Maten Tabbed Preseason SEC Player Of The Year, All-America

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ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia's Yante Maten has been selected as the preseason SEC Player of the Year and named third-team All-America by Chris Dortch's Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. He also was on the publication's first-team All-SEC squad.

Maten, a 6-8, 243-pound senior forward from Pontiac, Mich., is the SEC's leading returning scorer after averaging 18.2 points per game last season. He also is the league's active career leader in points (1,250), rebounds (606) and blocked shots (149).

Maten was a consensus All-SEC honoree following both his sophomore and junior seasons. He was tabbed first-team All-SEC by league coaches and second-team by the Associated Press in 2016-17. Maten also was named to the five-player All-District teams by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the U.S. Basketball Writers' Association.

Last season, Maten scored in double figures in 26 of 29 games played. One of the three games when he did not do so was when he suffered a sprained knee 95 seconds into the first half of the Bulldogs' outing with Kentucky. Maten's scoring average was deflated somewhat by that contest. Without his abbreviated, scoreless outing against the Wildcats, Maten's average jumps to 18.9 points per game.

Prior to his injury, Maten was named to the 10-player final Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation's top center. Prior to the 2016-17 season, he was on the 20-player preseason Watch List for the Karl Malone Award for the top power forward in the country. Maten was the only player in the nation who moved from one watch list to another among the five position player of the year honors administered by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The Bulldogs return nine of their top-10 scorers and nine players with starting experience during last season. Georgia opens the season in the newly renovated Stegeman Coliseum against Bryant on Friday, Nov. 10. That's the first of 15 home dates – six non-conference and nine SEC dates – this season. Season tickets are $225 for the public and $112.50 for UGA faculty/staff.

Contributors to the Georgia Bulldog Club's Basketball Enhancement Fund (BEF) may order season and SEC Tournament tickets here.

Season tickets my be ordered by non-BEF contributors here.

Also, BEF donors and season ticket holders currently have an exclusive pre-sale window for single-game tickets through September 30. BEF donors and season ticket holders can order single-game tickets now by logging into their online account here.

Stegeman Coliseum Renovation Information
Stegeman Coliseum is currently undergoing major renovations. Work is nearing completion of Phase II of an approximately $8-million project to the Coliseum's interior. Prior to last season, Phase I included the addition of an HD scoreboard and a dramatic mural covering the distinctive end wall of the arena's east end. This summer, renovations included a massive center-hung scoreboard, new seats, significantly upgraded sound and lighting systems and additional LED signage.

The current projects follow a $13-million renovation in 2010 that transformed Stegeman's concourses, upgrading the graphics, enhancing spectator access to concessions and restrooms and adding 5,000-square feet of concourse space on each side of the arena. Those efforts won awards from both the American Institute of Architects and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

Basketball Enhancement Fund Information
BEF contributions are utilized for determining renewable season tickets and various other benefits available to Georgia Basketball supporters. The BEF has established records for both amount contributed and number of contributors in each of the past two years. The Georgia Bulldog Club is hoping for another record-setting effort and is challenging donors to contribute 110 percent of their previous donation.

The minimum donation to purchase renewable season tickets is $150 per seat. A gift of $150 also will be recognized with a car decal and an invitation to a designated preseason practice of the Bulldogs. Varying levels of BEF donations are used to determine ability to purchase premium courtside seating, as well as tickets to the SEC and NCAA Tournaments. Additional potential benefits associated with contribution levels include reserved parking at Stegeman Coliseum, invitations to the team's preseason and postseason banquets and pre- and in-game hospitality.

For more information on making a BEF contribution, contact the Georgia Bulldog Club via phone (706-542-9220) or email (gadawgs@sports.uga.edu).

Maten Tabbed Preseason SEC Player Of The Year, All-America

Players Mentioned

Yante Maten

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