Ok, my Friday blog said we would lose to UF regardless of who played/started for us, I admit I was very disappointed with how the team had played against Vandy and at LSU. But, to the credit of Mark Fox and his players, they came to play on Saturday afternoon against the 11th (or 12th depending on the poll) ranked Gators. The game started in a strange way, a Gator played was caught dunking the ball in pregame warmups, thus UGA started the game hitting two free throws. Maybe that was the sign that the game was to be ours, a rule was broken-I actually DID know about this rule but have NEVER seen it called in all my years watching basketball. I am thinking this kid or kids dunked more than once because the likelyhood of the refs or anyone else seeing it done once and calling the technical just seems to be impossible. Regardless it was a positive way to start a game. As for the game itself, great games by a lot of players, KCP lead the way with 18pts, also had 4 steals and 5 rebounds. Gerald Robinson played an oustanding game, 15pts 7assists, 4 rebounds, Nemi had 12 pts and 7 boards, Ware and Donte' both chipped in 11pts, Donte contributed 6 blocks while Ware had 3 steals and 6 assists. Marcus Thornton only had 4 pts but I thought played a pretty solid game as well. We still didn't shoot well from 3pt land, at 35% but shot 52.9% on our FG attempts which is outstanding while our D was strong holding UF to horrible shooting, 36.7% FG and 21.7% from 3 point range.
I have said before and will say it again, this team is CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT, some will say well yeah that is because we are an inexperienced team. Are we really, by this time of the season even our true FR have played a LOT of basketball. We have two SR guards, two Soph's that start, a McDonald's All American FR that has logged as many or more minutes than anyone this season. I just don't see how you can beat ND on a neutral court, win at Miss State, and home vs. UF but then lose at home to a dreadful GT team, an average Ole Miss team, lose road games to below average teams in AU and SCarolina. That being said, one thing I will say about Mark Fox and his players, they play HARD and never quit. It is easy to quit on a season that has been tough like this one has certainly. But these guys play hard for him and battle every team we face. There have been very few games where I felt the effort was not strong, we just need to continue to upgrade the talent level. Fox does a good job of developing talent when he gets them but he needs to get MORE talent that can come in and be ready to play right away. There is no denying how well he has improved the games of Price, Leslie, Donte' and Vincent Williams, how improved Robinson is this year compared to last year. Also look at a kid like Nemi-a kid that was not the highest rated player around but has made a big contribution this year. Fox runs a clean program and he can coach, the question still remains can he recruit enough?? This year the SEC has been a very watered down league, I didn't expect us to be an NCAA team but I certainly thought this team should be able to win 6-8 SEC games, we sit at 4 with two to play-one of those two in Lexington. Still, this team has been a slight disappointment to me because even with lack of experience and quality of talent, I feel like there are 4-5 games that this team easily should have and could have won that would be the difference between this team having a shot to get an NIT bid or just being done after the SEC tourney-the GT game, the Colorado game, the Ole Miss game, the AU, the SCarolina game, and the LSU game. You win 4 of those 6 and suddenly instead of being 13-15, you are 17-12 with a shot to finish out 18-13 going into the SEC tourney.
The baseball team is now 7-0 on the young season after they swept Winthrop in a weekend series. Next up for the Diamond Dogs is a game tomorrow against Savannah State. To read more about the team, click these links about the games this past weekend.
Friday's game, FR Hunter Cole who is wearing #6 (last worn by Gordon Beckham) was the hero.
http://dogbytesonline.com/coles-four-hits-lead-dog-to-rout-of-winthrop-55365/
Saturday Palazzone pitched a great game, and the Dogs scored a run in the 8th to get the win, 2-1.
http://dogbytesonline.com/georgia-baseball-edges-winthrop-on-8th-inning-single-55425/
Sunday FR Taylor Hicks improved to 2-0 on the season as he and two relievers blanked Winthrop 3-0.
http://dogbytesonline.com/hicks-effort-leads-bulldogs-baseball-team-to-sweep-of-winthrop-55456/
Finally, sounds like the VID day was a success, no commitments but all the kids I have read about raved about the experience/atmosphere in Athens, including Reuben Foster. Also an interesting story about a verbal commitment that recently visited Bama-gotta love Saint Nick, what an arrogant guy he is. Good for this kid for having the nerve to turn him down!! This from the AJC-
Alabama’s Nick Saban tried to steal one of UGA’s top recruits.
DB Shaq Wiggins, who committed to UGA a couple of weeks ago, rode with a couple of his Sandy Creek High School teammates for an unofficial visit to Alabama last Thursday. Wiggins got called into Saban’s office.
“Coach Saban was describing my highlight film and talking about he hadn’t seen a cornerback with cover skills like mine in a long time,” Wiggins told the AJC on Sunday night.
“It was a great conversation, and right at the end he said ‘I’ll offer you a scholarship to Alabama if you commit … today.’ Then he paused, waiting for a response. He took me by surprise by saying all of that.”
“Then we started talking again, and I just kind of told him that I was honored but I’m staying with Georgia. And it was an honor. That was Nick Saban, and that will probably be a conversation that I will never forget.”
Course now Saban will say he was never offered more than likely but this is the type guy we are recruiting against-instant pressure to make a decision that will impact the rest of your life. No, think about it and get back to me, instead commit to me TODAY OR ELSE!! What a great guy he is.
Well, all for now, GO DOGS!!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Happy weekend to the few, the proud, the brave Haney blog readers!!
I have not been blogging lately because well, just not much to blog about. The football season is over, our hoops team is well, BAD, and now it is about time for baseball to get up and going again-and our baseball team does have some promise for this season. As for the hoops program, well, that is another story.
