Game Notes: Bulldogs Welcome North Georgia to Stegeman

Georgia Basketball Game Notes
Georgia (1-0) vs. North Georgia (0-1))
Wednesday, December 2, at 7:00 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network Flagship: WSB AM 750 Atlanta. (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Tony Schiavone, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network + (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Satellite: TBA
History: First meeting
Last Meeting: UGA 87-53, in a preseason exhibition on Nov. 6, 2009

No.	Name	PPG	RPG
Georgia Bulldogs
0	K.D. JOHNSON	0.0	0.0
6-1; 190; Fr.; Atlanta, Ga.
1	JAYKWON WALTON	0.0	3.0
6-7; 205; Soph.; Columbus, Ga.
2	SAHVIR WHEELER	12.0	4.0
5-10; 180; Soph.; Houston, Texas
3	CHRISTIAN BROWN	8.0	5.0
6-6; 215; Soph.; Hopkins, S.C.
4	ANDREW GARCIA	22.0	4.0
6-6; 225; Gr.; Bergenfield, N.J.
5	JUSTIN KIER	6.0	3.0
6-5; 190; Gr.; Grottes, Va.
10	TOUMANI CAMARA	4.0	1.0
6-8; 220; Soph.; Brussels, Belgium
11	JAXON ETTER	0.0	0.0
6-4; 200; Soph.; Woodstock, Ga.
12	JOSH TAYLOR	0.0	0.0
6-9; 215; Fr.; Atlanta, Ga.
13	JONATHAN NED	2.0	0.0
6-9; 215; Jr.; Brentwood, Calif.
14	TYE FAGAN	21.0	10.0
6-3; 195; Jr.; Logtown, Ga.
23	MIKAL STARKS	0.0	1.0
6-0; 185; Jr.; Miam, Fla.
24	P.J. HORNE	5.0	2.0
6-6; 230; Gr.; Tifton, Ga.
25	TYRON MCMILLAN	5.0	1.0
6-9; 220; Soph.; New Orleans, La

TEAM COMPARISON

2019-20 STATISTICS	GEORGIA	NORTH GEORGIA
Points Per Game	85.0	48.0
Opp. Point Per Game	75.0	79.0
Scoring Margin	+10.0	-31.0
Field Goal Pct.	.484	.317
Opp. Field Goal Pct.	.525	.500
3-Point Pct.	.227	.235
3-Pointers Per Game	5.0	4.0
Opp. 3-Point Pct.	.154	.360
Free Throw Pct.	.769	.444
Free Throws Per Game	20.0	4.0
Rebounds Per Game	36.0	30.0
Opp. Rebound Per Game	29.0	49.0
Rebound Margin	+7.0	-19.0
Assists Per Game	20.0	7.0
Turnovers Per Game	15.0	14.0
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.33	0.50
Turnover Margin	+1.0	+5.0
Steals Per Game	8.0	7.0
Blocks Per Game	2.0	1.0

The Starting 5...

Tye Fagan became the 28th UGA Bulldog to earn SEC Player of the Week honors (a combined 38 times) since the award's inception in 1985..
With the win over FAMU, improved to 84-33 all-time record in season openers, including a 37-6 mark when starting the season at Stegeman Coliseum..
T. Fagan and S. Wheeler became the first UGA teammates to have double-doubles in the same game since N. Claxton and D. Ogbeide vs. S.C. on 3/9/19.
UGA's roster features eight newcomers with representative in every class - two freshmen, a sophomore, two juniors and a trio of graduate transfers.
Six different Bulldogs combined to win a total of nine state championship at their high schools - Brown, Fagan (2), Horne (2), Taylor, Walton and Wheeler (2).

The Opening Tip

Georgia returns to action on Wednesday evening when the Bulldogs host North Georgia's Nighthawks at Stegeman Coliseum at 7:00 p.m.

Georgia opened the season last Sunday with an 87-75 win over Florida A&M behind a game-high 22 points from graduate transfer Andrew Garcia and a pair of double-double outings from Tye Fagan (21 points, 10 boards) and Sahvir Wheeler (12 points, 12 assists).

Although this is just Georgia's second game of the season, North Georgia is the fourth opponent scheduled to play the Bulldogs. Last Wednesday's slated season opener against Columbus State was cancelled just hours prior to tipoff. Florida A&M actually became the Nov. 29 opponent five days before the game. The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to play Gardner-Webb that day but the game was cancelled on Nov. 23 due to COVID issues within the Runnin' Bulldogs' roster.

