So the baseball team did just what they needed to do, win 2 of 3 from one of the worst teams in the conference this weekend-actually could have won all three but UT found a way to win on Friday night in extra innings. The team now sits at 21-20, 11-7 in SEC play. Up next is a game tomorrow against rival Georgia Tech at Turner field, as the Diamond Dogs try to avoid losing 6 straight to the Nerdy Insects. The next SEC series coming up will be Arkansas in Athens-Arkansas is a pretty decent club out in the west, right now they are tied for the lead in the west with a 9-9 conference record, along with the Barn and Ole Miss. Bama is one game behind at 8-10. Of course, we are 4th in the east but geez, we have 3 of the best teams in the nation in our division-UF, Vandy and SC are all 14-4 in conference. Vandy's record, 35-5, SC record, 31-8, UF's record, 31-10. We have played two close series with SC and UF, so I am hoping we can play Vandy close and at least get one victory there. But, the bottom line with this UGA team, we have to get our overall record above 500 so we can qualify for the NCAA tourney-do so and I think we get a #2 seed-my bet would be in the GT bracket, certainly has happened several times before so there is a track record there. To get over 500, winning these mid week games becomes more crucial in my opinion-it would be great to beat GT tomorrow night-we also have Mercer and Kennesaw State left. If you look at our remaining games, if you were to predict the outcomes based on our season to this point-which is to take 2 of three against teams we are equal or better than in SEC play, then lose to GT but beat Mercer and Kennesaw-remember they beat us once already this year but that was at their place, that would be a record of 9-6 in our last 15 which puts our overall record 30-26, breathing room going into the SEC tourney-we can only lose 2 possible games there. So, the way I look it, we must win 2 of 3 non conference games, we must win the series against Arkansas at home, Auburn and UK on the road and then get one of three against Vandy at home. If this team does not make the NCAA tourney this year, I honestly believe Perno will be shown the door-yes, this team has the toughest schedule in America but there is simply no reason a UGA team should fail to qualify for the tourney two years in a row. Let's just say I am 100% percent behind Coach Perno because I like the guy and think he is a good coach-I do get aggravated at our lack of consistency, but otherwise I like our coach.
Coming up Thursday night, AJ Green finally finds out where he will play next year. He will not get to sign the contract and get the money but he will at least know which team has his rights. Most mock drafts have him going unfortunately to Bengals with pick #4. The Bengals have a mess on their hands-they have an unhappy QB in Carson Palmer, two very talented but head case WR's in Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson-or is it back to Ocho Cinco??? Let's just hope that AJ goes to either Cleveland (where he can team back up with his mentor Mohamed Massaquoi or go to Arizona where he can pair up with one of his idols in Larry Fitzgerald. Of course I would love for the Falcons get move up to get him to pair with Roddy White but I don't want them to give away the future to get him and I would be willing to bet, they would have to give up quite a bit to move that far. Of course if the Falcons don't move to get AJ, maybe they can grab Justin Houston-they NEED another pass rusher opposite Abraham-course they will probably draft an OL-I do think the current folks running the Falcons are a LOT better than in the past but let's face it, other than Matt Ryan, they have not done great work in the first round-heck, considering that, if I were them I would trade down, maybe try to get 2 second round picks because this IS a deep draft so two #2's might be just as good at the #1 they have at 27. Speaking of the draft, I find it kind of funny how a lot of media folks think it is so crazy how college football fans get so excited about national signing day but then don't think a thing about NFL fans being crazy about the draft-how are they that much different. Sure, in the college game you sign about 20-25 guys, and they pick you as opposed you the team picking them and only having around 6 picks. Otherwise, you are talking about looking at your team/program and filling needs-and hoping the 1st round pick will live up to the hype-or hoping the 5 star will live up to the hype. 1st round picks are almost penciled to start, 5 star recruits are many times expected to come right in and start. Of course some lower picks end up being better than the high picks-Tom Brady for example. Just like in recruiting, some 2-3 stars end up being All American's, David Pollack for example. To me, the two events are much the same but it just amazes me how some folks-John Kincade for example, are such idiots when it comes to respecting the recruiting process. I think a lot of guys that come down here from the north, Kincade is just one of the many on the ATL sports scene, don't understand all the fuss over recruiting. Thankfully, Kincade has been working with Buck all these years and now I do think he does understand it more. Obviously ESPN has discovered how much folks following recruiting as well, a TON of coverage for it now. I know I HATE putting these young kids on a pedestal-and they call press conferences to rip off a shirt or pick a cap, but the fact remains, talent wins football games so it is a big deal.
As for UGA players in this years draft, AJ and Justin most likely land in round 1 I believe. You also have Clint Boling, a kid that reported to UGA as TE out of high school and was also known to be a very good hoops player at Chattahoochee HS (3 star prospect btw). No one expected that he would come in and play as a true FR but the kid has far exceeded expectations. Here is a good article about him in the Athens paper today. He could become the highest drafted lineman for UGA since 2003 (Boling is projected a 2nd or 3rd round pick)-obviously that is a LONG drought for UGA OL-something that hopefully will change in the near future.
http://dogbytesonline.com/boling-could-end-bulldogs-early-draft-drought-for-o-lineman-44920/
I will close with this article-Ray Drew made a name for himself with his play on the field during his HS football career. Course his recruitment was a big deal, he toyed with fans (included yours truly), his press conference to select UGA drew out former greats in Pollack and Randall Godfrey (of course that was also a secondary recruiting violation), he is also now scheduled to not only play football but throw the discuss when he arrives in Athens. Bottom line, this kid seems to be a great one in the making and I found this article in the AJC very nice.
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2011/04/25/uga-5-star-football-recruit-ray-drew-and-the-charlie-daniels-band/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
All for today, hope you all had a nice Easter.
No comments:
Post a Comment