Thanks to my parents, and thanks to someone they know at church, I got two free tickets to go see our games last Sunday with Vandy. It was the first hoops game I have attended since the Illinois game back in Mark Fox's first season in Athens-that one at Gwinnett Arena. SO, this was my first trip to the "new" Steg. It was my son's first ever UGA hoops game-of note he still has not been to a UGA football game but I am hoping maybe that will change this year, then again, he is now playing football and my daughter cheers so our Saturday's are pretty much a no go nowadays. Still, I am eyeing that game November 17th game against Georgia Southern as his football season will be over by that point. Anyway, we had a good time even with the bad weather and the bad result on the hardwood. My son is only 7 but he LOVES basketball and really enjoys watching the game. He was getting as frustrated as I was during the second half when we continued to throw up three's at an alarming rate and missed them at an even more alarming rate-1 of 17 in the second half!!! KCP got into early foul trouble and basically sat out the first half, so when he got in there in the second half he seemed determined to shoot regardless. Some of his shots were good looks but many others were forced. He was 0-7 from 3 point land, matter of fact, as a team we were 3-23 for 13% from 3 point land. That is beyond horrible, and then you look across to the other team, John Jenkins who by the way has one of the quickest releases and prettiest shots you will ever see, 6-8 from three point range. Besides the huge difference in 3pt percentage 45.5 to 13.0, you can also look at another big stat from that game which can really cause you to scratch your head, FT shooting. UGA 9-14 for 64% while Vandy, 17-21 for 81%. If you want to say the refs didn't call the game equal, take a closer look at fouls per team-Vandy had 19 team fouls while UGA had only 14 team fouls. SO, what does that tell you, Vandy was the aggressor on offense, getting fouled while shooting-and sure enough, Jenkins got fouled on TWO three point shots, hit all SIX freebies. This team is truly a train wreck folks, that being said, you do see some flashes of promise and not just from Gerald Robinson-a player is playing great for us now and without him, well things could and would be really ugly. First of all, of course Caldwell-Pope is a special player-he is a bit too streaky this year but he will improve with more experience-he already does the little things that stand out to you which is play solid defense, handle the ball, pass the ball and can also rebound. Nemi is also a pleasant surprise. Quite frankly you never know what you are going to get from EURO players-sometimes they are solid players but often times they play a different style than American players-more finesse style but Nemi is solid and I really like his game-he still makes mistakes and Coach Fox called at timeout against Vandy and I thought he was going to rip Nemi's head off. Donte' Williams, he continues to get better and better-he still doesn't have the offensive game that we need for inside game but the diffference between him last year to this year is HUGE. Simply put, he is showing a lot of improvement and development. Vince Williams, another kid that has really contributed little until this year, he actually plays a pretty solid PG and is a decent shooter-he will help bridge the gap from Robinson/Ware to our new guards Mann and Gaines. Finally Marcus Thornton, who continues to be the biggest mystery on the team. Now, I like to say maybe the fact he was injured earlier in the season holds him back offensively, the fact he mono early last season held him back but honestly, I just think with Marcus more than anything offensively it is about confidence. That being said, he plays good defense and is a force on the boards. Another guy that I have not seen hardly at all this year, did get some valuable minutes just a few days ago in our loss to LSU on the road, that being John Cannon. I have been critical of us even singning this kid because he had no other options but us when it comes to big schools. But, what I saw against LSU gave me at least a glimmer of hope-he showed off some post moves-a jump hook, he was aggressive going after rebounds, he is a big kid that can alter shots. If Coach Fox has any sense to him for the rest of this season, he will try to work Cannon in for more minutes to see what he can do. At this point, I would be letting your kids get more minutes here or there. I would consider going big with Williams and Cannon playing together. Go Robinson at point, KCP at 2, Thornton at 3, Williams at 4 and Cannon at 5. Ware, well, he is just struggling so badly, bring he and Nemi off the bench to spot KCP/Gerald and Thornton. Bring Florveous in to spot Cannon, give Dixon a few more minutes. We have 4 games left on the season more than likely, next two against teams that are going to likely beat us regardless of who we put out there, might as well continue to get these younger guys some PT. I think it is pretty safe to assume Coach Fox is back next year, so let's get these young guys a chance to play, and not only play but play against two really good teams in UF and UK. The LSU game was further evidence that this team is not aggressive enough down low as look at the difference in number of free throws shot in that game-and thankfully LSU shot so poorly or what was an 8 point loss would have been much worse, 18-30 60% while we shot 5-7. Yes, that is correct, LSU was +23 free throws in the game. Sounds about like our NCAA game last year with Washington!! Course in this case, we were whistled for 23 fouls compared to 10 for LSU?? That is hard to believe with what I watched-LSU could have easily been called for many more than 10 but hey, what can you do. So next up is a game with UF in Athens tomorrow at 4p. UF is 22-6 on the season and 10-3 in SEC play. Interestingly, two of their 3 losses were to Tenn, a team we beat in Athens and actually played a tough game with in Knox. The other UF loss was a 20pt loss at UK-no harm in that loss. After this game, we play at, yep, Kentucky next Thursday before closing at home against SCarolina-two days after the trip to Lexington. Meanwhile, SCarolina has home games with Tenn this Sat and then Miss State on Wed before heading to Athens on March 3rd. There is a shot that we lose out and if that happens, we WILL finish last in the SEC standings. As it stands now, we are one game ahead of SCarolina. I don't know about you all that read here, but to finish this season in my mind best case 4-12, that is just not a good thing with the SEC not exactly being the best conference this year by any stretch of the imagination. I do believe Fox gets one more year to try to right this ship with his players-all of which he has recruited and he will have more veterans next year than this year. Vincent Williams, John Florveus and Sherrod Brantley, SR, Marcus Thornton and Donte' Williams JR, KCP, Nemi, Cannon, Dixon as soph's. The three new kids are all good players, but none are as good as Gerald Robinson so I am a bit scared to see what next year brings. Meanwhile, recruiting for the next class, who knows how successful that will be after this year and then the thought that maybe Fox is not around after next year. I am pulling for Mark Fox, he seems like a good man, I know he is a pretty darn good coach but is he over his head in the SEC?? Can he recruit better, get more involved with the AAU circuit in Atlanta-instead of ignore that incredible talented group of kids for the most part.
As for the baseball team, they are now 4-0 after a 4-1 win over Georgia State on Wednesday. Up next is a 3 game set with Winthrop this weekend. The fact that we return so many experienced players, including a couple of our top starting pitchers, you have to feel good that this team is going to make some noise this year. Course as with every sport it seems, the SEC is loaded with top level teams, including SECe schools UF and SCarolina. SCarolina, matter of fact, has won the national title TWO years in a row, they beat UF for the title last year. Both those schools figure to be right there yet again this year so UGA will have a battle to even be the best in the SEC, let alone nationally.
As for the football team, another commitment for the 2013, CB Steven Nelson originally from Warner Robins but currently attending College of the Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.), has said he was offered and comitted on the spot to UGA yesterday. This kid only had offers from Mid Tenn State and Houston but certainly he his size and speed look to be nice for his position-6'0" 185 with 4.4 speed. This weekend UGA hosts what they call VID day, Very Important Dawg. A lot of top prospects are said to be coming, per a source on Lether Helmet Blog (a VERY good source for information I might add, these guys are coming for sure-
DE-Naim Mustaffaa (Alpharetta HS) CB-Shaq Wiggins (Sandy Creek) S-Tray Matthews (Newnan) OL-Josh Cardiello (Buford) DB-Brendan Langley (Kell) DT-Keith Bryant (Atlantic, Delray Beach, Fla.) LB-Ben Boulware (T.L. Hanna, Anderson, S.C.) DT-Montravius Adams (Dooly Co.) OT-Laremy Tunsil (Columbia, Lake City, Fla.) Ath-Derrick Henry (Yulee, Yulee, Fla.) QB-Brice Ramsey(Camden County) DE-Antonio Riles (Archer) DT-DeAndre Johnson (Northgate)
I have also heard Reuben Foster will be attending as well, of course the #2 in the nation prospect from LaGrange (Troup Co) that is already verbally committed to Bama but has said he still is at least thinking about UGA. Not sure if Robert Nkemdiche will come back over or not but he did recently visit with some of his Grayson teammates, including Wayne Gallman who now has a UGA offer. While many think Robert is locked and loaded for Bama, I do not feel this way. I still feel like we have a shot with him-why?? Well first of all because Athens is close to Grayson-and make no mistake, Grayson is a UGA school/area more than any other school for sure and playing close to home would allow Robert's friends and community to continue to support him in college. Second, immediate playing time, UGA will lose almost the entire starting defense after this year. Sure, we have some good young talent waiting in the wings but not like what Bama has. Third, Mark Richt is MUCH more like his current HS coach Mickey Conn-granted, Mickey is a big reason why most have thought he is a Bama lock but, Mark and Mickey are cut from the same cloth. Fourth, the Kirby Smart equation-he recruits Ga for Bama but he has publicly stated that he WANTS and believes he is ready for for a head coaching job-chances are he gets that chance after this year. Saban will still be there-but how much longer will he stay-he has never stayed anywhere longer than 6 years and he is nearing that time at Bama. Fifth, a STRONG UGA football season this upcoming year coupled with Grantham's coaching-a winning combination only 40 miles from your house-why go anywhere else because we are going to have a LOT of draft picks off our D in the next NFL draft. So, you can get a good shot to play pro football coming to Athens. Course Robert could still go to Bama but for all that say it is a done deal, I am not buying it.