The North Georgia game - announced on Monday roughly 54-and-a-half hours before tipoff - was added to the schedule to replace the Columbus State contest.

"Series" History With North Georgia

The "series" history between UGA and UNG is an unofficial one. Tonight's game will mark the second meeting between Georgia and North Georgia on the hardwood...but the first official contest according to UGA's records book.

Previously, the Bulldogs bested UNG, 87-53, in a preseason exhibition on Nov. 6, 2009.

Travis Leslie scored 21 points to lead a quartet of Georgia players in double digits. Trey Thompkins added 11 points and Ebuka Anyaorah and Drazen Zlovaric chipped in 10 points apiece.

In all, 12 of the 13 Bulldogs who saw game action scored.

The Bulldogs needed less than six minutes to build a double-digit edge. Georgia expanded that advantage to 20 points by the 4:21 mark of the first half. The Bulldogs led 45-20 at the intermission and outscored North Georgia 42-33 in the second stanza.

Scouting The Nighthawks

North Georgia returns four letterwinners from last season's team which finished 14-15 overall and 9-11 in Peach Belt Conference play.

Zach Brown is the Nighthawks' leading returning scorer at 8.2 ppg. Josh Cotrell and Darnell Snyers were regular starters for UNG last season, getting the nod for 28 and 18 contests, respectively.

The Nighthawks opened their 2020-21 season a week ago with a 79-48 loss to Mercer. Snyers led three players in double figures for North Georgia with 11 points, while Brown and Eric Jones chipped in 10 each. Mercer led by just 13 points at halftime before outscoring the Nighthawks 43-19 the rest of the way.

New Faces In New Places

Georgia's roster features eight first-year Bulldogs, while North Georgia brings 11 new Nighthawks to Athens.

Georgia's octet newcomers feature a representative of every class - freshmen K.D. Johnson and Josh Taylor, sophomore Tyron McMillan, juniors Jonathan Ned and Mikal Starks; and graduate transfer seniors Andrew Garcia, P.J. Horne and Justin Kier.

For North Georgia, the newcomers include six freshmen (one of the redshirt variety), two sophomore tranfers and two junior transfers.

That Nighthawk Looks Familiar

It's hard to recognized people with masks on these days but if you have a sneaking suspicion that someone on the North Georgia bench looks familiar, you may be correct.

Jordan McGruder is a graduate assistant coach with the Nighthawks. He spent the previous two seasons as student manager for Georgia Basketball. A native of Sharsburg, Ga., McGruder graduated from UGA last spring with his degree in Sport Management.

Fagan Named SEC POTW

Tye Fagan was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday by the league office in Birmingham, Ala., a day after the best outing of his collegiate career against Florida A&M.

Fagan posted career-high tallies of 21 points and 10 rebounds en route to his first career double-double. He connected on 9-of-10 shots from the field against the Rattlers and played a major role in creating distance on the scoreboard. Fagan scored eight points in a span of 76 seconds as Georgia expanded a two-point lead (49-47) to 10 (59-49).

"I don't take credit for that," Fagan said when asked about his performance after the game. "A lot of that has to do with Sahvir (Wheeler). He is a great ball-handler, and he finds guys. I'm pretty sure he had 12 assists, so that is what I mean how he found guys. I give a lot of credit to my teammates and coaches to put me in the right places."

Wheeler also had his first double-double as a Bulldog against Florida A&M, with 12 points and 12 assists.

Fagan's previous highs were 15 points and six rebounds. For his career, Fagan has now recorded four double-digit scoring outputs. In those games, he has connected on an almost unfathomable 83.9 percent (26-of-31) of his field goal attempts.

Fagan is the 28th different Bulldog to be named SEC Player of the Week since the award's inception in 1985. Those players have combined to earn 38 POTW certificates.

The Nomination Wasn't Automatic

The decision to nominate Fagan for SEC Player of the Week required some thought.

Graduate transfer Andrew Garcia also had an outstanding - and efficient - game against the Rattlers. The Bergenfield, N.J., native scored a game-high 22 points in just 23 minutes of action.

Garcia connected on 6-of-8 shots from the field and converted on 10-of-11 trips to the free-throw line in his first outing for UGA.

Sahvir Continues Serving It Up

After breaking Georgia's freshman assist record in 2019-20, Sahvir Wheeler picked up right where he left off with 12 assists against Florida A&M in the season opener.

