No fancy intro, no hilarious set-up, no advance apologies. Well okay, maybe an advance apology: In an attempt to get to as many questions as possible, my answers were a bit shorter than normal.
Although I would prefer to say the answers are "to the point."
Here you are:
Noticed you have someone who comments on your site with anti-Aaron Murray stuff. Maybe you can play devil's advocate and do a piece on the negatives of Murray. I support Murray and think he is the right guy for the job, but thinking back on the season he had some poor games at Fla, Aub., and a mediocre Tech game. Just thought it would be interesting to take a hard look at all his stats, good or bad.
- Alex Greene
I’ll file that away as a possibility. Frankly I think Murray’s development last year was covered ad nauseum. Everyone commented on how well he progressed, and how pleasant a surprise he was. At the same time Mark Richt and Mike Bobo also pointed to the areas that needed some improvement, such as small mechanical issues or decision-making, which is common in a freshman. Murray’s sophomore year will be a better indicator, but his freshman year certainly put him on the right track.
Any idea what numbers the incoming freshmen will be wearing this fall?
- Anonymous
The only ones we know are the early enrollees: Christian LeMay (16) and Chris Conley (31). In other number news, center Ben Jones just tweeted that he’s switching from 61 to 60 to honor his father.
If Travis Leslie comes back, we'll have Ware, Robinson, and Caldwell-Pope. Not a bad perimeter but clearly the big boys down low will be an issue. Can you address the prospects of John Florveus and Tim Dixon being able to contribute in an impactful way next year? Or are we just looking to run and gun? Florveus sounds like he could have an immediate impact but at 7 foot, 215 pounds, that's rail thin. He's going to get pushed around some.
- Bulldog Ben
Unless Thompkins comes back, which is a longshot, the Bulldogs are going to be very thin in the post. None of the impact recruits are as good as Thompkins or Jeremy Price. Florveus is tall, but raw. Nemanja Djurisic, who just committed, isn’t much of a banger. The returning post guys – Marcus Thornton and Donte Williams – will need to show improvement. So basically, yes, it’s likely to be more of a run-and-gun team, whether or not Leslie returns.
Your prediction on the likelihood that Trey and/or Travis go pro?
- Robert K. Burnham
Thompkins I would put at about 80 percent, with the uncertainty having more to do with the potential NBA lockout. Leslie I would put at 55 percent to leave. Leaving aside whether either SHOULD go, I just think it’s hard, after someone already contemplates it once, to make the decision to come back twice. Then again, neither even tested the waters last year. At a minimum, I expect each to at least do that. Then it becomes a matter of whether they hire an agent.
What is your take on the Tennessee fiasco? Will UT's AD lose his job over this? And who do you think will end up taking that job? I can't see this being anything but good for the Dawgs, unless Tennessee somehow lands somebody really big, by giving Coach K 100 million dollars to go to Knoxville. Even then, he would probably turn it down.
- Jonah B.
I liked Bruce Pearl, at least in my personal dealings with him, and the SEC will be a more boring place without him. But given what he’s already admitted, you can’t blame Tennessee for letting him go. And as I said last week, athletics director Mike Hamilton should be held accountable too. We’ll have to see who the Vols hire and whether that impacts Scotty Hopson and Tobias Harris’ decisions. Given the uncertainty of the program’s future – it goes before the NCAA in June – the next coach will have to take a leap of faith.
Seth was is your favorite away SEC stadium to go to for a game?
- Anonymous
I’ve always kind of liked Tennessee. It’s so big, but doesn’t feel that way, given the shape. It always kind of makes me feel like I’m in the Roman coliseum.
Why is Donkey Kong not a Donkey?
- Anonymous
To research this answer, I went to Wikipedia and learned way more about the history of Donkey Kong than I ever imagined. Such as the lawsuit brought by a movie studio that said it was a rip-off of King Kong. (Donkey Kong’s makers won.) In any event – it’s an ape, named after a donkey. That’s all I got.
With Belin gone, how nervous should we be that we regress again in special teams?
- AtlantaDawg
Belin only coached one unit, kickoff coverage. His replacement, Kirk Olividatti, has experience coaching special teams at the pro level, and I’m sure that figured into his hiring, at least partly.
Seth,
Has there been any conversation recently about expanding Sanford Stadium? I know that ideas were drawn up few years ago, but I haven't heard anything since.
Also, are their any mock-ups for how the new scoreboard will look?
- Matt B.
I’m told there have been no expansion discussions lately. UGA was trying to send me a picture of the new scoreboard and when I get it I’ll post it on the blog.
Seth,
Marshall Morgan has already committed to Georgia as part of the class of 2012 to replace Blair Walsh. Has there been any talk about who may replace Drew Butler after this year? Also, last year we saw Washuan Ealey run the ball out of the wildcat. Has there been any talk of other players, such as Branden Smith, being used in the formation?
- Streit
Morgan may be given a shot at the punting duties too. The only other punter on the spring roster (besides Butler) is Adam Erickson, a redshirt freshman from Athens.
What in your opinion was the reason for the hoops team's repeated blowing of leads in so many games? My impression may be lack of a bench but I defer to someone who might actually know something about roundball.
- CoonDawg
As I’ve written before, I think it had more to do with a lack of quality scoring off the bench. They had zero bench points against Washington, which granted wasn’t a blown-lead loss, but it still illustrated perhaps the team’s biggest deficiency this year.
The football schedule looks easy enough. What are reasonable expectations for high end and low end for the season?
- Anonymous
High end: Don’t laugh, because Auburn did it last year, but given that Georgia plays in the SEC, how can you rule out a league title and BCS berth? But that’s very high end; South Carolina will start out as the division favorite, and Georgia should be in the mix there with Florida. The low end is another six- or seven-win season.
Two questions:
In my opinion, our lack of depth at the guard position really doomed our team this year. Why did Vincent Williams get very little playing time this year? In spotty playing time, he has shown that he is an adequate defender and scorer, and his ball-handling could have been helpful against opponents like Alabama and Washington who pressed us for a majority of the game. Why does Sherrard Brantley consistently get to play over him when Brantley is not a confident ball-handler and not a good defender?
I didn’t see enough of Williams to grade him above Brantley, but I think Brantley got every minute of action because of his 3-point shooting ability. The team needed that lift off the bench, and Brantley was really the only impact reserve player – but that’s not saying much.
Second, does Coach Fox have no idea how to use timeouts? I can think of countless times this season when he called timeout at inopportune times (ask Dustin Ware about that), or neglected to call timeout when it seemed necessary. For instance, I remember one point in the second half of the NCAA tournament game against Washington when Coach Fox called timeout at approximately the 8:15 mark of the second half, just before the 8-minute TV timeout. We came out of the timeout and looked terribly confused, turned the ball over, and went directly into a TV timeout. Why can't Coach Fox learn to wait for the TV timeouts and use them to his advantage?
- Jordan Floyd
I noticed as the season wore on that Fox was very quick with his timeouts, and that was illustrated in the NCAA game. I’ve never spoken to him about it, but my educated guess is that with a team not used to winning – as he often pointed out – he felt he had to end other team’s momentum, rather than let his team play it out on the court. Roy Williams and Coach K are renowned for letting their players do that, but they’re dealing with players who have learned to deal with runs and get through them.
Has anyone from the NFL been showing any interest in Kris Durham?
He seems to have the height and speed(see B. Finneran)but after the issues with QB yesterday I don't think he got a fair deal. Most of the scouts left and the ESPN3 feed was focused on A.J. anyway. I will give David Pollack credit for at least talking him up.I think he deserves a camp invite at the least.
- CoopDawg
I think the Finneran comparison is good, and made it myself yesterday. Yes, it’s probably because they’re both white. So be it. Frankly I think if Finneran can have that long a career – not spectacular, but long – there’s a place in the NFL for Durham, who is tall, fast and can catch. But whether he gets the chance depends mostly on timing, and whether a team out there believes in him.
As part of the new nutrition program, our players were having to take pictures of their food to get it approved before eating it. How is that going? Did it last?
- Eric
As far as I know. I’d suggest that a few coaches may need to be getting their meals approved in advance too … but I won’t, in case a few of them read this blog.