All for now, have a great weekend and Go Dogs!!
Thanks to my parents, and thanks to someone they know at church, I got two free tickets to go see our games last Sunday with Vandy. It was the first hoops game I have attended since the Illinois game back in Mark Fox's first season in Athens-that one at Gwinnett Arena. SO, this was my first trip to the "new" Steg. It was my son's first ever UGA hoops game-of note he still has not been to a UGA football game but I am hoping maybe that will change this year, then again, he is now playing football and my daughter cheers so our Saturday's are pretty much a no go nowadays. Still, I am eyeing that game November 17th game against Georgia Southern as his football season will be over by that point. Anyway, we had a good time even with the bad weather and the bad result on the hardwood. My son is only 7 but he LOVES basketball and really enjoys watching the game. He was getting as frustrated as I was during the second half when we continued to throw up three's at an alarming rate and missed them at an even more alarming rate-1 of 17 in the second half!!! KCP got into early foul trouble and basically sat out the first half, so when he got in there in the second half he seemed determined to shoot regardless. Some of his shots were good looks but many others were forced. He was 0-7 from 3 point land, matter of fact, as a team we were 3-23 for 13% from 3 point land. That is beyond horrible, and then you look across to the other team, John Jenkins who by the way has one of the quickest releases and prettiest shots you will ever see, 6-8 from three point range. Besides the huge difference in 3pt percentage 45.5 to 13.0, you can also look at another big stat from that game which can really cause you to scratch your head, FT shooting. UGA 9-14 for 64% while Vandy, 17-21 for 81%. If you want to say the refs didn't call the game equal, take a closer look at fouls per team-Vandy had 19 team fouls while UGA had only 14 team fouls. SO, what does that tell you, Vandy was the aggressor on offense, getting fouled while shooting-and sure enough, Jenkins got fouled on TWO three point shots, hit all SIX freebies. This team is truly a train wreck folks, that being said, you do see some flashes of promise and not just from Gerald Robinson-a player is playing great for us now and without him, well things could and would be really ugly. First of all, of course Caldwell-Pope is a special player-he is a bit too streaky this year but he will improve with more experience-he already does the little things that stand out to you which is play solid defense, handle the ball, pass the ball and can also rebound. Nemi is also a pleasant surprise. Quite frankly you never know what you are going to get from EURO players-sometimes they are solid players but often times they play a different style than American players-more finesse style but Nemi is solid and I really like his game-he still makes mistakes and Coach Fox called at timeout against Vandy and I thought he was going to rip Nemi's head off. Donte' Williams, he continues to get better and better-he still doesn't have the offensive game that we need for inside game but the diffference between him last year to this year is HUGE. Simply put, he is showing a lot of improvement and development. Vince Williams, another kid that has really contributed little until this year, he actually plays a pretty solid PG and is a decent shooter-he will help bridge the gap from Robinson/Ware to our new guards Mann and Gaines. Finally Marcus Thornton, who continues to be the biggest mystery on the team. Now, I like to say maybe the fact he was injured earlier in the season holds him back offensively, the fact he mono early last season held him back but honestly, I just think with Marcus more than anything offensively it is about confidence. That being said, he plays good defense and is a force on the boards. Another guy that I have not seen hardly at all this year, did get some valuable minutes just a few days ago in our loss to LSU on the road, that being John Cannon. I have been critical of us even singning this kid because he had no other options but us when it comes to big schools. But, what I saw against LSU gave me at least a glimmer of hope-he showed off some post moves-a jump hook, he was aggressive going after rebounds, he is a big kid that can alter shots. If Coach Fox has any sense to him for the rest of this season, he will try to work Cannon in for more minutes to see what he can do. At this point, I would be letting your kids get more minutes here or there. I would consider going big with Williams and Cannon playing together. Go Robinson at point, KCP at 2, Thornton at 3, Williams at 4 and Cannon at 5. Ware, well, he is just struggling so badly, bring he and Nemi off the bench to spot KCP/Gerald and Thornton. Bring Florveous in to spot Cannon, give Dixon a few more minutes. We have 4 games left on the season more than likely, next two against teams that are going to likely beat us regardless of who we put out there, might as well continue to get these younger guys some PT. I think it is pretty safe to assume Coach Fox is back next year, so let's get these young guys a chance to play, and not only play but play against two really good teams in UF and UK. The LSU game was further evidence that this team is not aggressive enough down low as look at the difference in number of free throws shot in that game-and thankfully LSU shot so poorly or what was an 8 point loss would have been much worse, 18-30 60% while we shot 5-7. Yes, that is correct, LSU was +23 free throws in the game. Sounds about like our NCAA game last year with Washington!! Course in this case, we were whistled for 23 fouls compared to 10 for LSU?? That is hard to believe with what I watched-LSU could have easily been called for many more than 10 but hey, what can you do. So next up is a game with UF in Athens tomorrow at 4p. UF is 22-6 on the season and 10-3 in SEC play. Interestingly, two of their 3 losses were to Tenn, a team we beat in Athens and actually played a tough game with in Knox. The other UF loss was a 20pt loss at UK-no harm in that loss. After this game, we play at, yep, Kentucky next Thursday before closing at home against SCarolina-two days after the trip to Lexington. Meanwhile, SCarolina has home games with Tenn this Sat and then Miss State on Wed before heading to Athens on March 3rd. There is a shot that we lose out and if that happens, we WILL finish last in the SEC standings. As it stands now, we are one game ahead of SCarolina. I don't know about you all that read here, but to finish this season in my mind best case 4-12, that is just not a good thing with the SEC not exactly being the best conference this year by any stretch of the imagination. I do believe Fox gets one more year to try to right this ship with his players-all of which he has recruited and he will have more veterans next year than this year. Vincent Williams, John Florveus and Sherrod Brantley, SR, Marcus Thornton and Donte' Williams JR, KCP, Nemi, Cannon, Dixon as soph's. The three new kids are all good players, but none are as good as Gerald Robinson so I am a bit scared to see what next year brings. Meanwhile, recruiting for the next class, who knows how successful that will be after this year and then the thought that maybe Fox is not around after next year. I am pulling for Mark Fox, he seems like a good man, I know he is a pretty darn good coach but is he over his head in the SEC?? Can he recruit better, get more involved with the AAU circuit in Atlanta-instead of ignore that incredible talented group of kids for the most part.
