Yes, UGA lost the game but I thought other than attempting too many three point shots early, played a very competitive game. They fought hard all night, constantly falling behind by 10 or so then clawing back to 3 a couple times, but Vandy had too much inside/outside for us last night. It was pretty obvious they had a little more pep in their step than we did, that being a direct result of blowing the 14 point lead at SCarolina last weekend. That team was simply not going fall to 0-2 in conference. The refs of course did their best with Vandy shooting 35 free throws to our 15, but quite honestly, Vandy was the more aggressive team last night and so that free throw difference is not off by that much. When you lose by 7 points, that stat tends to be magnified. Course look at our game against UK, we shot 34 FT's to their 16.
Last night I thought Travis Leslie and Gerald Robinson came up big for us. I figured Gerald would have a strong game coming back home but Leslie finished with a double-double, 21pts, 13 rebounds. Robinson had a blazing start, I believe he had 9-10 points before the first TV timeout, finished with 20 points. Trey had a tough night, scoring only 13 but he did grab 13 boards. The big guy for Vandy, Ezeli to me was the difference, he came in averaging about 12 points but had 18 last night and grabbed 10 boards-needless to say I think that was probably his best game of the young season. His power down low along with Taylor and of course Jenkins leads me to believe Vandy has the makings of a very solid team. The key will be how consistent Ezeli can be game in and game out. He certainly has the size and strength. Price and Barnes had trouble with him, they both struggled a lot last night, for them to be seniors that was a bit discouraging.
All things considered, this was not a loss that is really going to hurt UGA in regards to NCAA chances. Vandy is a quality opponent and they are VERY tough at home. The game this Saturday against Ole Miss is very big for us. I will try to do a preview on the Rebels tomorrow but right now they are the best team in the west. Record of 12-4 with 0-1 conference mark, losing by only 6 points at UF last weekend. They host Miss State tonight, so I will try to catch a little bit of that game. They have 4 losses, being to Dayton at home, @Miami, Fl, home against Colorado State, and then @UF. So, they can be beat at home as you can see but, they have wins over Penn St, Southern Miss and @Saint Louis-a common opponent we beat by 2, they beat by 8. Like I say more details coming at a later date about the Rebs.
Great news that Boykin and Glenn will be returning for their senior years, a wise move for both. Boykin to me is much like Asher Allen, I think Asher made a mistake but then again, he did get drafted in the third round and has been a starter on an NFL team for his first couple years, making a lot more money than I make in my job. That being said, Boykin did not have a stellar year in my opinion and can hopefully improve for next years draft. Glenn, same thing, he is not a name guy for most, he could have done a great job working out and improved his status but what likely improves his status more is having a strong senior year paving the way for an improved running game and hopefully improved team next fall. I think Houston will leave and I do believe he has a shot to be drafted in round 1, but also has a shot to slip to round 2. IF he comes back, I think he is a sure fire top 15 pick next year. Another year in our system, I think he could really up his already impressive stats. But, I can definately see him leaving, should find out soon. Getting 3 guys to come back, that is like winning 3 recruiting battles, actually better because these guys are all PROVEN players.
On the recruiting trail, I rely on articles I read and different sources that I trust, as well as just my opinion-based on nothing more than my gut. One recruiting source I trust is Lowndes25, who also posts on the UGA Dawgpost as well as sharing his thoughts in the AJC. So, when I talk about recruiting, you will know that while I don't pretend to have sources within the Butts-Mehre building, nor do I have actual connections or relationships with these young kids or their families, I do feel like that when I put information on this blog in regards to recruiting it is pretty accurate. So, that being said, lets talk about it for a minute.
With the 3 recent pledges, we are sitting at 18. Course LeMay and Conley are enrolled for spring semester (even if it has not started yet) so those guys can count toward last year. This means we sit at 16, and if we do sign 25 which should happen, especially with Nick Williams and Marcus Dowtin leaving, we have 9 spots left We have not really offered any other tailbacks, hmmmm, seems to me all eggs in one basket, Isiah. This leads me to believe our coaches know full well we have him. Jay Rome also seems like a lock, hopefully Mitchell comes with him. Ray Drew, well, I have heard he is a lock but I am far from ready to say he is when he is still complaining about our 3-4 defense. But, if you count him, there is 4. John Jenkins, again, what I read and hear is promising but he still is visiting AU and UF, if you count him that is 5. So, who will be the other 4, that is a good question. Will we switch a couple verbals to other schools. Pagan the DE/DL from North Carolina has been rumored, Dickson could still switch back, heck, Vaughters is rumored to be rethinking his pledge to Stanford-with GT back in the picture, why not UGA-his teammate is already coming to UGA and Tucker has always been a UGA stronghold. What about Ty Montogomery, another guy headed to Stanford but now maybe thinking again. I have no idea but this is certainly a different year for UGA recruiting. Typically by this date, we have our entire class, minus one or two spots, full. This is the first year in maybe the Mark Richt era that we have had so many signing day decisions we are waiting on. Now, Richt came from FSU where this was an every year deal but this is certianly new for him in Athens. Let's just hope we close strong, seems when we have had signing day decisions in the past, we usually lose out.
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