University of Georgia Athletics
Georgia Plays Notre Dame Tonight in K.C.
November 22, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 22, 2011
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 Donte Williams |  |
Georgia vs. Notre Dame
• Georgia takes on Notre Dame in the last of its four games at the Progressive CBE Classic in Kansas City on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs enter this game with a 3-1 overall record, having taken their first loss of the season late Monday in a 70-46 decision against 20th-ranked California.
• Georgia has just embarked on a 7-game stretch that would rival any program's in degree of difficulty. When it concludes with a Dec. 17 game at Southern Cal, the Bulldogs will have faced three Pac-12 schools and at least one each from the Big East, ACC and A-10. Just two of these seven games will take place at home.
• The CBE Classic event is named after the College Basketball Experience, the college basketball fan facility adjacent to Sprint Center, which also features the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Opened in October 2007, the College Basketball Experience is the nation's only facility that celebrates the sport of men's collegiate basketball.
• This will be just the third all-time meeting between Georgia and Notre Dame in basketball. Notre Dame won the first two meetings, both on neutral floors and one of which took place just last season. The Irish defeated Georgia 88-85 at the old Omni arena in Atlanta during the 1994 season. Early last season, Notre Dame won a double-overtime decision, 89-83, in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.
• The Bulldog schedule gets no easier this week. They'll begin another 2-game road swing with a contest at 12th-ranked Xavier before traveling to Colorado for a Monday night game.
Probable Starters
| GEORGIA BULLDOGS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown | PPG | RPG |
| F | 2 | Marcus Thornton | 6-7 | 235 | So. | Atlanta, Ga. | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| F | 15 | Donte' Williams | 6-9 | 220 | So. | Ellenwood, Ga. | 8.0 | 7.3 |
| G | 1 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 6-5 | 200 | Fr. | Greenville, Ga. | 13.3 | 5.3 |
| G | 3 | Dustin Ware | 5-11 | 172 | Sr. | Powder Springs, Ga. | 7.7 | 3.0# |
| G | 22 | Gerald Robinson | 6-1 | 180 | Sr. | Nashville, Tenn. | 13.7 | 3.7# |
#Assists Per Game
Head Coach: Mark Fox
Record at Georgia / Years: 38-29 / 3rd season
Overall Record/Years: 161-69 / 8th season
Assistant Coaches: Kwanza Johnson, Philip Pearson, Stacey Palmore
| Notre Dame | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | No. | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | Hometown | PPG | RPG |
| F | 21 | Tim Abromaitis | 6-8 | 236 | Sr. | Unionville, Conn. | 22.0 | 8.0 |
| F | 45 | Jack Cooley | 6-9 | 248 | Jr. | Glenview, Ill. | 5.4 | 8.4 |
| G | 0 | Eric Atkins | 6-1 | 182 | So. | Columbia, Md. | 15.7 | 2.3# |
| G | 14 | Scott Martin | 6-8 | 222 | Sr. | Valparaiso, Ind. | 12.8 | 5.2# |
| G | 22 | Jerian Grant | 6-5 | 195 | So. | Bowie, Md. | 12.4 | 3.0# |
#Assists Per Game
Head Coach: Mike Brey
Record at ND / Years: 242-121 / 12th season
Overall Record / Years: 341-173 / 17th season
Assistant Coaches: Anthony Solomon, Rod Balanis, Martin Ingelsby
Georgia vs. Notre Dame
• Tuesday's game is just the third all-time meeting between these two schools. Notre Dame won both of the prior meetings, each time on a neutral court: in 1994 in Atlanta (88-85) and last season at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando (89-83 in 2OT).
Noteworthy...
• The 15 points scored by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on Nov. 11 against Wofford marked the highest output by a freshman starter for Georgia -- in his collegiate debut -- in seven years. Sundiata Gaines tallied 17 in his first game against Western Kentucky in November of 2004.
• Georgia is tasked with overcoming the early departures of two All-SEC players, forwards Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie. Where does their absence show itself the most? Most likely in the Bulldogs' rebounding ability. Last season Georgia led the SEC in rebounding margin at +6.3. The current group of Bulldogs, with winning rebound margins in two of three games to date, has still been outrebounded in four of six halves.
Perhaps the best illustration of their rebuilding job is this fact: Georgia's top returning rebounder, statistically speaking, is 5-11 point guard Dustin Ware, who pulled down a whopping 2.9 boards per game last season.
• In his first game as a sophomore, Donte' Williams established career highs in rebounding with 13 (5 better than his previous high) and minutes with 30 (12 better than his earlier high of 18). In his third game, he broke through with a career-best 17 points.
• The 2011-12 Bulldogs enter this season amid fairly low expectations...externally, at least. In the SEC-sponsored media poll -- a panel that featured two jounalists from each school's coverage area -- Georgia was pegged for an 8th-place finish in the SEC. This, after a year in which the Bulldogs posted the program's first winning record in SEC play since 2003.
• Georgia senior Gerald Robinson was named last week to the Coaches' Pre-Season All-SEC 2nd Team. The Nashville, Tenn., native was one of 16 players picked to two 8-man squads by the league's head coaches. Robinson is the top returning scorer and assist man for the Bulldogs.
"Masters" of their Field
Two Bulldogs, Gerald Robinson and Connor Nolte, will be playing the 2011-12 season while pursuing master's degrees. Both transferred to UGA in 2010, Robinson from Tennessee State and Nolte from Furman. Each completed his undergraduate degree and participated in commencement services in 2011. Robinson, whose bachelor's degree is in Speech Communication, is working towards a master's in Adult Education. Nolte earned his first degree in Marketing and is now earning his graduate degree in Sport Management.