Four-star Kevin Ware is expected to get his release from Tenn., and he has indicated UGA would be on his short list. However, AJC has reported that UGA is full unless both Thompkins and Leslie move on. Any chance of Ware coming to Georgia? I expect he'll want to make a decision before the NBA opt-out deadline.
- NCDawg
If they can get Ware, they’ll make room for him, definitely. If push comes to shove, Connor Nolte could always return to walk-on status. Ware’s destination remains unclear; Tennessee hasn’t released him yet, so Georgia can’t officially contact him. Although, obviously, there are ways around that.
What have you heard about the progression of Jarvis Jones and Richard Samuel? The move of Tree to ILB makes me wonder if Richard may be struggling? Do you think Jones can be a leader on our D next year and how much playing time do you think Samuel will get? Is he a possible mid season starter?
-DawgInVA
Samuel didn't get a lot of scouts other than scout team last fall in practice, because of his injury. I'm sure he's going to get a look, and I plan on asking Grantham and Olividatti about Samuel. But at the moment, with Christian Robinson being given that defensive captain role, and Ogletree moved to the other spot, it does seem like Samuel has a lot of ground to make up.
What type of QB is Christian LeMay? Scrambler or Pro style pocket QB. Do you think the Defense will actually make up some real ground this year and settle into our new Defense scheme and show some progress, dare I saw actually show some dominance.
- Anonymous
LeMay is a pro style quarterback who can scramble, or at least that’s probably the best way to put it. As for the defense, yes it should improve, just by having a more classic nose tackle, and by having a second year to learn the system. Then again, someone has to replace Justin Houston and his 10 sacks and Akeem Dent and his 126 tackles.
What has been decided about Uga? Is Russ to open the season? Have they been working on a new blood line?
- CalifDawg
No word on the new Uga as of press time. Once there is, it’ll be posted and reported.
What is the world is going on with the baseball team? Some nights it appears to be pitching, and then the very next night is appears to be the bats. I know that it is early and the Dawgs are 2-2 in conference, but is there anything Perno can do to get this team playing consistent ball?
- DoomsDayDawg
They’re pretty much performing as expected. Perno said not to expect a huge turnaround, just improvement, and right now they’re on track for that. But that does leave it up to debate whether that’s acceptable.
At a movie theater how do you tell which arm rest is yours?
- Anonymous
When the person next to me is a stranger, I always defer. I tend not to want accidental, awkward, touching. When you’re next to someone you know, it then depends on how well you know the person.
Why doesn't McDonald's sell hot dogs?
- Anonymous
Because, hopefully, there is a God. Can you imagine just how much fatter America would be if they added hot dogs to the menu? Let’s leave that to Sonic, shall we?
From the looks of some photos of spring practice on Georgiadogs.com some football players look like they havent made to much headway in strength and or conditioning. Seth have you noticed any differences close up?
- Anonymous
You can really that just by looking at photos? No offense, but I find that a reach. Richt was asked Tuesday about whether the players are bigger and stronger, and he basically said, “Yeah, probably, but who knows.” And at this point – less than three months into the new strength program – I think that’s a fair response. The change wasn’t made to make them look better in spring, but to play better in the fall.
Will coach Richt ever consider going back yo the real silver britches instead of the dull gray pants?
- Anonymous
I honestly don’t know. I guess I’m a bit surprised that so many people notice this – I know gray and silver are different, but they’re not THAT far away on the color hue chart.
Odds that Murray & Crowell & Jenkins start against Boise?
- Anonymous
Respectively, barring injury: 100 percent, 75 percent, 95 percent.
There is fight between Chuck Norris and Herschel Walker who wins and why.
- Anonymous
Herschel follows me on Twitter. Chuck does not. Therefore: Herschel.
1) Many experts are raving about Aaron Murray and expect a huge season from him next year. I don't. Here's why: Other than Orson Charles, who is a dynamic, big play receiver that can make downfield plays now that Durham and Green are gone? AM can't do it all himself.
2) What is your favorite William Shatner moment/movie/phrase, etc?
-Lazarus
1) They’re hoping Tavarres King can fill that role now with his speed. Marlon Brown will also get a shot, and Malcolm Mitchell heads the list of freshmen who will be given that chance. But obviously no one replaces A.J. Green. Keep in mind, however, Murray wasn’t too shabby during Green’s suspension.
2) I’ll pretend not to be a geek and will stay away from the best moments in the Star Trek movies. So I’ll go with Shatner’s underrated performance near the end of “Airplane Two.”
Do you think Ealey stays or transfers?
- Anonymous
He’s still here, and seemed to be having fun at practice on Tuesday. Strangely, though, his name was scratched from the media request list after practice. That’s not totally unusual, bus his suspension was listed a couple weeks ago. Perhaps the staff is just shielding him from scrutiny for the time being.
Are you single? I have the perfect girl for you.
- Leslie
Um … I am not married, let’s leave it at that.
What is your favorite Katy Perry song and why?
- Anonymous
“Teenage Dream.” It makes for a good running song. Feel free to make fun of me all you want for it. But at least I didn’t pick “I kissed a girl.” That song title still belongs to Jill Sobule, in my opinion.
What are your thoughts on Alec Ogletree moving to LB? His size would seem to make him a pretty good Safety but not sure if he'd be the same calibre at LB.
- Eric
Yeah, I guess you could say the move took me by surprise. Todd Grantham knows 10 times more about football than me, but I did see Ogletree as a potential star at safety, while he may not have as high a ceiling at inside linebacker. Then again, like I said, Todd Grantham knows five times as much football as me. … Wait, did I just downgrade that?
What's up with Malcome? I thought he'd be starting last year, now with Crowell, Thomas, King & Ealey, will he ever start for Georgia?
- Anonymous
Malcome is definitely not out of the mix.
Any word on how Christian LeMay is looking? I am very curious to see how good this kid is. Do you think he will be more of a D.J. Shockley dual threat QB or will he be more of a Matt Stafford pocket passer minus the howlitzer? Also, could you discuss the consolidation of democracy in post-soviet Russia?
- Trae
There have only been two spring practices, but I’m sure we’ll take a closer look at LeMay as the days go on. As for Russian democracy, on the one hand you hear a lot of discouraging things, but you also have to remember that it can’t happen overnight, and what’s really important here is that the Russians continue sending us hot women like Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova. Let’s not lose sight of that.
How many players do you think uga will sign this year in basketball? And what's the max of scholarship players allowed?
- Anonymous
They’ve already signed three, and just got a commitment from a fourth. They can have 13 on scholarship. Right now they’re committed to nine players from this year’s team, but that includes Thompkins and Leslie, so if either leaves that opens room.
What's your take on the secondary? With the move of Ogleltree to LB, you lose a physical presence that the safety position was lacking last year. I know there are some young guys who were redshirted but don't really know their potential. How about the idea of trying Commings at safety? He has the ideal size of a safety and cornerback speed. Would this in turn leave the cornerback spots too thin? Many thanks for all that you do.
- Stevo
The Commings-to-safety thing has been thrown around, but I asked him about it a couple weeks ago and he said he hasn’t been told he’s moving. But he wouldn’t be opposed to it. I think it’ll come down to how the incoming freshmen look. Corey Moore could play right away at safety, Nick Marshall and Damian Swann could do the same at cornerback.
Seth - speculation on who might be the source for Peter King's column about AJ Green on Tuesday? Obviously you have to take with a grain of salt, but comments about his practice habits seem to indicate that it would be a current or former coach/player.
- Anonymous
I assume you’re talking about this story. Not to sound too high and mighty, but starting out a sentence with asking someone to speculate, especially about a source, isn’t going to draw much of an answer. I have no way of knowing who King’s source would be, and to speculate would be highly irresponsible. Plus I’m not sure that line is really a shot at Green. All I can say is, in my year covering the team, I’ve never heard any whispers about Green’s practice habits. I’ve written before that injuries could be a factor if scouts look over Green’s career. But that would be nit-picking; Green looks every bit like a future All-Pro.