Wheeler's effort represented the fourth-best single-game assist tally in 116 seasons of basketball for the Bulldogs. It also was the most by a Bulldog in more than two decades...since G.G. Smith distributed a dozen assists against Vanderbilt on Jan. 3, 1999.

Hoops Scheduling 2020 Style

Georgia will plays its second game of the season against an opponent that wasn't even on the Bulldogs' schedule three days ago.

As of last Monday (Nov. 23), UGA's Nov. 29 game was scheduled to be against Gardner-Webb. The decision was made to cancel that contest after consultation with UGA Athletic Association medical personnel due to COVID-19 issues within the GWU roster.

About 24 hours later, Georgia announced that Florida A&M would replace Gardner-Webb on Sunday.

During a Zoom session with media on Tuesday, head coach Tom Crean said: "Well in a nut shell, this came up yesterday morning and we already had some ideas of potential replacements for the first couple of weeks so we really started with that. That becomes the most important thing...some were available, most weren't available to be honest with you, but Florida A&M was the one that had the most opportunity to say yes and the best opportunity to say yes, in the shortest amount of time, and the shortest distance involved.

"It's a surreal experience all around, and you just have to be able to adjust," Crean continued. "You have to be flexible. You have to plan ahead. I give (Assistant Athletics Director) John Bateman and (Director of Player Development) Brian Fish a lot of credit with this and the work they did to put this together. In all likelihood, we'll have to do it again. It's just a part of it right now."

Less than 24 hours after that, Crean's comments seemed prophetic when Wednesday's season opener against Columbus State was canceled just hours before it was slated to tip off. That outing was scrapped when COVID-19 tests returned positive results within the Cougars' traveling party.

On Nov. 30, the Columbus State game was replaced with the North Georgia contest on Dec. 2.

Bulldogs In Season Openers

Georgia has compiled an 83-33 record in opening contests of the Bulldogs' 116 seasons of basketball. That includes an even more impressive 37-6 mark in openers at Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia's most significant win in an opener at the Coliseum also was its first. In the Bulldogs' initial opener in their current arena on Dec. 3 1964, UGA bested No. 13 North Carolina, 64-61.

The Bulldogs are 3-0 in openers under current head coach Tom Crean.

Crean Strong In Season Openers

Tom Crean is 20-1 all-time in season openers as a head coach.

Crean was 8-1 in initial outings at Marquette from 1999-2008, was a perfect 9-0 in openers at Indiana from 2008-17 and has won all three of his first games in three seasons with the Bulldogs.

The biggest season-opening victory for a Crean-coached team was four years ago when the No. 11-ranked Hoosiers defeated No. 3 Kansas, 103-99, in overtime at the Armed Forces Challenge in Honolulu.

The Hoosiers raced to an 8-1 start that season - including a second signature victory in November over eventual 2017 NCAA Champion North Carolina - before injuries decimated Indiana's roster.

Latest Opener In A While

Last season, the Bulldogs christened their season on Nov. 5, the earliest opening contest ever in Georgia's 115 seasons of basketball. The previous date for an initial outing was when UGA began the 2013-14 campaign on Nov. 8 with a 72-52 win over Wofford.

With the 2020-21 campaign delayed due to COVID-19, the Bulldogs' Nov. 29 date against Florida A&M was their latest opener in nearly three decades.

Georgia began the 1992-93 season on Dec. 1 with a trip to Allen Fieldhouse to face No. 3 Kansas. The Jayhawks secured a 76-65 win.

That contest was the first of a "home-and-home" series between UGA and KU. The quote marks are to emphasize that Kansas' return on that contract was not to Athens. Georgia head coach Hugh Durham ventured to Lawrence and then had the Jayhawks return game in Atlanta for the first-ever basketball event at now-demolished Georgia Dome. That UGA-KU outing was part of the Kuppenheimer Classic, which also featured Georgia Tech hosting Louisville.

Dogs' Roster Features Winners

Georgia's roster features six Bulldogs who won high school state championships.

Christian Brown, Tye Fagan, P.J. Horne, Josh Taylor, Jaykwon Walton and Sahvir Wheeler. In fact, Fagan, Horne and Wheeler all won a pair of state titles, giving that sextet a combined nine championship rings.

Top-Ranked JUCOs Join Dogs

Each of Georgia's junior college recruits were ranked among the top-15 prospects nationally by 247Sports.com. Mikal Starks was listed at No. 9, Tyron McMillan was tabbed No. 11 and Jonathan Ned came in at No. 15.