As for the baseball team, they are now 4-0 after a 4-1 win over Georgia State on Wednesday. Up next is a 3 game set with Winthrop this weekend. The fact that we return so many experienced players, including a couple of our top starting pitchers, you have to feel good that this team is going to make some noise this year. Course as with every sport it seems, the SEC is loaded with top level teams, including SECe schools UF and SCarolina. SCarolina, matter of fact, has won the national title TWO years in a row, they beat UF for the title last year. Both those schools figure to be right there yet again this year so UGA will have a battle to even be the best in the SEC, let alone nationally.
As for the football team, another commitment for the 2013, CB Steven Nelson originally from Warner Robins but currently attending College of the Sequoias (Visalia, Calif.), has said he was offered and comitted on the spot to UGA yesterday. This kid only had offers from Mid Tenn State and Houston but certainly he his size and speed look to be nice for his position-6'0" 185 with 4.4 speed. This weekend UGA hosts what they call VID day, Very Important Dawg. A lot of top prospects are said to be coming, per a source on Lether Helmet Blog (a VERY good source for information I might add, these guys are coming for sure-
DE-Naim Mustaffaa (Alpharetta HS) CB-Shaq Wiggins (Sandy Creek) S-Tray Matthews (Newnan) OL-Josh Cardiello (Buford) DB-Brendan Langley (Kell) DT-Keith Bryant (Atlantic, Delray Beach, Fla.) LB-Ben Boulware (T.L. Hanna, Anderson, S.C.) DT-Montravius Adams (Dooly Co.) OT-Laremy Tunsil (Columbia, Lake City, Fla.) Ath-Derrick Henry (Yulee, Yulee, Fla.) QB-Brice Ramsey(Camden County) DE-Antonio Riles (Archer) DT-DeAndre Johnson (Northgate)
I have also heard Reuben Foster will be attending as well, of course the #2 in the nation prospect from LaGrange (Troup Co) that is already verbally committed to Bama but has said he still is at least thinking about UGA. Not sure if Robert Nkemdiche will come back over or not but he did recently visit with some of his Grayson teammates, including Wayne Gallman who now has a UGA offer. While many think Robert is locked and loaded for Bama, I do not feel this way. I still feel like we have a shot with him-why?? Well first of all because Athens is close to Grayson-and make no mistake, Grayson is a UGA school/area more than any other school for sure and playing close to home would allow Robert's friends and community to continue to support him in college. Second, immediate playing time, UGA will lose almost the entire starting defense after this year. Sure, we have some good young talent waiting in the wings but not like what Bama has. Third, Mark Richt is MUCH more like his current HS coach Mickey Conn-granted, Mickey is a big reason why most have thought he is a Bama lock but, Mark and Mickey are cut from the same cloth. Fourth, the Kirby Smart equation-he recruits Ga for Bama but he has publicly stated that he WANTS and believes he is ready for for a head coaching job-chances are he gets that chance after this year. Saban will still be there-but how much longer will he stay-he has never stayed anywhere longer than 6 years and he is nearing that time at Bama. Fifth, a STRONG UGA football season this upcoming year coupled with Grantham's coaching-a winning combination only 40 miles from your house-why go anywhere else because we are going to have a LOT of draft picks off our D in the next NFL draft. So, you can get a good shot to play pro football coming to Athens. Course Robert could still go to Bama but for all that say it is a done deal, I am not buying it.
All for now, have a great weekend and Go Dogs!!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Ok, so hoops team couldn't stand success!! Baseball team starts season today
So, just when it appeared just maybe the hoops team had turned the corner, along comes Wednesday night and a loss to the last place South Carolina Gamecocks. Sure, it IS tough for most teams to win road games, but considering we had just come from beating a ranked Miss State on the road, considering we were playing a team that had one conference win and a team that had lost 20 of its last 23 SEC games, this one was BAD. Once again our inside players proved they are just NOT very good. I had thought maybe Marcus Thornton had turned the corner with two nice games during our win streak but he was back to what is apparently his normal self against the chickens. He missed several EASY lay ins, he got in foul trouble, our leading scoring KCP, scored 9 points on 3 of 12 shooting. He had a WIDE OPEN 3 pointer at the end of the game that would have won it for us, CLANK. Gerald Robinson ended with 11 points but when your top two scoring players-on an already suspect offense combined score 20 when their season averages add up to 28, that equals a loss more than likely. If you look at strictly numbers though, Thornton was not bad with 7pts and lead us once again in rebounds but he was 2-8 from the floor and I know of at least 3 easy layins he missed. As a team we shot 35% from the floor, and from 3 point land. It was just a very frustrating loss to a team that we easily could have beat, would have put us over 500 on the season, 4-7 in conference play with a 3 game winning streak heading into the Sunday game against Vandy-a team that is solid but beatable. Now you wonder what happens on Sunday, if we had won at SCarolina, there might have been a decent crowd show up, thinking maybe we have turned this season around. Instead there is just more doubt about what direction we are headed. I guess time will tell how this season plays out, and it is not like I have lofty expectations for this year, nor would any sane Georgia basketball supporter. But, that being said, the SEC is NOT that great of a conference this year in my opinion. In fact, as it stands right now, I would say only two teams are a lock to make the dance, UK and UF. After that, you have several teams that figure to have a great shot-Vandy, Miss State but after that, I would say it will take a winning streak by say Bama, UT or Arkansas to have a shot. This conference is not one where a team even with our talent level, should win 4 games. I think it is possible that is how many games we win this year in conference, unless we pull the upset over Vandy, UF or @LSU. The only win left in my mind is SCarolina and they just beat us so that is no given. Will Fox survive, more than likely yes. SHOULD he survive, I am not so sure. 3 years is not very long to give a coach but we gave Ron Jirsa two years. He was 35-30 in two seasons, one season at 20-15 and making the NIT, the other season at 15-15. So far with Fox, he is 14-17, 21-12 and now 12-13 for a total record of 47-42. One could argue we should have been in the NIT last year!! So, my point is, I think McGarity has a TOUGH decision in front of him. Let's just suppose we win one more conference game this year, that puts our record at 13-17(pending SEC tourney) which puts Fox's three year record of course at 48-46. If Jirsa was shown the door after going 30-25 in two years, why couldn't Fox be out after 48-46. Why, more than likely because of two reasons-first he DID make the dance in year two regardless of how close he was to NOT making it or the fact he won with Felton's talent. Second, because of the contract extension signed after last year. I hate to get all doom and gloom but with us losing Robinson and Ware, bringing in two talented guards but not players near the level of KCP or Gerald, unless we see dramatic improvement in Donte', Marcus, Nemi, Dixon/Florveus, I just don't see this team being any better next year. Remember, next year we get games with Missouri and A&M and especially Missouri is a TOP basketball power right now. So, you let him hang for next year and the season is a 500 or so, do you then fire him?? At this point I think Fox needs a recruit to come to his rescue-Tony Parker, well, he has said he will shock the world with his college choice-but still seems VERY unlikely he lands in Athens. What about Charles Mitchell-he could certainly help us out and he could be headed our way. Just hard to say right now. Bottom line, I still firmly believe the UGA program can be a major player in the hoops landscape. Some say NO WAY but why the heck not if a school like UF can do it. We have a state that produces a boatload of top level talent, our facilities are nice enough, it is just a matter of finding the right guy to lead us where we need to go-which means MONEY. We have to pay someone what it takes to come take this program and run with it.