Any noise going on about Jay Clark? Most of us don't know enough about actual gymnastics to know whether or not they've really underperformed or if they've been unlucky the past 2 years. Any scuttlebut about making a change?
- Allen
Sadly, my sources within the gymnastics program are not very strong. I’m not ruling anything out, but my short answer is no, I have not heard any scuttlebutt about it.
Has ESPN contacted the university yet regarding a 30 for 30 special on Richt's Dream Team?
- Anonymous
Awesome.
Do you laugh or cry when you read these questions?
- Randy
Are you trying to get me in trouble?
Showing posts with label Trey Thompkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trey Thompkins. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thompkins Staying Put
I couldn't attend tonight's UGA basketball awards dinner, but the big news from the event is that Trey Thompkins announced he'll be back for his junior season.
You can read his comments from the awards ceremony at Marc Weiszer's blog HERE.
You can read his comments from the awards ceremony at Marc Weiszer's blog HERE.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
SEC Tourney Post-Game Reactions
About to close up shop here in Nashville, but some final input from Mark Fox and his players...
Fox on the game and the season:
“I’m upset we lost. I didn’t plan on losing. We were planning on being here (Saturday) afternoon. I am proud of this team because when I came everybody kept telling me how terrible we were. I don’t know if we were necessarily a great basketball team, but we beat some people maybe we weren’t supposed to beat, we’ve given our program some momentum, and we earned some respect back. In rebuilding, those are steps you have to take. So I don’t feel empty because we did take some steps forward, but I’m angry that we lost.”
Fox on Travis Leslie's 34-point performance:
"Travis played very well. I think that he's really matured as a young man and as a player, and he played very well last night, and was able to put back-to-back games together. I wish we had a couple more guys that could have done that. He's really maturing as a player, and that's good to see."
Fox on Trey Thompkins' scoreless first half:
"They zoned us the majority of the ballgame and they were shaded towards Trey. We had a tough time finding openings for him, but he's been our best player and our leading scorer all year. So obviously when you go into a game, the defense is going to be geared to slow him down. And when we've been most effective, we've had more than one guy that has scored next to him. Tonight, we really only had Travis effectively scoring around Trey and just couldn't draw some of that attention away from him."
Fox on his post-game message to his team:
"I just told them that we were prepared to play tomorrow. I never felt like this team wanted this season to be over. I didn't have that sense at all today. Often times at the end of the year, you sense guys that are just waiting for it to end. I never sensed that with this team. And they were excited to come to the gym every day, and today also. I just told them that they've made some momentum forward and earned some respect back for our program, and I'll always be appreciative of that."
Fox on the decisions facing Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie about the NBA:
“They need to decompress, but I’ll sit down with them and talk about their futures and find out what the pro people say and manage the process. Travis has already said he’ll be back, but Travis needs to approach the offseason the right way, and both of them mean a lot to me. Those are great kids and I’ll help any way I can.”
Fox on UGA's chances of a postseason tourney bid in the CBI or CIT:
“We’re not going to get an invitation somewhere to play. We don’t have a winning record, and I’m pretty sure we’re done playing.”
Jeremy Price on his thoughts if UGA did get a chance to keep playing:
"We're a competitive team, and if there's a chance to compete of any kind, we'll go in and win it."
Price on the second-half shooting of Vandy's John Jenkins:
“Jenkins is a great 3-point shooter and it seemed like he just made those 3s at the right time for them and the wrong time for us. Right when we were making our run to get back in the game and get ahead, he squeezed in two wide-open ones and two tough ones, and that was a game-changer.”
Trey Thompkins on Vandy's performance:
“They’re at home. They had momentum. They had a crowd, and they were confident. They played hard, relentless. And that rewards you.”
Thompkins on his NBA decision:
"That's something I don't even want to think about right now. If that time comes, I'll talk it over with my coaches and make the best decision for me."
Thompkins on whether the team's progress makes him want to stick around another year:
"We're maturing as a group and everybody's getting older -- we'll all be a year older and more experienced. A lot of those games we were close in and we lost, we'll start pulling out."
Travis Leslie on his future:
"I'm not thinking about that right now. If I do, it's going to be up to my parents, and we'll figure that out whenever we get a chance."
Damon Evans on his assessment of the team:
"I saw a lot of growth this year. We're building a program, and I'm excited we were able to come to this tournament and win a game to move our program forward. The young men fought hard, and I think Mark and his staff did a really good job to start that process, and I'm excited about what the future holds."
Evans on whether the team exceeded his expectations:
"I always felt Mark would come in and do a good job, but where this team really showed me something is the improvement from the players individually, the improvement from the overall chemistry together, and how hard they fought. I think they exceeded a lot of people's expectations, and I'm pleased with the progress -- extremely pleased."
Fox on the game and the season:
“I’m upset we lost. I didn’t plan on losing. We were planning on being here (Saturday) afternoon. I am proud of this team because when I came everybody kept telling me how terrible we were. I don’t know if we were necessarily a great basketball team, but we beat some people maybe we weren’t supposed to beat, we’ve given our program some momentum, and we earned some respect back. In rebuilding, those are steps you have to take. So I don’t feel empty because we did take some steps forward, but I’m angry that we lost.”
Fox on Travis Leslie's 34-point performance:
"Travis played very well. I think that he's really matured as a young man and as a player, and he played very well last night, and was able to put back-to-back games together. I wish we had a couple more guys that could have done that. He's really maturing as a player, and that's good to see."
Fox on Trey Thompkins' scoreless first half:
"They zoned us the majority of the ballgame and they were shaded towards Trey. We had a tough time finding openings for him, but he's been our best player and our leading scorer all year. So obviously when you go into a game, the defense is going to be geared to slow him down. And when we've been most effective, we've had more than one guy that has scored next to him. Tonight, we really only had Travis effectively scoring around Trey and just couldn't draw some of that attention away from him."
Fox on his post-game message to his team:
"I just told them that we were prepared to play tomorrow. I never felt like this team wanted this season to be over. I didn't have that sense at all today. Often times at the end of the year, you sense guys that are just waiting for it to end. I never sensed that with this team. And they were excited to come to the gym every day, and today also. I just told them that they've made some momentum forward and earned some respect back for our program, and I'll always be appreciative of that."
Fox on the decisions facing Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie about the NBA:
“They need to decompress, but I’ll sit down with them and talk about their futures and find out what the pro people say and manage the process. Travis has already said he’ll be back, but Travis needs to approach the offseason the right way, and both of them mean a lot to me. Those are great kids and I’ll help any way I can.”
Fox on UGA's chances of a postseason tourney bid in the CBI or CIT:
“We’re not going to get an invitation somewhere to play. We don’t have a winning record, and I’m pretty sure we’re done playing.”
Jeremy Price on his thoughts if UGA did get a chance to keep playing:
"We're a competitive team, and if there's a chance to compete of any kind, we'll go in and win it."
Price on the second-half shooting of Vandy's John Jenkins:
“Jenkins is a great 3-point shooter and it seemed like he just made those 3s at the right time for them and the wrong time for us. Right when we were making our run to get back in the game and get ahead, he squeezed in two wide-open ones and two tough ones, and that was a game-changer.”
Trey Thompkins on Vandy's performance:
“They’re at home. They had momentum. They had a crowd, and they were confident. They played hard, relentless. And that rewards you.”
Thompkins on his NBA decision:
"That's something I don't even want to think about right now. If that time comes, I'll talk it over with my coaches and make the best decision for me."
Thompkins on whether the team's progress makes him want to stick around another year:
"We're maturing as a group and everybody's getting older -- we'll all be a year older and more experienced. A lot of those games we were close in and we lost, we'll start pulling out."
Travis Leslie on his future:
"I'm not thinking about that right now. If I do, it's going to be up to my parents, and we'll figure that out whenever we get a chance."
Damon Evans on his assessment of the team:
"I saw a lot of growth this year. We're building a program, and I'm excited we were able to come to this tournament and win a game to move our program forward. The young men fought hard, and I think Mark and his staff did a really good job to start that process, and I'm excited about what the future holds."