Ned and Starks come from dramatically different hometowns but the same junior college - Eastern Florida State. Ned is from Northern California, while Starks hails from South Florida. They helped EFSC's Titans win 55 games over two seasons and reach the "Elite Eight" round of the 2019 NJCAA Tournament.

McMillan, who played AAU basketball with Sahvir Wheeler, earned All-Region honors in his one season at Kilgore College in Texas.

A Summer Unlike Any Other

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Bulldogs' season to end prematurely on March 12 and began a period where Tom Crean was away from on-court coaching for more than four months.

Georgia returned to workouts on July 20 as the Bulldogs' staff began meshing together six returnees and eight newcomers.

"The only guy will a full year of college basketball with us in the program is Tye Fagan," Crean said. "That's tough. That's really tough because the kids who are sophomores didn't get the full spring. And when the three grad transfers and Tyron McMillan got to campus, that was the first time we'd personally met them and talked to them not on phone, FaceTime or zoom.

"There was nothing normal about this summer," Crean added. "There was nothing even remotely close to normal as to how you would build your team."

Edwards Drafted No. 1 Overall

Anthony Edwards was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft on Nov. 18. Edwards became the Bulldogs' highest draft pick ever, topping Dominique Wilkins, who was selected No. 3 overall in 1982.

"This is an incredibly special night for an incredibly special young man," head coach Tom Crean said. "I know the time and the effort he's put into getting to this point. He's earned it. He works extremely hard. He's dedicated to getting better."

Edwards is the Bulldogs' 39th NBA Draft pick and the eighth first-rounder. He was the first lottery pick since Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (No. 8 overall) in 2013.

"This is a big-time moment for this program," Crean said. "When you're trying to build on what others have done here before, you've got to have moments that help establish what you want your program to be. I think this is something that everyone who has ever been a part of Georgia Basketball can be proud of. It also shows that you can come to Georgia, and in Anthony's case come to Georgia and stay close to home, and you can achieve all of your dreams. That's really, really important for us."

Edwards was the nation's top-scoring freshman last season, averaging 19.1 ppg. He scored 610 points, the 10th-most ever by an SEC freshman and the seventh-highest effort by a Bulldog in a single season.

Edwards was named SEC Freshman of the Year by both league coaches and the Associated Press and was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week a school-record four times.

Edwards became the SEC's sixth all-time overall No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft - and the fifth since 2010. The league's top picks include Shaquille O'Neal (LSU) to Orlando in 1992, John Wall (Kentucky) to Washington in 2010, Anthony Davis (Kentucky) to New Orleans in 2012, Karl Anthony-Towns (Kentucky) to Minnesota in 2015, Ben Simmons (LSU) to Philadelphia in 2016 and Edwards in 2020.

A Good Year for Drafted Dogs

Anthony Edwards' selection in the NBA Draft continued a strong year for Georgia Bulldogs in professional drafts.

Offensive tackle Andrew Thomas was the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Pitcher Emerson Hancock was the No. 6 selection in the first round of the MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners.

With that, Georgia became just the fifth school ever to have top-10 picks in the three major sports drafts in the same year.

And While We're Talking Pros...

The 2020 year hasn't had very many highlights overall, but three former Georgia Bulldogs certainly have. Mecole Hardman helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV (54 for the commoners) in February.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had an outstanding run in the NBA Playoffs to help the L.A. Lakers capture their championship. KCP started all 21 games of the Lakers' run through the Playoffs. He averaged 10.7 points per game in the postseason, largely due to connecting on 45 3-pointers. That tally is the second-most ever by a Laker during the Playoffs, trailing only Kobe Bryant's 49 in 2009-10.

In October, pitcher Alex Wood pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their decisive win over Tampa Bay in game 6 of the World Series.

With that, Georgia became the only school in the nation with former players who won NFL, NBA and MLB championship rings during 2020.

Wheeler Sets Assist Record

Sahvir Wheeler wrapped up his freshman season by equaling his career high with eight assists against Ole Miss at the 2020 SEC Tournament. In the process, he also broke Georgia's freshman assists record.

Wheeler distributed 139 passes-to-points last season, breaking the previous mark by Litterial Green as outlined below.

Wheeler's tally also equaled Willie Anderson for the 14th-most ever by a Bulldog in a single season.

UGA Freshman Assist Leaders
Rk.	Player	Season	Total
1.	Sahvir Wheeler	2019-20	139
2.	Litterial Green	1988-89	133
3.	Dustin Ware	2008-09	108
4.	Moses White	1999-00	105
5.	Rashad Wright	2000-01	103

Crean Impressed With Teamwork

Tom Crean has been impressed with the ability his current roster has shown to form a bond during the summer and fall. Of the Bulldogs' 14 players, eight are newcomers - two freshmen, three junior college transfers and three graduate transfers.

