University of Georgia Athletics
Some Very Thankful Bulldogs
November 26, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Most of us are home today, or in a place that at least feels a bit like home, surrounded by family and friends celebrating Thanksgiving. We'll eat too much, we'll laugh at stories both new and old, and we'll hopefully take some moments to reflect on how thankful we are to have these people in our lives.
On Tuesday, when asked what he was thankful for this year, Greg McGarity, Georgia's J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics, reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. From it he pulled a small laminated card, which contains a "thankful list" that he refers to from time to time.
"At the top is health, wife, son, parents, brother, sister, dog, living in Athens, friends, nice home, the office," he said. "I keep the thankful list with me at all times, so if I ever need to remind myself, I'm able to pull that out and refresh myself on it.
"I think we're just thankful to be able to come work at a place like the University of Georgia and be in a city and a community that is very caring."
Not all of Georgia's teams are in Athens or able to go home for the holiday. The volleyball team is on a road trip and is arriving in Knoxville, Tenn., today, before playing the Vols on Friday. The women's basketball team is in the Los Angeles area for the Raddison Chatsworth Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Cal State Northridge, which starts Friday.
Los Angeles, while a long way from senior guard Marjorie Butler's home in Knoxville, isn't a bad place to spend Thanksgiving. She's still with a lot of the people she cares about most.
"You know, the tradition is that we're together," she said Tuesday. "This is our family and this is who we're spending Thanksgiving with, and I'm glad I get to spend Thanksgiving with this group of girls."
It's safe to say that 2015 has been a big year in the life of women's basketball head coach Joni Taylor. Until mid-March, she was associate head coach Joni Crenshaw. That was before getting promoted to her first head coaching job after Andy Landers retired and then getting married to Darius Taylor a few months after that.
Taylor said she's very thankful for the people around her that have helped her get to where she is today.
"You know what, I'm thankful for good health, first and foremost," she said. "And I'm thankful for a great support system. I have a wonderful family and a wonderful husband. I have friends who are just there for me. I'm thankful for all of it.
"A lot of times people will see me or say that I've had a good year, but I could not have done any of the things that I have been able to do without the support system that I have."
Good health, that was a popular response among the dozen or so people interviewed for this piece. Of course we all are thankful for it, but it's different when it comes to collegiate athletes. Injuries are a huge part of sports and players have to confront them or work like mad to prevent them all the time.
For someone like men's basketball player Kenny Gaines, who seemed to go from one issue to the next last season — from illness to a shoulder sprain to a significant foot sprain, much of which he played through — being healthy for the guard's senior season is something to be very thankful for and appreciated.
"I'm just thankful that I get a chance to play my senior year," he said after Georgia's 49-46 win over High Point on Wednesday. "After being injured I was just a little bit worried about how the senior year would go, so I'm just thankful to be back out here and thankful for this win today."
The men's basketball team won't just be gnawing on turkey legs all day today. Coach Mark Fox said the team will practice and then head out to his house for a meal, before hitting the road Friday for Saturday night's game at Seton Hall.
"I usually have everyone at our home, and two years ago we had the men's and women's teams," he said. "(Fox's wife) Cindy's used to that load, which is no small endeavor, as you can imagine."
For the football team, which is in the midst of preparing for Saturday's regular season finale at rival Georgia Tech, today is a day that has to be productive. The team will practice in the morning before players that live fairly close to Athens will be able to return home for a Thanksgiving meal with their families — and many a player from far away will be tagging along for some home-cooked food and fellowship. They will have to be back tonight or early Friday morning before the team heads to Atlanta.
Kolton Houston, a senior offensive lineman, had a lot to be thankful for last Saturday, following the Dogs' dramatic overtime win over Georgia Southern in the seniors' final game at Sanford Stadium.
"I'm thankful for God, I'm thankful for my family and I'm thankful for this team," he said, showing a bit of emotion on an emotional night. "The way these young kids have battled for us seniors, I couldn't ask for anything more.
"I said right before we went out for the second half, I said, ‘play your hardest half of football for us seniors and we'll get out of here with a W.' I think everybody did that and I'm pretty pleased with that."
He'll be even more pleased and thankful if the Bulldogs knock off Tech on Saturday.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.