Evans on whether the team exceeded his expectations:
"I always felt Mark would come in and do a good job, but where this team really showed me something is the improvement from the players individually, the improvement from the overall chemistry together, and how hard they fought. I think they exceeded a lot of people's expectations, and I'm pleased with the progress -- extremely pleased."
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Searels & Thompkins: UGA's Two Best Big Men
Just finished up at basketball practice, but the real show had little to do with the UGA hoopsters.
Georgia's assistant football coaches were playing a pick-up basketball game in the practice gym -- going the width of the court rather than length-wise -- and I would have happily paid admission to watch that -- and make a few jokes about it.
The star? That would be Stacy Searels, who not surprisingly played like Bill Liambeer -- throwing elbows, sweating profusely and occasionally draining a shot from the perimeter you wouldn't have expected him to hit.
Mike Bobo played the point and did so with a new-look goatee. Or perhaps that was Mike Bobo's evil twin. Either way, John Lilly was no match for him.
But the real bummer here was that there was no appearance by Scott Lakatos, who should have been stepping in to represent the Big East. (And note, there was no Todd Grantham or Mark Richt either, despite Richt's penchant for the trick shot.)
And the quote of the day comes from Mark Fox: "I told them if they wanted to keep playing here they had to start going the long way and not the short court."
A few other hoops notes:
-- Talked to Fox about playing at Vandy, where the benches are on the baselines instead of the sidelines. He said the team has practiced that, but added, "I don't know how much they listen to me during the games anyway."
-- Fox also said he has never coached in Vandy's gym before, but it was one of the places he was looking forward to going when he took the job. Added Trey Thompkins: "It's one of those places you can tell it was used for something else before it was a gym." That's exactly how I feel about places that used to be IHOPs.
-- Fox said he's fine with playing Thursday-Saturday this week, which is part of the deal with the new SEC Network agreement. He said that's what he did every week while at Nevada, so he's used to it.
-- Talked to Trey a bit about his NBA future. Here's what he had to say...
On whether he considered the NBA last year...
"I didn't think about it because I knew personally I wasn't ready. I just wanted to come back to school. I became a much better player, and with the coaching change, it didn't slow that process down at all. ... Coach Fox let me know things individually that I had to improve, and I think I've become a better player."
On whether he considered transferring after last year...
"Every now and then, but when Coach Fox came in, we had our meeting, I talked to him about it, we settled it, and obviously I'm still here."
On whether he gives much thought to people writing about him and Travis Leslie being potential lottery picks in 2011...
"Not at all. We take it one day at a time and play basketball. If that's what people say, that's what people say. We just try to stay within our team and stay focused on the task at hand."
On what it's like playing alongside another player being talked about as a lottery pick...
"It's a blessing because Travis is a great player. He's showing the world what he can do and it makes our team so much better."
On whether he has thought about leaving for the NBA after this year...
"I haven't really thought about it just because I want to take care of this season before I let anything else come to my mind."
On what he wants to work on as a player before heading to the NBA...
"Being more of a vocal leader and taking care of the ball. Those are two things I need a lot more improvement on."
On whether the team's turnaround makes his decision harder now than it would have been...
"Yeah, because I want to be known as a guy who helped the program go from where it was to where it will be."
Georgia's assistant football coaches were playing a pick-up basketball game in the practice gym -- going the width of the court rather than length-wise -- and I would have happily paid admission to watch that -- and make a few jokes about it.
The star? That would be Stacy Searels, who not surprisingly played like Bill Liambeer -- throwing elbows, sweating profusely and occasionally draining a shot from the perimeter you wouldn't have expected him to hit.
Mike Bobo played the point and did so with a new-look goatee. Or perhaps that was Mike Bobo's evil twin. Either way, John Lilly was no match for him.
But the real bummer here was that there was no appearance by Scott Lakatos, who should have been stepping in to represent the Big East. (And note, there was no Todd Grantham or Mark Richt either, despite Richt's penchant for the trick shot.)
And the quote of the day comes from Mark Fox: "I told them if they wanted to keep playing here they had to start going the long way and not the short court."
A few other hoops notes:
-- Talked to Fox about playing at Vandy, where the benches are on the baselines instead of the sidelines. He said the team has practiced that, but added, "I don't know how much they listen to me during the games anyway."
-- Fox also said he has never coached in Vandy's gym before, but it was one of the places he was looking forward to going when he took the job. Added Trey Thompkins: "It's one of those places you can tell it was used for something else before it was a gym." That's exactly how I feel about places that used to be IHOPs.
-- Fox said he's fine with playing Thursday-Saturday this week, which is part of the deal with the new SEC Network agreement. He said that's what he did every week while at Nevada, so he's used to it.
-- Talked to Trey a bit about his NBA future. Here's what he had to say...
On whether he considered the NBA last year...
"I didn't think about it because I knew personally I wasn't ready. I just wanted to come back to school. I became a much better player, and with the coaching change, it didn't slow that process down at all. ... Coach Fox let me know things individually that I had to improve, and I think I've become a better player."
On whether he considered transferring after last year...
"Every now and then, but when Coach Fox came in, we had our meeting, I talked to him about it, we settled it, and obviously I'm still here."
On whether he gives much thought to people writing about him and Travis Leslie being potential lottery picks in 2011...
"Not at all. We take it one day at a time and play basketball. If that's what people say, that's what people say. We just try to stay within our team and stay focused on the task at hand."
On what it's like playing alongside another player being talked about as a lottery pick...
"It's a blessing because Travis is a great player. He's showing the world what he can do and it makes our team so much better."
On whether he has thought about leaving for the NBA after this year...
"I haven't really thought about it just because I want to take care of this season before I let anything else come to my mind."
On what he wants to work on as a player before heading to the NBA...
"Being more of a vocal leader and taking care of the ball. Those are two things I need a lot more improvement on."
On whether the team's turnaround makes his decision harder now than it would have been...
"Yeah, because I want to be known as a guy who helped the program go from where it was to where it will be."
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Fox's Dawgs Have Some Bite
I haven't been able to cover much basketball so far this season with football and the coaching search and various other distractions cropping up. I'm hoping that will change as we get into the new year, but in the meantime, we've kept up some excellent coverage of Mark Fox's crew thanks to Fletcher Page, who has been on the beat for the majority of the Dawgs' games for us.
Of course, I wanted some hoops talk on the blog, too, so Fletcher was kind enough to put together some thoughts on Georgia's huge victory over Illinois and what might still be to come for the Dawgs. Here goes...
I’m still trying to get my head around Georgia’s big win over Illinois, four days after the fact. And just to get a couple notes out of the way.
1. I didn’t give the Bulldogs a chance to win.
2. After watching warm-ups, keeping the game within reach, in my mind, was a stretch.
3. I don’t think I was alone in this line of thinking (judging from the amount of Georgia fans in the Gwinnett Arena. There may have been more Illini faithful filling the seats.
But I was proven wrong from the opening tip.
Following the game I joined four of my closest buddies for a quick trip to a Harrah’s Casino to partake in some post-graduation (University of Georgia, December class of 2009) gambling.
And as we surveyed the casino floor for the first hour or so, I gravitated toward the blackjack tables, despite never playing live before. I tell this story because my blackjack experience felt like the Illinois game. I’ve played, and won at the slots before (let’s say, teams like St. Louis, New Orleans or Jacksonville St). I’ve also wasted money sitting at said slots (in similar fashion, UAB and Wofford). No disrespect to the slots, but blackjack and poker is where it’s at in casinos, and Illinois was Georgia’s blackjack.
Anyway, back to my gambling. I finally worked up the nerve to sit at a $15 dollar minimum bet table (hey, at my budget, I felt like Michael Jordan laying down $100,000 a hand. (All I lacked was a cigar. And a real amount of money). I started with $40, and doing quick math, I realized I could be heading back to the ATM in less than five minutes. But I had a strategy, developed by my good friend Heath. Since I’d never played before, but kind of knew what was going on, I needed to keep things simple. If the dealer wasn’t showing a face card, and I had 12 or more, I was staying. I wasn’t concerned with splitting cards, doubling down and all that. If the dealer was showing 10, or a face card, I’d hit. That simple.