"I like their camaraderie," Crean said this summer. "I like their spirit. We've worked very hard. There's guys who are in the gym at different times, whether it's later at night or early in the morning. There are guys who are very, very hungry.

"In addition to all that, they've done a good job in the weight room," Crean continued. "They've done a good job when we worked out outside. They've pushed each other. They've competed. There is a spirit about them, and they're improving. A lot of new guys are learning to come together in a very, very different situation, and that's what we've focused on, bridging that every day."

Bulldogs Speak Out On Issues

In addition to the pandemic, social issues dominated the landscape for much of the summer. Several Georgia basketball players, led by Tye Fagan and Sahvir Wheeler, chose to utilize their platform and voice to speak toward needed changes to create a better and more respectful society in general.

Fagan took part in a march in Thomaston, Ga., where he led Upson-Lee High School to back-to-back state titles in 2017 and 2018.

"It's bigger than basketball, it's bigger than me," Fagan said. "A lot of people have lost their lives, a lot of people are upset. A lot of my people are upset and they feel a lot of different ways. I can't blame them because I feel the same way, seeing guys suffer from police brutality or racism or bigotry or whatever you want to call it. Black people have been suffering a lot over the past few months. It's been going on forever but especially over the past few months."

Wheeler discussed a wide variety of topics in an interview with DawgNation.com.

"One of the most important things is this is a time when the country has to pivot, and it has put a magnifying glass on our actions, our deeds and our approach with others in relationships in general," Wheeler said. "It has come to question ourselves: What are we willing to tolerate? What is the catalyst of change? How are we looking upon other people from different walks of life, and how we can take a step forward in progression so everyone can be equal?"

Bulldogs Better In Tight Games

Georgia was 5-3 in contests decided by four points or less last season, with tight wins over Georgia Tech (72-68), Chaminade (80-77), SMU (87-85), No. 9 Memphis (65-62) and Vanderbilt (80-78) and close setbacks against Missouri (72-69), Alabama (105-102) and South Carolina (94-90 in OT).

That was a huge difference from 2018-19 when UGA was 0-6 in such outings, with all six setbacks to NCAA Tournament teams.

Ronnie Hogue To Be Honored

Ronnie Hogue, the first Black men's basketball scholarship student-athlete at the University of Georgia, will be honored with a commemorative sticker on the Stegeman Coliseum basket supports during the 2020-21 season. Hogue passed away in Setpember at the age of 69.

A native of Washington, D.C., Hogue arrived in Athens in the fall of 1969 and became one of the best players of his time, or any other era of Bulldog basketball.

Two years before freshmen became eligible under NCAA rules, Hogue averaged 19.1 points per game on UGA's freshman squad. He burst upon the scene the following year when, playing largely out of position as a forward, he averaged 16.2 points per game and was named to the SEC's All-Sophomore team.

The following year, 1972, was a breakout season for Hogue as he upped his scoring average to 20.5 points per game. In the season's fifth game, on December 20, 1971, he exploded for a career-high 46 points against LSU, the most ever by a Bulldog in Stegeman Coliseum and second-highest single-game tally in school history. Perhaps more impressive than the scoring total was the fact that Hogue connected on 20-of-23 shots from the floor en route to that output. Hogue was named first-team All-SEC by league coaches that season while also garnering second-team honors from the AP and UPI. As a senior, Hogue averaged 16.5 points per game.

Hogue finished his Georgia career with 1,367 points in just three seasons. At the time, that ranked second among UGA's all-time scoring leaders.

Hogue was drafted by the Washington Bullets in the seventh round of the 1973 NBA Draft.

Game Notes: Bulldogs Welcome North Georgia to Stegeman

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christian Brown

Anthony Edwards

Tye Fagan

Andrew Garcia

P.J. Horne

K.D. Johnson

Justin Kier

Tyron McMillan

Jonathan Ned

Mikal Starks

Josh Taylor

Sahvir Wheeler

Game Notes: Bulldogs Welcome North Georgia to Stegeman

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christian Brown

Anthony Edwards

Tye Fagan

Andrew Garcia

P.J. Horne

K.D. Johnson

Justin Kier

Tyron McMillan

Jonathan Ned

Mikal Starks

Josh Taylor

Sahvir Wheeler

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