one big, but Fox may have different ideas.  How many spots will we have, anyway?

As I said, lots of interesting pieces.

Getting excited about basketball.

Georgia Ranked 10th out of 14 in SEC Basketball Recruiting

The author ranks Kentucky as number 1 and LSU number 2.  I'd probably agree with him that they have the top two classes, though I might reverse the order.

For numbers 3 through 6, he has Texas A&M, Florida, Mississippi State and Auburn.  Then he ranks South Carolina, Arkansas, and Vandy ahead of Georgia.  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Article

Of course the author is biased, and Georgia's class might be overlooked because Turtle Jackson and E'Torrion Wilridge had knee injuries that impacted their play.  I'm just enjoying the discussion.  The bigger point is that the SEC has brought in real coaching talent and big-time recruits in the off-season.

Sure hope Big Mike and Derek are ready to play.  Should be a fun year.

Mike Edwards Commits to the G!

Solid pick-up for the Dawgs.

Mike Edwards grew on me over the course of the last few weeks.  I wondered whether Edwards could end up as a Frank Kaminsky-type player.  Big, rangy kid who gets better and better every year.

It's happened at UGA before.  Alec Kessler came in lightly recruited, but gained some weight and was a beast for the Dawgs, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds per game his senior year, and being named an All-American.  And sometimes, every now and then, our good players and role players can whup their 5-stars.

Not the best comparison, but Dave Bliss was a smart kid from a cold climate who during his collegiate career helped the Dawgs recover from NCAA penalties, leading us to the SEC Tournament championship his senior year.

Mike Edwards will hustle, he'll grow and he'll get better, working with Jonas Hayes.  Will most likely end up somewhere between Dave Bliss and Alec Kessler in terms of his production, but it will be fun to watch his progress.

Welcome, Big Mike!