University of Georgia Athletics
A Quick Chat With ... Kenny Paul Geno
January 12, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
When Kenny Paul Geno scores at Stegeman Coliseum, a big roar often follows. That's because when the Georgia forward connects, it's often either a 3-pointer or a rim-rocking dunk.
The 6-foot-6 junior, from Booneville, Miss., is having his most impactful season yet. His 22.1 minutes per game, 3.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists are all career highs. Through two seasons Geno had a total of 11 assists, but he's been an active distributor this season with 27 entering the Bulldogs' game Wednesday against Tennessee.
Geno recently sat down for a quick chat before practice. He talked about his first dunk, Michael Jordan, changing his shot and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: What's the funniest thing you've ever seen or heard in a game or practice?
Geno: One thing from this year that's pretty funny: You know E'Torrion (Wilridge), the freshman that just came in, he doesn't really talk much. He's really quiet. And we get together as a group at the end of practice, in a circle, and I remember it came to Brandon Young and he stepped into the circle and said, "E'Torrion, I want to hear you yell as loud as you can."
So we're all quiet and E'Torrion walked out there in front of everybody, this freshman who doesn't say much, and screamed as loud as he could in the huddle. I thought that was pretty funny.
Frierson: If you could have played with or against anyone in history, who would it be?
Geno: I would love to play with Michael Jordan, because there's no quit in him -- no quit. It would be fun to be with him in the huddle or I can just imagine myself sitting on the bench with him and hearing him talk. It would be fun to play with him or behind him during the spectacular moments that he's been a part of.
Frierson: Jordan also seems like one of those guys that you'd love to see how they practice.
Gene: I feel like he's a good leader and I think just watching him grind and work -- he doesn't just go through the motions, he gets better every day. That's a guy you can look up to.
Frierson: What do you do to get away from sports? What do you do in your quiet moments?
Geno: I take a lot of naps. Two summers ago I started playing a lot of golf and I like going out there and doing that. My favorite thing to do, which I can't really do here as I did at home, is hunt. I love to go hunting by myself or with my friends, just going out there. Being from Mississippi, that's kind of a big thing.
Frierson: I went to Ole Miss so I'm quite familiar. A lot of my buddies hunted so I ate a lot of venison while I was in school.
Geno: I actually cooked some for some of us the other day.
Frierson: You're showing them something new, which is part of the college experience. Those Michigan boys (Yante Maten and Mike Edwards) probably aren't eating a lot of venison back home.
Geno: The Michigan boys and the Atlanta city boys, they don't know much about it, either.
Frierson: When you think back to your high school days, is there a moment that stands out as just one of those pure, blissful moments that you'll carry with you forever?
Geno: Of course the main moment would be winning the state title my sophomore year, followed by going to the state championship game my junior and senior year.
Another thing that stands out is my seventh- and eighth-grade years, I hit my growth spurt and in my ninth-grade year I dunked. And somehow I just became good. It was working, practicing against older guys and somehow it came together. I remember my high school coach telling me, if you work hard this summer you're going to be unstoppable.
My sophomore year I'm averaging 14 (points) and 10 (rebounds) and by my senior year I'm averaging almost 23 points and about 15 rebounds a game. I just played within myself, which helped me. Here, I like doing the little things. I like diving on the floor, I like the hustle plays and I like defense and getting down and doing the dirty things.
Frierson: Take me through your first dunk. How old were you and what do you remember about it?
Geno: The first time I ever dunked, we were in summer league practice, after eighth grade and going into ninth grade. My first ever dunk in a high school game was the first game of my sophomore year of high school. It was at Itawamba (High School) and we were in a half-court trap and I tipped the ball and one of our guards caught it and threw it ahead to me. I went to the other end and jumped up and dunked it with two hands.
After that, that was kind of one of the things I was known for for the next three years.
Frierson: For those of us that are more vertically challenged, is that first big dunk as satisfying as we think it is?
Geno: It's actually pretty special moment. You watch guys in games, in the NBA and college, and those guys out there are dunking it like crazy. And here I am just getting started as a sophomore, starting my first high school game, and I'm dunking it. I ended up scoring like 20 points that night.
It's pretty special knowing that God gave me the ability to jump like I can.
Frierson: What are one or two things that you learned or discovered in 2015 that you're particularly thankful for? It can be a book or band, a sandwich at a restaurant or some kind of life lesson. What touched you in a profound way last year?
Geno: To be honest, mine kind of dealt with basketball. I didn't get into the gym as much my freshman and sophomore years, but this summer I got in the gym and worked with Coach Fox and Coach (Yasir) Rosemond and changed my shot. I had changed it a little bit my freshman year, but I'd never changed it as much as I did this summer.
I don't know if you know, changing your shot is hard. You find yourself going back to the old ways. And I used to look at the ball when I shot instead of looking at the rim, and I used to start slow instead of elevating more. And I changed all of that in one summer.
Frierson: If you could have played any other sport for the Bulldogs, what would it be?
Geno: I would like to say football, but probably it would be baseball because I grew up playing baseball, too. I think it would be fun to play at this level. A bunch of my friends are baseball players, so it would be fun to go and see a different side of things.
I really like Coach (Scott) Stricklin and it would be fun to see, going from playing for a competitive guy like Coach Fox to another competitive guy like Coach Stricklin, and see how they do different things.
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.