Finally, the baseball season starts today for the Diamond Dogs. We are a preseason ranked team, some have us at #11 or #13. Regardless, there is a lot of talent on the baseball field this upcoming year and hopefully we can make a long run again this year. Last year the team got back in the tourney, this is a year to maybe get back to Omaha, a place we have been quite a few times with Perno in charge, but not since the 2008 runner up to Fresno team. Here is a good preview of the season from the Athens paper, hopefully the weather will allow them to get the series in this weekend.
http://dogbytesonline.com/experienced-bulldogs-lineup-brings-big-expectations-into-2012-season-55183/
Hope everyone has a nice weekend, Go Dogs!
Finally, the baseball season starts today for the Diamond Dogs. We are a preseason ranked team, some have us at #11 or #13. Regardless, there is a lot of talent on the baseball field this upcoming year and hopefully we can make a long run again this year. Last year the team got back in the tourney, this is a year to maybe get back to Omaha, a place we have been quite a few times with Perno in charge, but not since the 2008 runner up to Fresno team. Here is a good preview of the season from the Athens paper, hopefully the weather will allow them to get the series in this weekend.
http://dogbytesonline.com/experienced-bulldogs-lineup-brings-big-expectations-into-2012-season-55183/
Hope everyone has a nice weekend, Go Dogs!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Could the Hoops team actually turn things around THIS year?
So I have written before about my unhappiness with our hoops program, today I will try to turn to a more positive outlook for the team after they have had back to back wins over pretty decent opponents. First up was the 22 point win against Arkansas. Yes, fully aware Arky has not won a road game all year, but let's face it, we have lost several home games in conference this year already, so that game was far from a gimme. We came out and just took it to them, the offense looked crisp, moving the ball all around the court and Gerald Robinson was on fire. More importantly to me, Marcus Thornton scored 10pts, actually hit a couple threes. If that kid could ever provide us with some offense, that REALLY improves our overall team and our overall outlook. KCP also played well and really stepped up the next game, at Miss State. Miss State was ranked #20, we never play well over there, they are a very solid team, especially at home. We took them to OT and actually won the game. GREAT WIN right there. KCP and GR really carried the show and although Marcus didn't score like he did against Arky, he still did a nice job on the boards, leading us with 9. Donte' Williams continues to also become more of a factor, against State he has 11 pts, and 7 boards.
Next up is a struggling South Carolina team on the road. Can we make it three in a row-that would be huge then heading into a weekend game against Vandy. Vandy is a TOUGH team with loads of experience and shooters but if we come in off of 3 straight wins, the fact we played them a tight game in Nashville, we could very well win that. IF that happens, we suddenly find ourselves at 5-7 in conference play!! WOW. With games left at LSU, home vs UF and SCarolina, then at UK, we could easily win 3 or those 4 and finish, 8-8-now how much of a shock would that be. I know a lot of hoops left to be played but if Coach Fox can get this team to 6 wins, that will be a very good rebound from what started off as a complete nightmare of a season. Granted 6-10 is not getting any post season invites but I honestly believed we had a chance to finish the season 1-15 just a week ago after bad losses at AU and UT. I am still concerned about next year, because we are now seeing just how important Gerald Robinson is for this offense. I think Ware can be replaced but I am not sure Robinson can be. But, the continued good play of Donte, Nemi has been a pleasant surprise and if Marcus Thornton can finally provide us with a little bit of offense, this team might not be as bad as I had thought for next year. Next up is at SCarolina tomorrow night, let's see if the momentum can indeed continue.
For all the hoop fans out there, Seth Emerson wrote a nice article about two former players now playing with the LA Clippers, Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie. Obviously our hoops team would be MUCH better if those guys had returned for their senior years but they are making nearly 500K a year sitting on the bench, not a bad life. Get paid 400K+ to practice/play the game you love, or sit in class and play college hoops. I can't say I blame those guys for leaving, they are learing more sitting on the bench there than they would playing in Athens-I do believe that becuase they get to learn the NBA, practice against better players, simply just work on their craft without the distractions of going to class etc.
http://www.macon.com/2012/02/14/1904004/frick-and-frack-georgia-pair-making.html
Finally, another top prospect picks UGA for class of 2013, this time Shaq Wiggins, corner from Sandy Creek HS. This kid is a 4 star prospect from a school we have NOT had much luck with in recent history. This same school produced Calvin Johnson, also the recent 2012 recruit Jaquay Williams. They have some talented kids in that program so always nice to see us getting in there and making some noise. Wiggins of course plays a position of need, especially since we will lose Smith, Commings, Rambo and Williams after this season, also Nick Marshall and Chris Sanders were kicked off the team (although there is a chance one or both end up back at UGA after spending time at JUCO). We now have 4 verbal commitments for the class of 2013, all are 4 start or better prospects so recruiting is off to a good start.
Next up is a struggling South Carolina team on the road. Can we make it three in a row-that would be huge then heading into a weekend game against Vandy. Vandy is a TOUGH team with loads of experience and shooters but if we come in off of 3 straight wins, the fact we played them a tight game in Nashville, we could very well win that. IF that happens, we suddenly find ourselves at 5-7 in conference play!! WOW. With games left at LSU, home vs UF and SCarolina, then at UK, we could easily win 3 or those 4 and finish, 8-8-now how much of a shock would that be. I know a lot of hoops left to be played but if Coach Fox can get this team to 6 wins, that will be a very good rebound from what started off as a complete nightmare of a season. Granted 6-10 is not getting any post season invites but I honestly believed we had a chance to finish the season 1-15 just a week ago after bad losses at AU and UT. I am still concerned about next year, because we are now seeing just how important Gerald Robinson is for this offense. I think Ware can be replaced but I am not sure Robinson can be. But, the continued good play of Donte, Nemi has been a pleasant surprise and if Marcus Thornton can finally provide us with a little bit of offense, this team might not be as bad as I had thought for next year. Next up is at SCarolina tomorrow night, let's see if the momentum can indeed continue.
For all the hoop fans out there, Seth Emerson wrote a nice article about two former players now playing with the LA Clippers, Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie. Obviously our hoops team would be MUCH better if those guys had returned for their senior years but they are making nearly 500K a year sitting on the bench, not a bad life. Get paid 400K+ to practice/play the game you love, or sit in class and play college hoops. I can't say I blame those guys for leaving, they are learing more sitting on the bench there than they would playing in Athens-I do believe that becuase they get to learn the NBA, practice against better players, simply just work on their craft without the distractions of going to class etc.
http://www.macon.com/2012/02/14/1904004/frick-and-frack-georgia-pair-making.html
Finally, another top prospect picks UGA for class of 2013, this time Shaq Wiggins, corner from Sandy Creek HS. This kid is a 4 star prospect from a school we have NOT had much luck with in recent history. This same school produced Calvin Johnson, also the recent 2012 recruit Jaquay Williams. They have some talented kids in that program so always nice to see us getting in there and making some noise. Wiggins of course plays a position of need, especially since we will lose Smith, Commings, Rambo and Williams after this season, also Nick Marshall and Chris Sanders were kicked off the team (although there is a chance one or both end up back at UGA after spending time at JUCO). We now have 4 verbal commitments for the class of 2013, all are 4 start or better prospects so recruiting is off to a good start.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tonight is a big night for the hoops team!
