Hoops Preps for Another Big Game

Big game for the Georgia basketball team tonight at Stegeman as the Dawgs host No. 23 Ole Miss.

I have a story in today's Telegraph about how Georgia has made steps in the right direction, but they're hardly satisfied.

CBS Sports has a good profile of the work Mark Fox has done to get this team turned around and pointed in the right direction.

And the Banner-Herald profiles Georgia's new human highlight reel, Mr. Travis Leslie. (And if you haven't seen the dunk at Kentucky yet... what are you waiting for? Of course, don't forget about the one against Tech last week either.)

Here's a bit more of what a few of the Dawgs had to say about the current state of Georgia hoops...

Mark Fox on his reaction to UGA's performance against Kentucky...
“I told them in the middle of the game that I was proud of the fact they were competing toe to toe, that they’d gone 30-plus minutes throwing punches, taking punches and throwing some more. The next step for us is to be able to finish it. We ran out of gas because I didn’t play our bench enough, but our bench has to play better so they can play more. The bottom line is we got beat and we don’t believe in moral victories. There’s another level you have to get to so you can win games like this.”

Fox on his expectations for the team during a 3-game stretch vs. top-25 foes...
“I thought we were going to win at Kentucky. I’m not going to lie. I thought that was a game we could win, the timing and the way that it fill. So if we can win and be 2-1, we’ll take that. But you’ll always say, ‘Dang it, we could be 3-0.’”

Dustin Ware on building confidence...
“I think we’ve learned something about ourselves in the Kentucky game with the type of resilience we showed. I think we all thought with some time we could become a very good team, and I think it’s starting to come around.”

Ware on the team's perceptions of its season...
“Our goals have never changed, never been altered. We always wanted to be great, and that’s still our goal, still what we’re striving for.”

Ware on the Kentucky game...
“We didn’t get the win, so we really didn’t accomplish anything, so it’s on to the next one for us.”

Ware on Ole Miss...
“They have a lot of weapons and that’s something we’ll have to be conscious about when we’re out on the floor. But if we come out and play hard, hopefully we can make it interesting.”

Albert Jackson on what the team has learned so far...
“I think we learned how tough we are and that we can play with any competition. We’ve overcome a lot more challenges and we’re a lot better team than people expected us to be – maybe even more than some people on our team truly believed. Sometimes you have to see it to believe it, and I think everybody truly sees it now, and that just makes us work even harder in everything we do.”

Jackson on what the big performances mean for younger players...
“It’s huge for them to see the fruits of their labor. As a young player, that’s all you see is the results. You don’t really see how the little things lead to the results. So you have to see some success like that to see what you really can do and how much you really have grown.”

Jackson on this year vs. last year...
“At this point in time last year it’s when we went downhill. This year, I think it’s the point we’re starting to uplift ourselves. Last year we weren’t prepared for SEC play and now I think the sky is the limit for us. But it’s all on us how good we do.”

From the Mailbag: Ware Gets Some Help

Before the SEC's meetings in Destin last week, I asked some of you to submit questions for Mark Richt and Mark Fox. I've answered some already, I have more answers coming in stories I have planned for the near future. But throughout this week, I'll be posting the answers to a few of them here.

This one comes anonymously (but let's assume it was posted by TV's Erik Estrada): With the recent announcement of the transfer of Gerald Robinson and the signing of Vincent Williams in the spring period, is it fair to say your recruiting focus has shifted to signing more wings and posts, and perhaps another SG, for next year's class?

OK, Fox didn't address his new focus in recruiting directly, but he was happy to talk about the addition of the two new point guards.

First off, Gerald Robinson Jr. will have to sit out the upcoming season, but Fox said his addition will have a big impact long-term. Robinson's dad is a coach at Tennessee State, which was the reason he signed there out of high school, but Fox said his new guard is clearly SEC material.

"He has SEC and ACC offers out of high school," Fox said. "He stayed home, but I think he realized he can play at a high level and we're excited to get him. He's a scoring point guard, a great kid and just wants to come and win. That's really important to him that our team is successful no matter where he fits in, and I think he can really make a difference a year from now."

With Corey Butler graduating and Zac Swansey transferring, that left Georgia with just one point guard on its roster when Fox arrived, so finding players to fill out the roster was essential. So the first two players Fox brought into the program were Robinson, Tennessee State's leading scorer last season, and Vincent Williams, a point guard from Homestead, Fla. who averaged 26 points and six rebounds per game his senior season. Even though Robinson won't be able to play next season, his addition should still be felt during practice.

"You need three point guards ideally on your roster so you can scrimmage, practice and give a guy a break now and then," Fox said. "That position expends so much energy. You have a tendency to wear those guys down if you don't have some depth. Like everybody else, when I first started we saw there was only one on the roster, and we needed to get him some help."

That one point guard is Dustin Ware, who was Georgia's starter down the stretch last season -- his first in Athens -- and made as big an improvement during the course of the season as anyone on the roster. Fox said that he has been extremely impressed by Ware so far, saying that Ware has the best approach to preparation of any player he has ever had. That's a big compliment coming from a coach who has put a half-dozen players into the NBA.

"As a freshman he went through a lot of the growing pains most freshmen do, but usually as a sophomore the game slows down for you just because of all the experience you get as a freshman," Fox said. "I've been real pleased with Dustin and his approach and I think he's working hard to have a great sophomore year."