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.

If Fox is Fired

Give the reins to Jonas.

Coach Hayes is a local guy, someone who bleeds red and black, and an excellent recruiter.  I believe he would do things that Fox wouldn't.  Hayes would play his freshmen, establish reasonable substitution patterns, quit yanking guys after made three-pointers, play an up-tempo style of ball, use all of the available scholarships, and work as hard in the non-conference portion of the season as the SEC.

Hayes is our best shot for keeping Yante Maten for his senior year, and for Rayshaun Hammonds to remain committed to his signed letter.  Believe you me, Coach Pastner, the excellent coaching pick-up for Tech, would love to waltz in and secure Hammonds as a late addition to next year's signing class.

No guarantee any of the mid-major guys will come here anyway, or would have better success recruiting Atlanta than Fox.

Fox could lead us to victory in the SEC Tournament, and thereby secure an NCAA berth and at least one more year or a partial year as coach.  Happened to Coach Felton.

However, if the tornadoes stay far away this year, and Fox loses on Thursday to Tennessee, then let's not overlook our home-grown talent already residing in Athens.

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.

Good Game, Dawgs

Gave it our all.  They have Malik Monk and we don't.

We lost by 9, but it was an overtime game.  UGA was right there.  If we had some outside shooting in the first half against their zone, we would have blown them out.  Like I said, they have Malik Monk and we don't.  He can rise up over defenders and knock down shots.  Monk scored 37 for the game and was 7 of 11 behind the arc.

Disappointed that we missed key free throws.  Yante missed two straight that we vitally needed.  Turtle missed one that would have put Georgia up three before their final possession.

All in all, no complaints here.  I don't particularly care for putting KPG in without having other scorers on the floor, but even so, Geno had a nice drive and dish to Ogbeide.  I suppose that it's not playing Tyree Crump earlier in the year that I have issue with.  Hard to expect him to come in at Rupp and do much.  Even still, Fox coached well enough to win.

J.J. didn't have his best game, struggling in the first half.  Hard to take him out, though, because we just don't have many other scoring options.  Frazier bounced back in the second and really toughed it out, especially after getting knocked in the head.

Really concerned that Turtle Jackson is not giving us much of a lift.  Kind of dribbles it around 30 feet from the basket.  Glad he can help break the press.  But like I said, if he does break the press and gets fouled, then he has to be able to knock down the free throws.

Anyway, after J.J. Frazier graduates, UGA could be in trouble.  Tyree Crump plays like a short two guard, and I fear that Teshaun Hightower will play like a tall one.

Yante played a great game. He had a few turnovers here and there, but he was doubled all night, so a few miscues are to be expected.  Maten still outplayed the higher ranked Bam Adebayo and Wenyen Gabriel.  Yante ended up with 22 points and 5 boards.

Great game for Derek Ogbeide.  He's a load in the post.  18 points and 13 boards on 7 of 9 shooting is one of the best games by a UGA big man at Rupp that I can remember.

Jordan Harris, for one, was not scared.  He was 3 of 5 from the field and 2 of 2 from long range.  When he gets his confidence up and his turnovers down, he will score a lot of points for Georgia.

Give it to Kentucky, though.  They find a way to win.

UGA is 13 and 9 overall and 4 and 5 in the SEC.  In danger of sliding down into the lower reaches of the SEC if we don't steal at least one of these next two.

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!

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.

Recruiting (Derrick Walker and Teshaun Hightower)

Teshaun Hightower and Derrick Walker are visiting Athens in January.

Hightower will come to Athens next week.  Georgia should have a good shot at securing Teshaun's commitment, since Hightower is from the Atlanta area and prior to his prep year at Mt. Zion, played high school ball at Collins Hill.  Our competition at this point is Middle Tennessee, La Salle, and Western Kentucky.

Walker will be on an unofficial on January 28th.  He was reported as having a final three of Tennessee, St. John's, and UGA.  Maybe Jonas and crew can get him committed.  Of the three finalists, Georgia may be the only school with definite scholarship room.  Besides, UGA is scheduled for his last visit, and Walker will have Yante Maten's big scoring outputs as examples.

Walker is a guy that could be a cross between Jeremy Price and Chris Barnes, power forwards recruited back in the Dennis Felton era.  Derrick impresses me as someone who is not super-athletic, but has good hands, is a willing rebounder, and has developing post moves.  There's a lot to work with, and he could end up as being a skilled big like Yante Maten.

If Yante stays for his senior year, we could have a starting front court of Maten, Derek Ogbeide, and Rayshaun Hammonds.  The second unit front court would be Nicolas Claxton, Mike Edwards, and Derrick Walker.  That rotation would be fun to watch, and Coach Fox would be able to substitute to his heart's content without huge drop-offs in talent.

As for the back-court, Georgia is not in as good shape.  We will lose J.J. Frazier to graduation this year.  That's huge.  Frazier is our primary ball-handler and scoring guard.