Ok so why would I say tonight is a big night for the hoops team, because it is. They play host to Arkansas tonight and this will be a very interesting game to watch for various reasons. First of all, right now our team is just flat out BAD. We currently have a 4 game losing streak going, our only win was at home against UT in OT. We are in last place in the SEC, well tied with SCarolina. Our remaining schedule is pretty tough, there are very few games down the stretch I could see us having a chance to win. SCarolina has an easier schedule down the stretch than we do, hosting us, Tenn, and LSU. Meanwhile, we host after tonight, UF, Vandy, and SCarolina. We have road games at Kentucky, Miss State, South Carolina and LSU. Arkansas is team that is 4-4 in the SEC thus far, but they have NOT won a road game of any kind all season long. Looking at their scores on the road in conference thus far, they lost at Ole Miss 71-63, at Kentucky 86-63, at Bama 72-66, and finally at LSU 71-65. Now, Arkansas on the season is averaging about 75pts a game but it is very obvious that on the road, they are not the same high scoring team they are at home. That being said though, UGA is the WORST scoring team in the SEC and one of the worst in the nation. So, this will make for an interesting game to watch for sure, both teams needing a win in the worst way-Arkansas to help validate its chances for making a post season tourney, UGA to just get another win.
I have been on the Mark Fox bandwagon during his career in Athens-I thought he was a good hire by Damon Evans but I was concerned about how he would recruit since he was a virtual unknown coming from Nevada. He has had some recruiting success, getting Marcus Thornton and Caldwell-Pope, but let's not kid ourselves, he has NOT done a good job recruiting overall. If you look at our team right now, what do you see. I see two legit SEC players/starters in Robinson and Caldwell-Pope. The remainder of our players are at best role players on most upper level SEC programs. Ware would make a good backup point guard, possibly could start for some but would not be looked at as a guy that HAS to score, Donte' Williams, definitely a reserve. Thornton, about the 9th or 10th man for most teams based on what you get from him. Nemi, again a bench player that can give you some scoring off the bench. Everyone else, I would argue they should not even be on scholarship. That would be Dixon, Cannon, Florveus, Brantley, even Vincent Williams-he is ok but not great. Heck, I like Connor Nolte better than any of those guys just mentioned and he was a former walkon-and we even having him on our roster, we missed out on getting his younger and more talented brother-who instead heads to Virginia next year. Fox has recruited 3 solid players for the class of 2012-all three are 3 star prospects, KCP was 5 star, but to think those guys are going to come in and give you the scoring that Robinson/Ware combined give you, that is wishful thinking at best. And that is what scares me about next season. Assuming KCP comes back as he should, he will be our offense. There will be no other proven scorers on our roster-here are our returning players for next year-KCP 14pts a game, Donte' Williams 7.5pts a game, Nemi 6.6 pts a game, Vince Williams 3.8pts a game, and Marcus Thornton 2.3 pts a game. In case you are wondering, rounding EVERY number up that is 36 pts per game!!!
If you don't think recruiting is a problem, all you have to do is look at our in state rivals to see just what a mess we are in. Tech hired Brian Gregory as their coach less than a year ago, he was more known than Fox just by virtue of coaching on the eastern part of the US, but when it comes to recruiting, not a well known guy in the ATL. But, he hired a couple of assistant coaches who have HUGE roots in this area, Chad Dollar and Amir Abdur Rahim. While UGA has three 3 star players coming in, Tech has 2 four star and one 3 star player coming in. They also are getting a transfer from Kentucky in Stacey Poole who was a 4 or 5 star player coming out of HS. So, just look at the talent level Gregory is bringing in already, all signed and sealed before he had really even coached a game at GT. Meanwhile Fox is coming off an NCAA tourney, is going on his third year in Athens and gets out recruited-and then Gregory brings over a pathetic team and beats us on our home floor for the first since 1976. I know a lot of folks will say, he needs more time to prove his worth but to me hoops is MUCH different than football. Because of the smaller number of kids involved, I think the window closes a lot quicker on a coach in hoops than in football. But, if you want to compare football, let's say in year one Fox has a year basically equal to our 2010 season, losing record. Granted, the year before Fox took over was even worse but Fox did have Thompkins, Leslie, Ware, Price and Barnes, all of which were sophomores and had played a lot of hoops the year before-well, not so much Leslie. Last year would be equal to making say the Liberty or Independence bowl because yes we made the dance but we made it as a #10 seed which is BARELY making it in. We had a just above 500 record in SEC play at 9-7. Now this year, this year would be basically like the Ray Goff football year of 1990, where we went that season 4-7. I did not expect UGA to make the big dance this year, BUT I did expect them to win about 5-6 or so conference games, finish with a record of about 17-11 or 16-12, perhaps a game better or worse. They were predicted to finish 8th in the 12 team conference. We sit at LAST. Tonight is a key game folks, because lose this one, next up is at Miss State and we NEVER play well over there, this season could get really out of hand. Like I say, I honestly don't see next year being any better and thus in my mind, I think you clean house this year and go after a guy that can RECRUIT high level talent. Yes, the guy needs to be able to coach but our talent level HAS to be improved. Game tonight is 8p on Peachtree TV in ATL.
One note about football, of course still disappointed that a couple days AFTER signing day we lose 3 players in a year we only signed 19 to start with. It appears our coaches are looking at a kid from GMC that has blazing speed and is eligible to play starting this upcoming year, would have 3 years left to play, like Mark Beard. His name is Mario Alford and you can catch some footage of him via this AJC link.
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2012/02/07/uga-may-add-mystery-recruit-in-football-after-all/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
I would sign him up without hesitation. But, the Athens paper has an article about our numbers when it comes to scholarships. Here is that article.
http://dogbytesonline.com/crunching-the-roster-numbers-again-54914/
Bottom line, we are short on numbers so I would look for UGA to sign Alford and maybe a few other kids that might be late qualifers or under the radar type kids. BUT, just because you have some numbers, doesn't mean you waste spots. We can have some kids enroll early for 2013 and offer a lot of kids for the very talented/loaded 2013 class. So, I am concerned a bit but not in panic mode. I personally like to have a few spots available for a few walkons every year, let's face it, those kids are probably every bit as good as kids you would have on ship in those last 3-4 spots, they appreciate the opportunity more and play with more heart many times than the kids that are "given" them coming out of HS. Now, that being said, we should never be at 75 players at this time of the year because you never know what might happen between now and August. But, it is what is and so we just have to hope the kids we have stay healthy and then we hit a great and full class next year.
All for now, Go Dogs!!
