University of Georgia Athletics
Dog Notes: Maten, Frazier Make Double Trouble
December 08, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Yante Maten scored more than 20 points Tuesday, which is becoming routine for the Georgia men's basketball sophomore. There was nothing routine about J.J. Frazier's double-double, however.
Maten had game highs with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 74-64 win over Winthrop on Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum. It was the 6-foot-8 sophomore forward's fourth straight game with 20 or more and second double-double of the season.
For the 5-10 junior guard Frazier, his 15 points and 10 rebounds made for his first career double-double. He also had five assists and two steals, with no turnovers, in 34 minutes of action.
"Thanks for telling me, I didn't know that," Frazier said of the double-double. It wasn't his first career double-digit rebounds game, however. That came last season when he grabbed 11 against Seton Hall.
"Sometimes I'll tell my bigs, `box out and I'll just run it down,'" Frazier added. "Other times, I just see the flight of the ball and use my instincts a little bit."
Georgia (4-3) outrebounded Winthrop (6-2) 45-33 and Frazier was a big reason why. And a big reason why Frazier was able to get those loose balls, coach Mark Fox said, was his speed and determination.
"He's fast," Fox said. "Oftentimes, the rebound goes to the fastest guy, the quickest guy to the ball, and J.J. has a very high basketball IQ and he's quick, so he chases a lot of them down. He's probably going to stick is chest out with the double-double.
"He's been a good rebounder for us and we need that out of him."
What Maten has done the past four games is emerge as a dangerous low-post weapon for the Dogs, but one that's also quite comfortable coming off a screen-and-roll at the 3-point line and hitting a 17-foot jumper. He did that multiple times Tuesday and finished 10-for-16 from the field.
With each game it appears that Maten is expanding his offensive arsenal, though that may not be the case. Fox and Frazier said what Maten is doing isn't new to them, it's just that he's playing so many more minutes this season that he's able to show off his moves more.
Last season, as a freshman, Maten was playing behind seniors Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic, so his offense wasn't a priority. Maten averaged 5.4 points and 4.4 rebounds a game as a freshman. After Tuesday, he's leading Georgia with 16.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He's also shooting 55.7 percent from the field.
"We always knew he was gifted offensively, so this is great for the world to see how he really is," Frazier said.
Against Winthrop, Maten scored on cuts to the basket, screen-and-rolls, shot jump hooks and more. When asked which of his moves he likes the most, Maten hesitated for a moment.
"One certain move? There definitely is one certain move but I don't know if I want to tell y'all," he said, drawing laughs from the crowd reporters around him. "Definitely the right-handed hook. That always feels good. And the mid-range (jumper). Those two are definitely my go-to."
Loss Of Gaines
One reason Frazier's minutes were up about five more than usual, and the reason he was in the starting lineup, was the absence of senior guard and leading scorer coming into the game, Kenny Gaines. A minor knee injury kept Gaines off the court and Fox said he was day to day.
Gaines is averaging 16.5 points per game and shooting 47.6 percent from 3-point range. He will have some time to recover because the Dogs don't play again for 10 days.
That time will also benefit freshman forward Derek Ogbeide, who played for the second time this season Tuesday after missing the first five games with a shoulder injury. Because Ogbeide was out about a month, the 6-8, 250-pound low-post presence has a lot of catching up to do. And a lot of days with just practice and no game preparation will help him along, Fox said.
After playing less than two minutes and not recording a statistic Friday against Kansas State, Ogbeide blocked a shot seconds after entering the game against Winthrop. He also had an assist.
Nothing Comes Easy
There were stretches Tuesday when it looked like the Dogs were going to pull away and have a comfortable final few minutes for once. But that has still yet to happen this season.
Every game Georgia has played this season has been decided in the closing minutes, with the largest final margin only 11 points, in the Dogs' 63-52 win over Murray State on Nov. 20. Tuesday's 10-point win was the second largest margin of the season.
The Dogs led by as many as 17 in the second half, but the high-scoring Eagles got hot offensively and made a run, cutting the lead to five, 53-48, with 10:17 left. Prior to Tuesday, Winthrop hadn't scored less than 74 points in a game all season.
What's Next
The Bulldogs will have a chance to catch their breath, get healthy and hit the gym for a while before their next game, which is Dec. 19, against Georgia Tech at Stegeman.
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.