My first hand: a measly 14, with the dealer showing five. I stayed put, and the dealer busted. What a rush, and I was on my way from there. Second hand: I had a King and nine, dealer showing a King. He flopped a nine, and push. Wow, I almost lost $15, but I took a shot and kept playing.
I went on to win six of the next nine hands, and started to build confidence. After a few more hands I cashed out at $115, stood up and realized, I can play this game, and hold my own. Yet, I still wasn’t quite sure what I was doing.
And Georgia’s experience with Illinois was much the same. The game started, and like me, they won the first hand. The Bulldogs weren’t flashy, working methodically on offense to get shots and at times Illinois got some easy baskets, but Georgia wasn’t losing it’s money. Finishing tied, 32-32, at halftime Georgia players had to be thinking: We can play this game and hold our own.
Well, I couldn’t stop at just 20 minutes of blackjack. My buddy Heath and I, joined by another friend, sat back down at a $10 table. And I won my first four hands. At this point I’ve got the swagger, thinking how easy this was and wondering why I hadn’t played this enjoyable game in the past. And then I lost $170 dollars in about 15 minutes. Nervous, but still focused on my next hand, I was dealt two sixes. Not quite sure of what I was doing, I split the pair. My first card dealt was another six. “Hell, split it again,” Heath said. So I did. Ended with a 16 for my first hand. Then a five came, so I doubled down. That hand turned into a 17. And then another six game, so I split once more. I’m now working with four hands against the dealer, with my last two showing an 18 and a 15. These were not strong hands, but the dealer had a seven.
At this point I’ve got a crowd behind me, and the dealer, Bob, swears he’s never seen a hand like this. I didn’t believe the guy. Had to have the dealer bust, or I was flat broke. Adding to his seven, he flipped a ten. Yes, he’d have to hit again. And….BOOM! Bob flips a nine, for a 24. And I went from nothing to $220. Our party of five, joined by random players went wild, high fiving and screaming. Even the pit boss (who looked eerily similar to Avery Johnson) was smiling. That’s saying something.
Anyway, in a roundabout way, I started connecting my blackjack experience to the Illinois game. Georgia got up by as much as nine in the second half, and got somewhat ahead of itself. The Bulldogs started working the clock, and soon enough, the riches turned into a deficit. Blowing the lead, the Illini pulled ahead with 30 seconds to go. Georgia needed this win, to prove big games could be won. Sophomore forward Trey Thompkins gave the Bulldogs their “split sixes” moment, hitting four free throws, and securing a crucial rebound down the stretch.
Comparisons to blackjack aside, Georgia needed this win. Illinois rolled into Duluth with an 8-2 record, with wins over ranked Clemson and Vanderbilt. And just so you know, I did attend last year’s game in Chicago’s United Center when the Illini embarrassed the Bulldogs by 34 points. That game was a bust.
When I told my friends about the huge win, I got the “How in the world did that happen?” response, and questions about how Illinois played. But the Illini didn’t lose this game. They had only eight turnovers, shot 80 percent at the free-throw line and guard Demetri McCamey scored 21 points and looked like a cornerstone player.
But Georgia was the bigger team, wanted to play more physical, wanted to make more hustle plays and wanted to prove they could hang with a power program.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Georgia outrebounded Illinois 37 to 29, scoring 12 second-chance points.
“The boards really killed us and points in the paint did too,” said Illinois head coach Bruce Webber.
The Bulldogs scored 38 points in the paint.
And, despite 15 turnovers, the Bulldogs had 16 assists. Georgia shot 49 percent from the field, adding 13-of-18 from the charity strip.
Know this about Thompkins: He’s not quite an Ace and a King, in terms of blackjack hands. But he is a solid 18. He can win some games, but there is still improvement to go. He did have some forced shots and missed a few wide-open guys while being double-teamed. But when Georgia needed those two points at the end, there was no doubt who was getting the ball. And Trey came through in the clutch. When he hit those free-throws, there was no sigh of relief or weight off his shoulders feel. He looked like he had been there before, and that’s a needed attribute from a team’s go-to guy.
Also, Travis Leslie has his own blackjack likeness. Doubling down on the eleven is the only way to play. Sometimes you’re dealt a King for 21. Sometimes you get a four for 15. In the second half Saturday night, Leslie was a 21. He had 13 points, looking unstoppable off the dribble. He drew, by my count, four fouls in the second half alone while driving to the basket. Yes, he is an athletic freak, evidenced by the block he had with just over a minute to play that kept Georgia on top by two at the time. But don’t forget, we’ve seen Leslie come out mentally flat before, racking up turnovers and getting in early foul trouble. That’s what happened in the first half. But he is slowly putting his game together, and it’s been fun to watch his progression.
Georgia is building a decent team behind the two sophomores Thompkins and Leslie. And Ricky McPhee is becoming a solid third guy, a Steve Kerr-like shooter to join Georgia’s Jordan and Pippen (I know, I just compared Trey Thompkins to MJ. I’m sorry). But this team has some nagging deficiencies.
Georgia got only four points from the bench (not counting Thompkins’ 21, who came off the bench after having two wisdom teeth removed earlier in the week). At the end of the game, point guard Dustin Ware and Thompkins looked gased, with hands on the knees during stoppage in play and Leslie was cramping up. Chris Barnes and Jeremy Price combined for three points. Freshman Ebuka Anyaorah, Demario Mayfield and Vincent Williams logged only 16 minutes combined, totaling two points. And Drazen Zlovaric, or The Secret Weapon as I call him, struggled mightily Saturday. Georgia was minus-7 when he was on the floor in the second half.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 3-of-13 from three. As Thompkins gets better, the double-teams will only increase. Somebody other than McPhee has to be able to shoot the ball with confidence to spread the floor to at least give Trey a chance to do work.
Ware is really the only player on the perimeter Georgia has that I trust with the basketball. This just isn’t a team adept at handling the ball.
Coach Mark Fox’ team is what it is. This is a team with size and talent in the frontcourt, and still working to find solid perimeter contributions.
But to finally sit at the blackjack table, so to speak, playing a formidable opponent, and to come out on top at the end of the night was huge for a young team in the first year of the Fox Era.
Sitting at the table was the first step, and taking home a profit with a win over Illinois proves Georgia can get the job done.
As for me, as the night wore on, I had my ups and downs gambling, but ended up tripling my money.
And you can bet, like Georgia, I’ll be sitting at the table again in the near future.
Of course, I wanted some hoops talk on the blog, too, so Fletcher was kind enough to put together some thoughts on Georgia's huge victory over Illinois and what might still be to come for the Dawgs. Here goes...
I’m still trying to get my head around Georgia’s big win over Illinois, four days after the fact. And just to get a couple notes out of the way.
1. I didn’t give the Bulldogs a chance to win.
2. After watching warm-ups, keeping the game within reach, in my mind, was a stretch.
3. I don’t think I was alone in this line of thinking (judging from the amount of Georgia fans in the Gwinnett Arena. There may have been more Illini faithful filling the seats.
But I was proven wrong from the opening tip.
Following the game I joined four of my closest buddies for a quick trip to a Harrah’s Casino to partake in some post-graduation (University of Georgia, December class of 2009) gambling.
And as we surveyed the casino floor for the first hour or so, I gravitated toward the blackjack tables, despite never playing live before. I tell this story because my blackjack experience felt like the Illinois game. I’ve played, and won at the slots before (let’s say, teams like St. Louis, New Orleans or Jacksonville St). I’ve also wasted money sitting at said slots (in similar fashion, UAB and Wofford). No disrespect to the slots, but blackjack and poker is where it’s at in casinos, and Illinois was Georgia’s blackjack.
Anyway, back to my gambling. I finally worked up the nerve to sit at a $15 dollar minimum bet table (hey, at my budget, I felt like Michael Jordan laying down $100,000 a hand. (All I lacked was a cigar. And a real amount of money). I started with $40, and doing quick math, I realized I could be heading back to the ATM in less than five minutes. But I had a strategy, developed by my good friend Heath. Since I’d never played before, but kind of knew what was going on, I needed to keep things simple. If the dealer wasn’t showing a face card, and I had 12 or more, I was staying. I wasn’t concerned with splitting cards, doubling down and all that. If the dealer was showing 10, or a face card, I’d hit. That simple.
