University of Georgia Athletics
Maten Ready For More
November 10, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Maten, who contributed 16.5 ppg and a team-high 8.0 rpg, was the only player in the SEC ranked among the top-10 leaders in scoring, rebounds, field goal percentage and free throw percentage last season.
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
What higher compliment is there for a basketball player than to be described as "unguardable" by an opponent? That's the word a Belmont player used after Georgia's Yante Maten hit 14 of 17 shots and scored 33 points against the Bruins last season.
That March 16 performance in the NIT was perhaps the high point of the 6-foot-8 forward's sophomore season -- a breakout season that included many memorable games and moments. That game also featured his most emphatic dunk of the season, after driving the length of the court, to help seal a 93-84 win.
From the first game to the last of Maten's sophomore season you saw talent, poise, touch, toughness and, perhaps most importantly, progress. Maten got better and better as the season went along, going from a new starter in the Bulldogs' lineup to All-SEC honors at the end of the season.
Yante Maten produced a lot of special games and moments last season. The Georgia forward, a starter for the first time, surged as a sophomore, earning multiple All-SEC honors at the end of the season. He's been named preseason All-SEC entering his junior season, as well.
"Yante worked his tail off in between his freshman and sophomore seasons, and that's why he was finishing plays at such a high level," Georgia senior forward Houston Kessler said. "He really put in the work in that offseason and he's obviously very gifted -- he's got great hands, is really good at finishing around the bucket and he hit some outside shots for us last season that were huge, as well."
From the outside looking in, Maten's rise from an effective player off the bench as a freshman to one of the conference's top players seems like a really big leap. His teammates were not surprised, however.
"We knew he was really good when he came in his freshman year and I feel like learning his freshman year really helped him be the player he was last year," senior forward Kenny Paul Geno said. "Last year he just became dominant and I feel like he got really confident in himself, which really helped him."
As a freshman playing behind starting forwards Marcus Thornton and Nemanja Djurisic, Maten didn't lead Georgia in scoring once. He played a supporting role behind two talented and effective seniors and averaged 5.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.2 minutes of action a night.
As a sophomore, with Thornton and Djurisic gone, Maten blossomed. He had 17 points and 13 rebounds in the opener and was off and running, finishing the season among the league leaders in points and rebounds per game.
"It was pretty good," Maten said of last season, "and there was definitely a sense of relief, because when there's that much pressure and you need to perform and you're doing it, that's a good sign."
It was the thrilling, what's-he-gonna-do-next 5-10 guard J.J. Frazier that led the Bulldogs in scoring, with an average of 16.9 points per game -- good enough for seventh in the SEC. Maten was right behind with 16.2, ninth-best in the conference.
The only other forward in the top nine in scoring was LSU's freshman, Ben Simmons, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, who averaged 19.2 points and 11.8 rebounds a game.
Maten may not have matched Simmons, but he wasn't far off. Maten was fifth in the SEC in field-goal percentage, making just shy (49.5 percent) of half his attempts; Simmons was third at 56 percent. Maten also was sixth in the SEC with an average of 8.0 rebounds a game.
Georgia swimming coach Jack Bauerle likes to tell his swimmers, especially the younger ones going up against teammates that are NCAA champions and Olympians, that "you're judged by the company you keep." In other words, if you're right there with the great ones then what does that say about you?
It says a lot about Maten that even when he started receiving more attention from defenses, with double-teams not uncommon, that he continued to thrive. He passed the ball instead of forcing up bad shots, which is part of the reason he hit nearly 50 percent of his attempts. He added range to his offensive game, consistently hitting from 17-18 feet and even went 8-for-15 from 3-point range.
Maten said he's worked on all areas of his game this offseason, his outside shooting in particular.
"Definitely my outside shot, I feel like I've got to get better, and I was also polishing up my hook to keep that one in check considering that's where I'm going to be for most of the games," he said. "I also tried to work on my perimeter game, as far as shooting 3s and maybe taking a pull-up shot and that type of thing because I may still be open from out there."
Maten has credited his time playing behind, and learning from, Thornton and Djurisic for really helping his game. Now he's the Bulldog his fellow post players are watching.
"Last year I had a leading role on the team and this year it's greater than it was last year, because the older you get the more people look up to you and rely on you for leadership," Maten said. "It seems like just the other day I was looking up to Neme and Marcus to see how they did things and I'm still trying to show how they ran practice when they were here and be a leader on and off the court."
The Bulldogs open their season Friday night at Clemson.
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.