Their graduation helped to mark a banner year, academically speaking, for the Bulldogs. Also earning diplomas in the spring of 2011 were Georgia's two 4-year seniors, Chris Barnes and Jeremy Price. The Bulldogs' next group of 4-year seniors is also due to graduate next spring: Matt Bucklin and Dustin Ware.
Upgrades to Stegeman Court, Sound
Just one year after a $13 million cosmetic facelift to Stegeman Coliseum, the 48-year-old arena received two major upgrades in the offseason. A new state-of-the-art sound system was installed duing the summer months by Baker Audio of Norcross, Ga., at a cost of nearly $620,000. In addition, the Bulldogs will enjoy playing on a nearly-new playing court. The UGA Athletic Association purchased the playing surface from the NCAA, which installed it for its 2011 Women's Regional at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. Typically, the NCAA hires Connor Sport Court International of Amasa, Mich., to manufacture courts for its eight Regional sites, as well as the two Final Four sites. It then sells the slightly-used courts to interested schools. Total cost for purchasing, resanding and finishing the floor for use in Stegeman Coliseum: $90,000.
KCP the Latest McD's All-American
When Kentavious Caldwell-Popewas named a 2011 McDonald's All-American, it had been almost 20 years since the last Georgia signee earned the prestigious honor. Athens' own Carlos Strong arrived on campus in 1992 as a McD's appointee.
Technically, Damien Wilkins was the most recent McDonald's All-American to play at Georgia, but he signed with and played at N.C. State for two seasons before transferring to UGA in 2002.
UGA signed five McD's all-stars in a 3-year span from 1979-82. They formed the nucleus of the group that reached the 1983 NCAA Final Four. SEC Race, Tournament to Have Different Looks in 2012
Just shy of their 20th birthdays, the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions have seen their final days. The league's basketball coaches voted first, followed by its ADs and then its presidents and chancellors, to adopt a 1-12 seeding in the conference post-season tournament, with byes going to the top four finishers. All teams will play the unbalanced, 16-game schedule for the coming season but will increase that total for the 2013 campaign, likely to 18 games, as it was before the SEC was pared into divisions for the 1991-92 season.
The SEC Tournament returns this season to New Orleans for the third time ever, but for the first time at the New Orleans Arena, home to the NBA's Hornets. Georgia did not play in the last tournament at New Orleans in 2003. Rule Changes to Look For in 2012
The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules approved a number of rules changes for the 2012 season, some significant, others not so much. Among the most prominent changes include:
- The addition of the 3-ft arc under the basket (similar to the NBA) where a defender is not considered legal for the purpose of drawing a charge.
- The elimination of the term "intentional foul," to be replaced with Flagrant 1 (which features much of the same rationale as the previous intentional foul rule as well as elbow contact above the shoulders of an opponent) and Flagrant 2 (previously known as flagrant foul). Flagrant 1 = 2 shots and ball; Flagrant 2 = 2 shots and ball + ejection of the offender.
- Officials' jurisdiction now extends 30 minutes prior to tipoff. At least one official has to remain on the floor the entirety of that time period leading to tip-off.
- Timeout administration: The NCAA is attempting to quicken the pace of teams' return to the court after a timeout. Officials are now instructed to give a team a formal warning the first time they are not ready to play at the time of the second horn. For subsequent offenses, the official shall put the ball in play by setting it on the floor and starting his 5-second count.
- Finally, this rule change does not affect the men's game, but there will now be a single 3-point line in men's and women's basketball at 20 feet, 9 inches.
SEC Race, Tournament to Have Different Looks in 2012
Just shy of their 20th birthdays, the SEC Eastern and Western Divisions have seen their final days. The league's basketball coaches voted first, followed by its ADs and then its presidents and chancellors, to adopt a 1-12 seeding in the conference post-season tournament, with byes going to the top four finishers. All teams will play the unbalanced, 16-game schedule for the coming season but will increase that total for the 2013 campaign, likely to 18 games, as it was before the SEC was pared into divisions for the 1991-92 season.
The SEC Tournament returns this season to New Orleans for the third time ever, but for the first time at the New Orleans Arena, home to the NBA's Hornets. Georgia did not play in the last tournament at New Orleans in 2003.
Rule Changes to Look For in 2012
The NCAA Men's Basketball Rules approved a number of rules changes for the 2012 season, some significant, others not so much. Among the most prominent changes include:
• The addition of the 3-ft arc under the basket (similar to the NBA) where a defender is not considered legal for the purpose of drawing a charge.
• The elimination of the term "intentional foul," to be replaced with Flagrant 1 (which features much of the same rationale as the previous intentional foul rule as well as elbow contact above the shoulders of an opponent) and Flagrant 2 (previously known as flagrant foul). Flagrant 1 = 2 shots and ball; Flagrant 2 = 2 shots and ball + ejection of the offender.
• Officials' jurisdiction now extends 30 minutes prior to tipoff. At least one official has to remain on the floor the entirety of that time period leading to tip-off.
• Timeout administration: The NCAA is attempting to quicken the pace of teams' return to the court after a timeout. Officials are now instructed to give a team a formal warning the first time they are not ready to play at the time of the second horn. For subsequent offenses, the official shall put the ball in play by setting it on the floor and starting his 5-second count.
• Finally, this rule change does not affect the men's game, but there will now be a single 3-point line in men's and women's basketball at 20 feet, 9 inches.