I have been on the Mark Fox bandwagon during his career in Athens-I thought he was a good hire by Damon Evans but I was concerned about how he would recruit since he was a virtual unknown coming from Nevada. He has had some recruiting success, getting Marcus Thornton and Caldwell-Pope, but let's not kid ourselves, he has NOT done a good job recruiting overall. If you look at our team right now, what do you see. I see two legit SEC players/starters in Robinson and Caldwell-Pope. The remainder of our players are at best role players on most upper level SEC programs. Ware would make a good backup point guard, possibly could start for some but would not be looked at as a guy that HAS to score, Donte' Williams, definitely a reserve. Thornton, about the 9th or 10th man for most teams based on what you get from him. Nemi, again a bench player that can give you some scoring off the bench. Everyone else, I would argue they should not even be on scholarship. That would be Dixon, Cannon, Florveus, Brantley, even Vincent Williams-he is ok but not great. Heck, I like Connor Nolte better than any of those guys just mentioned and he was a former walkon-and we even having him on our roster, we missed out on getting his younger and more talented brother-who instead heads to Virginia next year. Fox has recruited 3 solid players for the class of 2012-all three are 3 star prospects, KCP was 5 star, but to think those guys are going to come in and give you the scoring that Robinson/Ware combined give you, that is wishful thinking at best. And that is what scares me about next season. Assuming KCP comes back as he should, he will be our offense. There will be no other proven scorers on our roster-here are our returning players for next year-KCP 14pts a game, Donte' Williams 7.5pts a game, Nemi 6.6 pts a game, Vince Williams 3.8pts a game, and Marcus Thornton 2.3 pts a game. In case you are wondering, rounding EVERY number up that is 36 pts per game!!!
If you don't think recruiting is a problem, all you have to do is look at our in state rivals to see just what a mess we are in. Tech hired Brian Gregory as their coach less than a year ago, he was more known than Fox just by virtue of coaching on the eastern part of the US, but when it comes to recruiting, not a well known guy in the ATL. But, he hired a couple of assistant coaches who have HUGE roots in this area, Chad Dollar and Amir Abdur Rahim. While UGA has three 3 star players coming in, Tech has 2 four star and one 3 star player coming in. They also are getting a transfer from Kentucky in Stacey Poole who was a 4 or 5 star player coming out of HS. So, just look at the talent level Gregory is bringing in already, all signed and sealed before he had really even coached a game at GT. Meanwhile Fox is coming off an NCAA tourney, is going on his third year in Athens and gets out recruited-and then Gregory brings over a pathetic team and beats us on our home floor for the first since 1976. I know a lot of folks will say, he needs more time to prove his worth but to me hoops is MUCH different than football. Because of the smaller number of kids involved, I think the window closes a lot quicker on a coach in hoops than in football. But, if you want to compare football, let's say in year one Fox has a year basically equal to our 2010 season, losing record. Granted, the year before Fox took over was even worse but Fox did have Thompkins, Leslie, Ware, Price and Barnes, all of which were sophomores and had played a lot of hoops the year before-well, not so much Leslie. Last year would be equal to making say the Liberty or Independence bowl because yes we made the dance but we made it as a #10 seed which is BARELY making it in. We had a just above 500 record in SEC play at 9-7. Now this year, this year would be basically like the Ray Goff football year of 1990, where we went that season 4-7. I did not expect UGA to make the big dance this year, BUT I did expect them to win about 5-6 or so conference games, finish with a record of about 17-11 or 16-12, perhaps a game better or worse. They were predicted to finish 8th in the 12 team conference. We sit at LAST. Tonight is a key game folks, because lose this one, next up is at Miss State and we NEVER play well over there, this season could get really out of hand. Like I say, I honestly don't see next year being any better and thus in my mind, I think you clean house this year and go after a guy that can RECRUIT high level talent. Yes, the guy needs to be able to coach but our talent level HAS to be improved. Game tonight is 8p on Peachtree TV in ATL.
One note about football, of course still disappointed that a couple days AFTER signing day we lose 3 players in a year we only signed 19 to start with. It appears our coaches are looking at a kid from GMC that has blazing speed and is eligible to play starting this upcoming year, would have 3 years left to play, like Mark Beard. His name is Mario Alford and you can catch some footage of him via this AJC link.
http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2012/02/07/uga-may-add-mystery-recruit-in-football-after-all/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting
I would sign him up without hesitation. But, the Athens paper has an article about our numbers when it comes to scholarships. Here is that article.
http://dogbytesonline.com/crunching-the-roster-numbers-again-54914/
Bottom line, we are short on numbers so I would look for UGA to sign Alford and maybe a few other kids that might be late qualifers or under the radar type kids. BUT, just because you have some numbers, doesn't mean you waste spots. We can have some kids enroll early for 2013 and offer a lot of kids for the very talented/loaded 2013 class. So, I am concerned a bit but not in panic mode. I personally like to have a few spots available for a few walkons every year, let's face it, those kids are probably every bit as good as kids you would have on ship in those last 3-4 spots, they appreciate the opportunity more and play with more heart many times than the kids that are "given" them coming out of HS. Now, that being said, we should never be at 75 players at this time of the year because you never know what might happen between now and August. But, it is what is and so we just have to hope the kids we have stay healthy and then we hit a great and full class next year.
All for now, Go Dogs!!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A good day(s) as JHC is now official, BAD basketball folks
Ok, so let's start with the good news, football recruiting in my opinion went VERY well yesterday. The only miss to me of significance was when Avery Young selected AU over us. Cordarrelle Patterson selecting UT over us, well, let's say would have loved to have him BUT WR to me is not a position of need, his signing with us would have just been icing on the cake. Granted, the loss of Chester Brown hurt as well but I think Chester would have redshirted anyway. First of all, we signed two very talented running backs, in Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley. Second we signed two excellent kickers in punter Collin Barber and PK Marshall Morgan. Third, we signed the best OT prospect in the nation who likely comes in and starts next year at some point. Fourth, we signed some ELITE defensive prospects that will contribute to our already stellar D this coming fall, Josh Harvey Clemons and Jordan Jenkins being the big gets but also Johnathan Taylor and John Atkins will pay dividends this year and especially in 2013 when we lose some DL players. We signed a fullback prospect that could play this year, in Q. Hicks. Also an athlete in Sheldon Dawson that could help at corner and in the return game-in other words could be a potential kid to help out for the loss of Boykin.
For those that are up in arms about our OL situation, I think it will be just fine. We lost three SR's, Jones and Glenn will be missed. Anderson, not so much in my opinion. Now, JA might get drafted in the pros but that will be base more on his size than ability. Jones and Glenn both could be day one draft picks, for sure Glenn as he is pegged as a 1st rounder. That being said, we will have NO senior OL on the team in 2012. We will only have FOUR juniors, that being Gates, A Long, Burnette and Lee. Beard is a JUCO that redshirted and played one year, thus is a RSSoph, Andrews and Dantzler got some PT last year as true FR, as did Hunter Long. Kolton Houston will be a soph IF he is able to play at all. Xzavier Ward who Richt mentioned has added 40lbs to his big frame, along with Zach DeBell will be RSFR. Pyke is the only OL recruit we will for sure redshirt this year, so by my count assuming Houston is eligible to play, we will have 12 OL for 2012.