My first hand: a measly 14, with the dealer showing five. I stayed put, and the dealer busted. What a rush, and I was on my way from there. Second hand: I had a King and nine, dealer showing a King. He flopped a nine, and push. Wow, I almost lost $15, but I took a shot and kept playing.
I went on to win six of the next nine hands, and started to build confidence. After a few more hands I cashed out at $115, stood up and realized, I can play this game, and hold my own. Yet, I still wasn’t quite sure what I was doing.
And Georgia’s experience with Illinois was much the same. The game started, and like me, they won the first hand. The Bulldogs weren’t flashy, working methodically on offense to get shots and at times Illinois got some easy baskets, but Georgia wasn’t losing it’s money. Finishing tied, 32-32, at halftime Georgia players had to be thinking: We can play this game and hold our own.
Well, I couldn’t stop at just 20 minutes of blackjack. My buddy Heath and I, joined by another friend, sat back down at a $10 table. And I won my first four hands. At this point I’ve got the swagger, thinking how easy this was and wondering why I hadn’t played this enjoyable game in the past. And then I lost $170 dollars in about 15 minutes. Nervous, but still focused on my next hand, I was dealt two sixes. Not quite sure of what I was doing, I split the pair. My first card dealt was another six. “Hell, split it again,” Heath said. So I did. Ended with a 16 for my first hand. Then a five came, so I doubled down. That hand turned into a 17. And then another six game, so I split once more. I’m now working with four hands against the dealer, with my last two showing an 18 and a 15. These were not strong hands, but the dealer had a seven.
At this point I’ve got a crowd behind me, and the dealer, Bob, swears he’s never seen a hand like this. I didn’t believe the guy. Had to have the dealer bust, or I was flat broke. Adding to his seven, he flipped a ten. Yes, he’d have to hit again. And….BOOM! Bob flips a nine, for a 24. And I went from nothing to $220. Our party of five, joined by random players went wild, high fiving and screaming. Even the pit boss (who looked eerily similar to Avery Johnson) was smiling. That’s saying something.
Anyway, in a roundabout way, I started connecting my blackjack experience to the Illinois game. Georgia got up by as much as nine in the second half, and got somewhat ahead of itself. The Bulldogs started working the clock, and soon enough, the riches turned into a deficit. Blowing the lead, the Illini pulled ahead with 30 seconds to go. Georgia needed this win, to prove big games could be won. Sophomore forward Trey Thompkins gave the Bulldogs their “split sixes” moment, hitting four free throws, and securing a crucial rebound down the stretch.
Comparisons to blackjack aside, Georgia needed this win. Illinois rolled into Duluth with an 8-2 record, with wins over ranked Clemson and Vanderbilt. And just so you know, I did attend last year’s game in Chicago’s United Center when the Illini embarrassed the Bulldogs by 34 points. That game was a bust.
When I told my friends about the huge win, I got the “How in the world did that happen?” response, and questions about how Illinois played. But the Illini didn’t lose this game. They had only eight turnovers, shot 80 percent at the free-throw line and guard Demetri McCamey scored 21 points and looked like a cornerstone player.
But Georgia was the bigger team, wanted to play more physical, wanted to make more hustle plays and wanted to prove they could hang with a power program.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Georgia outrebounded Illinois 37 to 29, scoring 12 second-chance points.
“The boards really killed us and points in the paint did too,” said Illinois head coach Bruce Webber.
The Bulldogs scored 38 points in the paint.
And, despite 15 turnovers, the Bulldogs had 16 assists. Georgia shot 49 percent from the field, adding 13-of-18 from the charity strip.
Know this about Thompkins: He’s not quite an Ace and a King, in terms of blackjack hands. But he is a solid 18. He can win some games, but there is still improvement to go. He did have some forced shots and missed a few wide-open guys while being double-teamed. But when Georgia needed those two points at the end, there was no doubt who was getting the ball. And Trey came through in the clutch. When he hit those free-throws, there was no sigh of relief or weight off his shoulders feel. He looked like he had been there before, and that’s a needed attribute from a team’s go-to guy.
Also, Travis Leslie has his own blackjack likeness. Doubling down on the eleven is the only way to play. Sometimes you’re dealt a King for 21. Sometimes you get a four for 15. In the second half Saturday night, Leslie was a 21. He had 13 points, looking unstoppable off the dribble. He drew, by my count, four fouls in the second half alone while driving to the basket. Yes, he is an athletic freak, evidenced by the block he had with just over a minute to play that kept Georgia on top by two at the time. But don’t forget, we’ve seen Leslie come out mentally flat before, racking up turnovers and getting in early foul trouble. That’s what happened in the first half. But he is slowly putting his game together, and it’s been fun to watch his progression.
Georgia is building a decent team behind the two sophomores Thompkins and Leslie. And Ricky McPhee is becoming a solid third guy, a Steve Kerr-like shooter to join Georgia’s Jordan and Pippen (I know, I just compared Trey Thompkins to MJ. I’m sorry). But this team has some nagging deficiencies.
Georgia got only four points from the bench (not counting Thompkins’ 21, who came off the bench after having two wisdom teeth removed earlier in the week). At the end of the game, point guard Dustin Ware and Thompkins looked gased, with hands on the knees during stoppage in play and Leslie was cramping up. Chris Barnes and Jeremy Price combined for three points. Freshman Ebuka Anyaorah, Demario Mayfield and Vincent Williams logged only 16 minutes combined, totaling two points. And Drazen Zlovaric, or The Secret Weapon as I call him, struggled mightily Saturday. Georgia was minus-7 when he was on the floor in the second half.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 3-of-13 from three. As Thompkins gets better, the double-teams will only increase. Somebody other than McPhee has to be able to shoot the ball with confidence to spread the floor to at least give Trey a chance to do work.
Ware is really the only player on the perimeter Georgia has that I trust with the basketball. This just isn’t a team adept at handling the ball.
Coach Mark Fox’ team is what it is. This is a team with size and talent in the frontcourt, and still working to find solid perimeter contributions.
But to finally sit at the blackjack table, so to speak, playing a formidable opponent, and to come out on top at the end of the night was huge for a young team in the first year of the Fox Era.
Sitting at the table was the first step, and taking home a profit with a win over Illinois proves Georgia can get the job done.
As for me, as the night wore on, I had my ups and downs gambling, but ended up tripling my money.
And you can bet, like Georgia, I’ll be sitting at the table again in the near future.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Saturday Odds & Ends: Tavarres, Thompkins and Tattoos
A few tidbits for your Saturday reading pleasure...
-- Georgia's scrimmage won't start until 8 p.m. tonight. Fletcher Page will have stats posted as soon as possible afterward, but it will probably be pretty late.
-- Speaking of Fletcher, he has a nice feature on Darius Dewberry in today's Telegraph that I encourage you to check out.
-- Another link for ya... Bernie's Dawg Blawg has video of yesterday's Watermelon cutting festivities. One note for Bernie: Baccari Rambo's not a good swimmer, so I think yesterday's fun in the pool was not as much fun for him.
-- Answering a couple of tweets...
First, @dukes01 asks: How is Tavarres King doing?
Rather than type up the whole response, I'll simply point you over to Macon.com. I had a story on TK and Israel Troupe earlier this week with some updates on their progress. Here's the money quote on King, however, courtesy of cornerback Brandon Boykin:
"A.J. (Green) is a great receiver, but T.K.'s just as good. He has the smoothest routes I have ever seen. It's tough guarding him, and I do it every day. I think this year you're going to see T.K. get on the field and make some plays."
And second, @allyugadawg hit on a big mystery with this question: Why do all of our coaches wear sweatshirts in the summer? Seriously, it bugs me. I need to know.
I asked Claude Felton, Georgia's excellent sports information director, and he said he always assumed it was a weight-loss tool. But the mystery got even deeper yesterday, according to Fletcher, who said Mark Richt even had long sleeves on in the pool!
Tyler Estep's best guess: Richt has some serious tattoos he doesn't want to show off.