So, we'd have Turtle Jackson and Jordan Harris as the likely starters at the point guard and shooting guard positions.  Fox won't be able to keep Tyree Crump on the bench next year.  Unless Turtle improves his shooting, we probably need Crump to improve his point guard skills so that Turtle can continue to come in as a back-up point guard.

I suppose Juwan Parker will stay for his second medical red-shirt year.  That makes four guards who can be counted on as a reasonable rotation.  Pape Diatta is more of a small forward, in my mind.  I am focused on guys who can be counted on to bring the ball up the floor.

Per the Prep Showcase article above, Teshaun Hightower sees himself as a big point guard.  One site has Hightower at 6' 4".  Although Prep Showcase says he's 6' 6", I think the shorter of the two measurements is closer to reality.  Either way, Georgia has recent history with a big point guard, Charles Mann, and that experience should be a selling point to Hightower.

Teshaun looks to have a pretty good handle and shoots the ball with confidence and arc.  Don't know if he could run the point guard at the college level, but I'm satisfied enough that he can contribute and a give us a fifth quality guard.  Hightower scored 31 against a pretty talented Norcross High team last year.

The good news is that Walker and Hightower are enough under the radar that Georgia can potentially sign them.  They would likely stay all four years, too.  Kind of guys we need.

Recruiting seems to be on an upswing.  Jordan Harris, Tyree Crump and Pape Diatta were good additions for 2016, and I like the addition of Rayshaun Hammonds and Nicolas Claxton, the two signees for next year.  Although Hammonds would be the only highly ranked guy, if we add Hightower and Walker, to Hammonds and Claxton, the 2017 class would arguably be the best ever for Coach Fox.

Let's get it done.

Georgia Beats Auburn (Seven Lessons Learned)

Great job by the Dawgs.

1.  Bruce Pearl ain't all that

Lots of people love Bruce Pearl, and think that he's a terrific coach.  If Georgia had lost the game, fans would have rushed to praise him.

Pearl has his merits, but he's not the kind of coach I would look for to coach up my team.  His system, drive and kick basketball on offense and the press on defense, works when he has the players.  He will eventually get players.  With that said, I wouldn't trade him for Fox.  He's just not the right guy.

2.  Maten and Frazier

Enough said.  When those two guys are on, Georgia is a tough out for anybody.  Tonight, they were definitely on.

3.  Use the Chuck Mann Strategy

Charles Mann used to keep Georgia in games by getting to the free throw line.  He wasn't a great foul shooter, however, and he sometimes had too many turnovers.

The point still remains.  Drive the ball to the basket and good things happen.  Maten, J.J. and Jordan were terrific.

4.  J.J. is one tough hombre

He got bowled over a couple of times tonight.  He got back up and finished the drill.  Plus, he had five steals.  His defense was the catalyst that led the Dawgs to victory.

5.  Juwan is knocking the rust off

Hit a couple of key baskets tonight.

6.  Supporting cast came up big

We were one point shy of having all of our starters score in double figures.  Derek Ogbeide scored nine for the game.  We had five guys shoot 50 percent or better from the field.

Proud of KPG and Kessler for hitting two key baskets.

Turtle was off for the game.  See point 3, above.  I have mentioned his shooting form before, so I won't post anything about it now.

Turtle will contribute for us in future games.  With that said, I'd love to see Tyree Crump get some minutes, just to see what he has.

7.  The zone and press are tools

We might not want to be Syracuse, constantly in the zone, or Arkansas, trying to press all game.  But these tools help us win.  Fox went into the shed tonight and brought out the right equipment.  He needs to do it more


Again, great game for the Dawgs.  May have to watch that one again.

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.    

 

Ten Commandments for Mark Fox

1.  If J.J. Frazier has been off, but finds his stroke, thou shalt not take him out.

2.  If J.J. Frazier has 18 points in the first half, thou shalt not take him out,

3.  Thou shalt never play Kenny Paul Geno and Houston Kessler at the same time.

4.  Thou shalt never, nay never ever play KPG, HK and Mike Edwards at the same time.

5.  Thou shalt give Tyree Crump some minutes (plural) in each game, yea, even five to ten minutes.

6.  Thou shalt never subbeth out Ogbeide before the ten minute mark in the first half.

7.  If Yante Maten shall start to have foul trouble, thou shalt play him with Ogbeide, and put Maten in the high post and Ogbeide down low.

8.  Thou shalt always press teams which hath played three games in four days.

9.  Thou shalt play zone, especially if the manneth to manneth is in trouble.

10.  Thou shalt always play your best players unless UGA is in foul trouble, or we are up 20 and there are less than 2 minutes left in the game.


If through thy disobedience to these commandments, thou faileth to take the people to the Promised Land of the NCAA Tournament, thou shalt turn over the reins to young Joshua (Jonas Hayes).