Gates, Burnette, Lee, Austin Long, Hunter Long, Mark Beard, Dantzler, Andrews, Ward, DeBell, Houston and finally Theus. I believe that is PLENTY to go to battle with. Now, for the class of 2013, OL will have to be and I am sure will be a priority. We will have 4 kids as SR's in 2013, we will have 4 JR's, 3 Sophs and 1 RSFR. So, you have to figure we will sign 5-6 OL in the class next year, could be as many as 8. I figure 2-3 will be ready to play right away and the rest we can afford to redshirt. Again, we have numbers in place so folks need to chill out. As I posted earlier today on Dawgpost-
This is the SECOND spring for Will Friend to be in Athens. Second, all our projected OL that figure to play are on campus NOW-except Theus. Pyke is going to redshirt without question. Third, we open the season against a cupcake, a chance for our OL to get some game experience against a lesser opponent before week 2. Fourth, we have a veteran QB that knows our offense like the back of his hand and also is mobile. Fifth, we have a great group of WR's and also have a TE in Lynch that is really going to help whichever tackle he lines up next to when it comes to blocking, and finally, we have quality and depth at the RB position unlike this year.
Also, I honestly believe the 2013 class will be a top 5 recruiting class, DREAM TEAM part 2 because of the following reasons I also shared earlier on Dawgpost-
The kids in the next class will KNOW that Richt is going to be here, they will get to watch us have a very good season, they will get to see our defense continue to dominate, they will see our QB breaking passing records and potentially be a Heisman candidate, AND they will see some YOUNG guys out playing and making contributions. I will be shocked and VERY disappointed if we don't have DREAM TEAM part 2 next Feb.
So, this year is behind us now and it is time to move forward to class of 2013 where we are already off to a great start in getting verbal pledges from Brice Ramsey, QB from Camden County who is also quite the kicker-and his arm strength has been compared to Matthew Stafford, Derrick Henry out of Florida who is a BIG back that might actually grow into another position but for now is a HS junior at 6-3 232 and runs a 4.54. Also Tray Matthews out of Newnan-yep, seems to be very similar in talent and hitting ability to Alec Olgetree. So, right off the top, we have 3-4 star prospects to start of the 2013 class.
Now on to the train wreck that is our basketball program. I have been a BIG Mark Fox fan since he was hired. He came out nowhere during the hiring process about 3 years ago, and my only worry about him was his ability to recruit. I am still very concerned with that but I am not growing more concerned with his ability to coach in the SEC. I will share what I posted earlier today on the Dawgpost rather than typing it all out again but I am growing very concerned with the direction we are heading. Should a coach be given more than 3 years to turn a program around, in most cases I firmly believe yes. At a program that is lacking basketball tradition like we are, almost certainly a yes BUT I am beginning to change my tune with Coach Fox because honestly, the way these guys are playing is just dreadful. Ole Miss at home is a game we MUST win, AU on the road after having a week off, maybe my expectations are too high but AU is not a very good hoops team and that game was there for the taking-AU doesn't have more talent than us just put it that way. We do have two SR guards and a 5 star wing that is very talented. But, it is pretty evident that Fox's overall recruiting efforts since he has arrived is not BITING his behind. When Thompkins and Leslie left us, along with Barnes and Price, all his inherited talent was gone save Dustin Ware. So, you have HIS recruited talent now on the floor and quite honestly, it is just a bad looking product. Is the talent that bad or is his ability to coach them up really that bad??
For those that are up in arms about our OL situation, I think it will be just fine. We lost three SR's, Jones and Glenn will be missed. Anderson, not so much in my opinion. Now, JA might get drafted in the pros but that will be base more on his size than ability. Jones and Glenn both could be day one draft picks, for sure Glenn as he is pegged as a 1st rounder. That being said, we will have NO senior OL on the team in 2012. We will only have FOUR juniors, that being Gates, A Long, Burnette and Lee. Beard is a JUCO that redshirted and played one year, thus is a RSSoph, Andrews and Dantzler got some PT last year as true FR, as did Hunter Long. Kolton Houston will be a soph IF he is able to play at all. Xzavier Ward who Richt mentioned has added 40lbs to his big frame, along with Zach DeBell will be RSFR. Pyke is the only OL recruit we will for sure redshirt this year, so by my count assuming Houston is eligible to play, we will have 12 OL for 2012.
Gates, Burnette, Lee, Austin Long, Hunter Long, Mark Beard, Dantzler, Andrews, Ward, DeBell, Houston and finally Theus. I believe that is PLENTY to go to battle with. Now, for the class of 2013, OL will have to be and I am sure will be a priority. We will have 4 kids as SR's in 2013, we will have 4 JR's, 3 Sophs and 1 RSFR. So, you have to figure we will sign 5-6 OL in the class next year, could be as many as 8. I figure 2-3 will be ready to play right away and the rest we can afford to redshirt. Again, we have numbers in place so folks need to chill out. As I posted earlier today on Dawgpost-
This is the SECOND spring for Will Friend to be in Athens. Second, all our projected OL that figure to play are on campus NOW-except Theus. Pyke is going to redshirt without question. Third, we open the season against a cupcake, a chance for our OL to get some game experience against a lesser opponent before week 2. Fourth, we have a veteran QB that knows our offense like the back of his hand and also is mobile. Fifth, we have a great group of WR's and also have a TE in Lynch that is really going to help whichever tackle he lines up next to when it comes to blocking, and finally, we have quality and depth at the RB position unlike this year.
Also, I honestly believe the 2013 class will be a top 5 recruiting class, DREAM TEAM part 2 because of the following reasons I also shared earlier on Dawgpost-
The kids in the next class will KNOW that Richt is going to be here, they will get to watch us have a very good season, they will get to see our defense continue to dominate, they will see our QB breaking passing records and potentially be a Heisman candidate, AND they will see some YOUNG guys out playing and making contributions. I will be shocked and VERY disappointed if we don't have DREAM TEAM part 2 next Feb.
So, this year is behind us now and it is time to move forward to class of 2013 where we are already off to a great start in getting verbal pledges from Brice Ramsey, QB from Camden County who is also quite the kicker-and his arm strength has been compared to Matthew Stafford, Derrick Henry out of Florida who is a BIG back that might actually grow into another position but for now is a HS junior at 6-3 232 and runs a 4.54. Also Tray Matthews out of Newnan-yep, seems to be very similar in talent and hitting ability to Alec Olgetree. So, right off the top, we have 3-4 star prospects to start of the 2013 class.
Now on to the train wreck that is our basketball program. I have been a BIG Mark Fox fan since he was hired. He came out nowhere during the hiring process about 3 years ago, and my only worry about him was his ability to recruit. I am still very concerned with that but I am not growing more concerned with his ability to coach in the SEC. I will share what I posted earlier today on the Dawgpost rather than typing it all out again but I am growing very concerned with the direction we are heading. Should a coach be given more than 3 years to turn a program around, in most cases I firmly believe yes. At a program that is lacking basketball tradition like we are, almost certainly a yes BUT I am beginning to change my tune with Coach Fox because honestly, the way these guys are playing is just dreadful. Ole Miss at home is a game we MUST win, AU on the road after having a week off, maybe my expectations are too high but AU is not a very good hoops team and that game was there for the taking-AU doesn't have more talent than us just put it that way. We do have two SR guards and a 5 star wing that is very talented. But, it is pretty evident that Fox's overall recruiting efforts since he has arrived is not BITING his behind. When Thompkins and Leslie left us, along with Barnes and Price, all his inherited talent was gone save Dustin Ware. So, you have HIS recruited talent now on the floor and quite honestly, it is just a bad looking product. Is the talent that bad or is his ability to coach them up really that bad??
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