-- And one final bit of info that should come as some good news. I'm doing a freelance story for a magazine previewing Kentucky's upcoming basketball season under John Calipari, so I interviewed Wildcats sophomore Darius Miller the other day to get some quotes.
Miller spent the summer playing with the USA Under-19 team, where he was teammates with Georgia's Trey Thompkins, so I managed to sneak in a question about that, too.
Miller's assessment is pretty encouraging...
"Trey's real good," he said. "I'd seen him before, and I think he's been working real hard because he's gotten a lot better. He really impressed me when he was over there. He had a lot of good games, a couple 20-point games, and that's tough to do when you play with a lot of good players."
Miller said he has stayed in touch with Thompkins over the summer and he's definitely looking forward to the Wildcats' first matchup against the Dawgs once the SEC season gets going.
"It should be a lot of fun," Miller said, "and we'll probably do a little bit of trash talking that day, too."
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thompkins Lands on U.S. U-19 Team
From UGA Athletics...
University of Georgia forward Trey Thompkins was named Thursday to the 12-man team that will represent the United States at the FIBA U19 World Championships next month in Auckland, New Zealand, according to an announcement by USA Basketball at its headquarters here.
Thompkins was among 17 of the nation’s top 19-and-unders competing at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The 12 players will remain in Colorado Springs through June 25 to continue training for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, which will be held July 2-12 in New Zealand. The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team
Committee, chaired by Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim.
In addition to Thompkins, others selected to the team included: DeAngelo Casto (Washington State / Spokane, Wash.), Seth Curry (Duke / Charlotte, N.C.), Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh / Scotch Plains, N.J.) , Gordon Hayward (Butler / Brownsburg, Ind.), Shelvin Mack (Butler / Lexington, Ky.), Darius Miller (Kentucky / Maysville, Ky.), Arnett Moultrie (UTEP / Memphis, Tenn.),
John Shurna (Northwestern / Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas / Jersey City, N.J.), Klay Thompson (Washington State / Ladera Ranch, Calif.) and Terrico White (Mississippi / Memphis, Tenn.).
University of Georgia forward Trey Thompkins was named Thursday to the 12-man team that will represent the United States at the FIBA U19 World Championships next month in Auckland, New Zealand, according to an announcement by USA Basketball at its headquarters here.
Thompkins was among 17 of the nation’s top 19-and-unders competing at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The 12 players will remain in Colorado Springs through June 25 to continue training for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, which will be held July 2-12 in New Zealand. The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team
Committee, chaired by Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim.
In addition to Thompkins, others selected to the team included: DeAngelo Casto (Washington State / Spokane, Wash.), Seth Curry (Duke / Charlotte, N.C.), Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh / Scotch Plains, N.J.) , Gordon Hayward (Butler / Brownsburg, Ind.), Shelvin Mack (Butler / Lexington, Ky.), Darius Miller (Kentucky / Maysville, Ky.), Arnett Moultrie (UTEP / Memphis, Tenn.),
John Shurna (Northwestern / Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas / Jersey City, N.J.), Klay Thompson (Washington State / Ladera Ranch, Calif.) and Terrico White (Mississippi / Memphis, Tenn.).
Thursday, May 28, 2009
What, Me Worry?
Everyone else may have been sweating things out, but Mark Fox said he was never too worried about the future of star forward Trey Thompkins.
The sophomore, who will be Georgia's top returning scorer in 2009-10, had been reluctant to commit to returning to the team following the termination of former coach Dennis Felton in January, but announced last week that he would definitely be back next year.
The news came with a sigh of relief for fans of the team which doesn't figure to have much offense to spare next season, but Fox said he was always pretty confident that Thompkins would stay put.
"Trey never once told me I'm going to leave," Fox said. "He was just frustrated. They had a tough year last year. I listened to his frustration, and he had some very mature thoughts. But he always had a smile on his face when I've been with him, so I wasn't really overly concerned he was going to leave. But certainly he had to get comfortable with me before he said he was going to say."
The sophomore, who will be Georgia's top returning scorer in 2009-10, had been reluctant to commit to returning to the team following the termination of former coach Dennis Felton in January, but announced last week that he would definitely be back next year.
The news came with a sigh of relief for fans of the team which doesn't figure to have much offense to spare next season, but Fox said he was always pretty confident that Thompkins would stay put.
"Trey never once told me I'm going to leave," Fox said. "He was just frustrated. They had a tough year last year. I listened to his frustration, and he had some very mature thoughts. But he always had a smile on his face when I've been with him, so I wasn't really overly concerned he was going to leave. But certainly he had to get comfortable with me before he said he was going to say."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
SEC Notes: Anonymity Restored in Coaches' Poll
Mark Richt said he doesn't particularly enjoy being questioned about his vote in the USA Today Top 25 coaches' poll, but he can always defend his selections.
Whether the rest of his coaching brethren can do the same thing, however, will remain a mystery beginning in 2010.
The American Football Coaches Association decided Wednesday that starting in 2010, the final ballots of individual coaches will be kept anonymous, keeping fans from finding out which coaches may have submitted questionable votes at season's end.
The issue is of particular importance because the coaches' poll is a key component in the BCS rankings, which determine the teams that will compete for the national championship, and coaches could potential bump one team up or another down to suit their own interests.
While the public won't have the chance to judge, Richt said coaches have been assured that the administrators of the poll will continue to monitor ballots closely for outliers, so he's not particularly concerned about the consequences of anonymity.
"It's not that big a deal to me either way," Richt said. "There's some built-in accountability, and that's all we need, whether it's public display of the vote or someone watching it to make sure it doesn't get way out of whack."
MORE THE MERRIER
The number of graduate assistants allowed on the field for practices and games was a prime topic of debate when football coaches met with theSEC's athletics directors Wednesday.
The NCAA currently allows teams to employ just two graduate assistants as on-field coaches, which makes it particularly difficult to run scrimmages during practice sessions,Richt said. Teams already employ two additional grad assistants in capacities often deemed "quality control," but those assistants are not allowed field access.
"We just want to take those guys who already exist and allow them to be on the field," Richt said. "It's not going to cost any more money or anything like that."
Any changes will need to be ratified nationally, Richt said.
More specific to the SEC, however, is a rule that forbids coaches from attending coaching clinics in which they aren't speaking. Other conferences, including theACC , do not employ a similar rule, giving SEC coaches a distinct disadvantage on the recruiting trail compared to some of their in-state rivals.
"You don't want your competition in recruiting to be able to spend time with coaches when we can't," Richt said, "so we're trying to free it up to if you have an in-state clinic, you should be able to go."
MIXING IT UP
One topic of debate among the SEC's basketball coaches was the scheduling of a tougher non-conference slate among the league's schools. With just three SEC teams making the NCAA tournament last season – and only one advancing beyond the first round – the issue of adding to the league's overall strength of schedule was at the forefront.
That's not an issue for Georgia, head coach Mark Fox said, since the Bulldogs already have several tough out-of-conference games lined up, including road dates with Missouri and Virginia Tech and a neutral-court game against Illinois. The bigger issue is finding teams that want to come to Athens.
"We have some teeth in our schedule," Fox said. "The concern for us right now is just securing home games."
Fox said Georgia is nearing agreements with several teams for the 2009-10 season, and contracts should be signed by the end of the week. Still, several open dates remain.
"We have made some progress, but we're not done by any means," Fox said. "But we've made a significant dent in it."
While simply finishing a schedule remains a daunting task now, down the road Fox would like to see Georgia play a number of big-name opponents once he feels his roster has enough talent to handle it.
"We want to play a high level schedule," Fox said. "Once we can establish the quality of our team, we'll play an extremely difficult schedule, but it's a process."
NATIONAL EXPOSURE
Georgia forward Trey Thompkins was one of 17 players selected to attend the USA Under-19 National Team trials next month in Colorado Springs, Colo., and will compete for one of 12 roster spots on the U.S. national team.
As a freshman, Thompkins averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season.
Whether the rest of his coaching brethren can do the same thing, however, will remain a mystery beginning in 2010.