   

Almost There

Well, I've wanted Georgia to be able to compete against the "big boys", and we have the team to do it now.  Georgia gave Kansas a run, but we aren't quite there yet.  Dawgs lose by 11,  Final score, 65 to 54.

This game was right there for the taking.  Yante Maten played an incredible game.  He dominated their big men for 30 points and 13 rebounds.  Shot 11 for 23 from the floor, which isn't great, but it was more than enough.  He missed a few in the second half because the Kansas zone collapsed on him.

Meanwhile, their three big guys, Udoka Azubuike, Landon Lucas, and Dwight Coleby, went 1 for 2 from the field, for a combined two points and seven rebounds.

Georgia out-rebounded Kansas, 39 to 36.  We had their big guys in foul trouble all night.

Georgia would have won easily had we gotten any scoring from our 1, 2, and 3 positions.  Let's face it:  if J.J. Frazier goes 1 for 10 from the field, we're in trouble.

And tonight, no one else picked him up.  Juwan Parker shot 2 for 9.  He needs to change his release point and make it a split-second earlier.  Right now, he is trying to guide the ball in.

Jordan Harris was 1 for 4.  Tyree Crump was 0 for 1.  Turtle Jackson was 2 for 5, making two three-pointers.  However, Jackson shoots across his body, which results in some very bad misses.  I think on two of his shots, he didn't even hit the rim.

It's not even that their defense was that great.  We just couldn't put it in.  Our perimeter players went 6 for 31.  If our guards can't reach 20 percent shooting, we will lose a ton of games.

Jordan Harris played plenty of minutes.  I have argued for more playing time for him.  Well, in the key sequence of the game, Georgia was down 8 and we battled for an offensive rebound.  Jordan had the ball with a chance to reset the offense, and he dribbled the ball off his foot out of bounds.

As readers know, as a general rule, I don't criticize the players.  But Jordan can play better, and he has to get it done.  The game will slow down for him, and he will score a bunch of points for Georgia in his career.

Well, we played hard on defense, our zone was effective enough.  The good news is that J.J. won't always shoot poorly.  The other guards will have better games.

Georgia is improving.  We competed, and if we start getting complete games from our guards and bigs, we're going to make some noise.

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.

Redicalice

I guess Coach Mark Fox does not read my Blog.  Not that I expect him to, mind you, but I had hoped that somehow he would get the message:

What he is doing with player substitutions is downright "redicalice."

I basically begged him to let Derek Ogbeide start the game and play straight through for extended minutes.  Even if Fox would leave Ogbeide in for the equivalent of the first quarter of the game (ten minutes or so), that would have been a significant improvement.  It's a t.v. game, so you know the guys are going to get a break at the five-minute mark.

Notice the way Stallings uses his guys.  Both Kornet and Jones started and played at least 8 minutes.  Compare that to the way that Fox runs Ogbeide and even Yante Maten in and out of the game.  Ogbeide went out before even two minutes elapsed.

By running guys in and out, you don't keep them fresh.  You in fact do the opposite.  Guys exert energy and then sit down.  They never get into the flow of the game.  By stretching their muscles out and making them sit in chairs almost immediately, you actually risk injury.

Fox said that he thought that Memorial Gym was hot.  That, too, is redicalice.  Vanderbilt's Coach Stallings obviously didn't think so.  Further, in the game against Florida (at Stegeman), Fox yanked Ogbeide out at the three-minute mark, roughly the same point in the game as at Vanderbilt.  In fact, Fox consistently runs players in at the three-minute mark, and has done so all year.   

If we had a talented bench, the substitutions might make more sense.  But Geno and Kessler are struggling.  They're not strong enough to battle for rebounds and win.  We don't get second shots, and when are guards are not hitting from the outside, our opponents grab the rebounds and run.  It would be different if Kessler or Geno had the dribbling ability and foot speed to get by their man on strong drives to the basket.  But that's not their skill set.  So instead of working the opposing defense, Mark Fox makes their job very easy.

Why not at least let Maten and Ogbeide play long enough together to get their guys in foul trouble?  Then Geno and Kessler could go in when the other team puts their reserves in.  Besides, when Maten and Ogbeide score on the block, that will lead the other team to sag off of our shooters to help out.  That will lead to open shots for our guards.

In the post-game interview, Mark Fox received three straight questions from reporters about his substitution patterns.  And in the recap of the game, the Athens Banner Herald's headline was that "Substitution Strategy Backfires on Mark Fox in UGA's Loss to Vanderbilt." 

The reporters get it, Coach Fox.  Why don't you?

I even started to think that Mark Fox was intentionally jeopardizing the season, whether consciously or not, so that he would in fact get fired.  

I reasoned that Fox saw the result of Georgia's decision to fire Mark Richt, a coach landing in a sunny climate with a new school and a multi-million dollar check in hand.  

I know.  The idea that Mark Fox is losing intentionally is redicalice.

But so is the way our players are being used.  Makes you wonder.  

  

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!

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.

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.