The American Football Coaches Association decided Wednesday that starting in 2010, the final ballots of individual coaches will be kept anonymous, keeping fans from finding out which coaches may have submitted questionable votes at season's end.
The issue is of particular importance because the coaches' poll is a key component in the BCS rankings, which determine the teams that will compete for the national championship, and coaches could potential bump one team up or another down to suit their own interests.
While the public won't have the chance to judge, Richt said coaches have been assured that the administrators of the poll will continue to monitor ballots closely for outliers, so he's not particularly concerned about the consequences of anonymity.
"It's not that big a deal to me either way," Richt said. "There's some built-in accountability, and that's all we need, whether it's public display of the vote or someone watching it to make sure it doesn't get way out of whack."
MORE THE MERRIER
The number of graduate assistants allowed on the field for practices and games was a prime topic of debate when football coaches met with theSEC's athletics directors Wednesday.
The NCAA currently allows teams to employ just two graduate assistants as on-field coaches, which makes it particularly difficult to run scrimmages during practice sessions,Richt said. Teams already employ two additional grad assistants in capacities often deemed "quality control," but those assistants are not allowed field access.
"We just want to take those guys who already exist and allow them to be on the field," Richt said. "It's not going to cost any more money or anything like that."
Any changes will need to be ratified nationally, Richt said.
More specific to the SEC, however, is a rule that forbids coaches from attending coaching clinics in which they aren't speaking. Other conferences, including theACC , do not employ a similar rule, giving SEC coaches a distinct disadvantage on the recruiting trail compared to some of their in-state rivals.
"You don't want your competition in recruiting to be able to spend time with coaches when we can't," Richt said, "so we're trying to free it up to if you have an in-state clinic, you should be able to go."
MIXING IT UP
One topic of debate among the SEC's basketball coaches was the scheduling of a tougher non-conference slate among the league's schools. With just three SEC teams making the NCAA tournament last season – and only one advancing beyond the first round – the issue of adding to the league's overall strength of schedule was at the forefront.
That's not an issue for Georgia, head coach Mark Fox said, since the Bulldogs already have several tough out-of-conference games lined up, including road dates with Missouri and Virginia Tech and a neutral-court game against Illinois. The bigger issue is finding teams that want to come to Athens.
"We have some teeth in our schedule," Fox said. "The concern for us right now is just securing home games."
Fox said Georgia is nearing agreements with several teams for the 2009-10 season, and contracts should be signed by the end of the week. Still, several open dates remain.
"We have made some progress, but we're not done by any means," Fox said. "But we've made a significant dent in it."
While simply finishing a schedule remains a daunting task now, down the road Fox would like to see Georgia play a number of big-name opponents once he feels his roster has enough talent to handle it.
"We want to play a high level schedule," Fox said. "Once we can establish the quality of our team, we'll play an extremely difficult schedule, but it's a process."
NATIONAL EXPOSURE
Georgia forward Trey Thompkins was one of 17 players selected to attend the USA Under-19 National Team trials next month in Colorado Springs, Colo., and will compete for one of 12 roster spots on the U.S. national team.
As a freshman, Thompkins averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Video Blog: Fox on Recruiting
Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox discusses his approach to recruiting at this point in the season as well as his relationship with star forward Trey Thompkins.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Still No Decision From Thompkins
New Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox has spent his first month on the job frenetically trying to find a few new additions to his team, but he still isn't clear on the future of one of his top current players.
After Fox's hiring, freshman forward Trey Thompkins said he would wait until the end of the spring academic semester before he made any decisions on whether he would return to Georgia for his sophomore season, and while Fox said he has enjoyed a strong relationship with Thompkins thus far, that timetable hasn't changed.
"Trey will do what's best for him, as he should," Fox said. "Certainly there's a great future for him here, but he deserves time to get to know me. I understand that."
Thompkins was one of several Georgia players to admit he wasn't sure who Fox was when the coach was hired nearly one month ago, but said he would reserve judgment until he had a chance to learn more about Fox.
While NCAA restrictions have prevented Fox from overseeing significant practice sessions and workouts since he took over the program, Fox said Thompkins has remained a crucial part of the team. He simply hasn't assured his new coach he'll be around in the fall.
"He hasn't directly said that, but he and I and his family have had some great conversations," Fox said. "He's been a part of everything we do. He's hosted recruits, he's done everything. We've had some very healthy conversations, but right now he's focusing on finishing the semester."
Thompkins averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a freshman last season, but battled injuries early in the year, while getting little offensive help most of the time. That has been a key issue Fox said he hopes to remedy for 2009, which started with the addition of point guard Vincent Williams, who committed to Georgia earlier this week.
Thompkins will be the only Georgia player not to enroll in summer school, Fox said. Instead, he'll attend the Team USA Under-19 tryouts, a move Fox said he fully supports.
Sophomores Zac Swansey and Troy Brewer announced their intentions to transfer prior to Fox's hiring, and Daniel Miller, a commitment left over from Dennis Felton's tenure as head coach, was granted his release as well. Miller landed at Georgia Tech.
Several other players, including Thompkins, publicly discussed the possibility that they might follow suit, but Fox said that so far, he expects the rest of his team to return next season.
"I have not had one player tell me, 'I'm leaving' or 'I want to leave,' " Fox said. "Their response, their actions have shown that they're excited about the direction. I've been pleased with their reaction to what we want them to do."
With just one senior and few offensive weapons returning to a depleted roster that finished last in the SEC East a year ago, however, Thompkins' return will be the most crucial and it remains a top priority for Georgia's first-year coach.
"He's a great kid, and we've had a great start," Fox said. "We've enjoyed time in the gym, time in the office, and I look forward to helping him grow and improve. That's the goal."
After Fox's hiring, freshman forward Trey Thompkins said he would wait until the end of the spring academic semester before he made any decisions on whether he would return to Georgia for his sophomore season, and while Fox said he has enjoyed a strong relationship with Thompkins thus far, that timetable hasn't changed.
"Trey will do what's best for him, as he should," Fox said. "Certainly there's a great future for him here, but he deserves time to get to know me. I understand that."
Thompkins was one of several Georgia players to admit he wasn't sure who Fox was when the coach was hired nearly one month ago, but said he would reserve judgment until he had a chance to learn more about Fox.
While NCAA restrictions have prevented Fox from overseeing significant practice sessions and workouts since he took over the program, Fox said Thompkins has remained a crucial part of the team. He simply hasn't assured his new coach he'll be around in the fall.
"He hasn't directly said that, but he and I and his family have had some great conversations," Fox said. "He's been a part of everything we do. He's hosted recruits, he's done everything. We've had some very healthy conversations, but right now he's focusing on finishing the semester."
Thompkins averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a freshman last season, but battled injuries early in the year, while getting little offensive help most of the time. That has been a key issue Fox said he hopes to remedy for 2009, which started with the addition of point guard Vincent Williams, who committed to Georgia earlier this week.
Thompkins will be the only Georgia player not to enroll in summer school, Fox said. Instead, he'll attend the Team USA Under-19 tryouts, a move Fox said he fully supports.
Sophomores Zac Swansey and Troy Brewer announced their intentions to transfer prior to Fox's hiring, and Daniel Miller, a commitment left over from Dennis Felton's tenure as head coach, was granted his release as well. Miller landed at Georgia Tech.
Several other players, including Thompkins, publicly discussed the possibility that they might follow suit, but Fox said that so far, he expects the rest of his team to return next season.
"I have not had one player tell me, 'I'm leaving' or 'I want to leave,' " Fox said. "Their response, their actions have shown that they're excited about the direction. I've been pleased with their reaction to what we want them to do."
With just one senior and few offensive weapons returning to a depleted roster that finished last in the SEC East a year ago, however, Thompkins' return will be the most crucial and it remains a top priority for Georgia's first-year coach.
"He's a great kid, and we've had a great start," Fox said. "We've enjoyed time in the gym, time in the office, and I look forward to helping him grow and improve. That's the goal."
Video Blog: Mark Fox
Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox discusses Trey Thompkins' future with the program, the reaction he has gotten from the rest of the roster, the input he's had from other SEC coaches and several other issues that have come up in his first month on the job.
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