Bulldogs Open Stegeman Homestand Against Alabama
February 07, 2020 | Men's Basketball
- Georgia Basketball Game Notes
- Georgia (12-10, 2-7 SEC) vs. Alabama (12-10, 4-5 SEC)
- Saturday, February 8 at 6:00 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 (Paul Sunderland, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, analyst)
- Video Stream: SECN+
- Satellite: XM: 374; Internet: 374.
- Series Record: UA leads, 95-52
- Last Meeting: UA, 89-74, on 2/26/19
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Georgia Bulldogs | ||||
Coach: Tom Crean | ||||
23-31 in 2nd season at UGA | ||||
379-262 in 20th season overall | ||||
No. | Name | PPG | RPG | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Jordan Harris | 5.8 | 3.5 | |
6-5; 195; Sr.; Iron City, Ga. | ||||
5 | Anthony Edwards | 19.9 | 5.2 | |
6-5; 225; Fr.; Atlanta, Ga. | ||||
10 | Toumani Camara | 5.2 | 4.2 | |
6-8; 220; Fr.; Brussels, Belgium | ||||
15 | Sahvir Wheeler | 8.0 | 2.4 | |
5-10; 180; Fr.; Houston, Texas | ||||
20 | Rayshaun Hammonds | 12.4 | 7.5 | |
6-9; 235; Jr.; Norcross, Ga. |
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Alabama Crimson Tide | ||||
Coach: Nate Oats | ||||
12-10 in 1st season at UA | ||||
108-53 in 5th season overall | ||||
No. | Name | PPG | RPG | |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Javian Favis | 6.2 | 3.8 | |
6-9; 242; R-Fr.; Canton, Miss. | ||||
2 | Kira Lewis Jr. | 16.5 | 5.2 | |
6-3; 165; Soph.; Meridianville, Ala.) | ||||
3 | Alex Reese | 9.8 | 4.6 | |
6-9; 245; Jr.; Pelham, Ala. | ||||
5 | Jaden Shackelford | 13.4 | 4.3 | |
6-3; 195; Fr.; Hesperia, Calif. | ||||
23 | John Petty Jr. | 15.0 | 7.4 | |
6-5; 184; Jr.; Huntsville, Ala. |
TEAM COMPARISON
2019-20 STATISTICS | GEORGIA | ALABAMA |
Points Per Game | 75.7 | 81.6 |
Opp. Point Per Game | 73.8 | 77.1 |
Scoring Margin | +1.9 | +4.5 |
Field Goal Pct. | .449 | .441 |
Opp. Field Goal Pct. | .446 | .406 |
3-Point Pct. | .307 | .349 |
3-Pointers Per Game | 7.0 | 10.3 |
Opp. 3-Point Pct. | .327 | .296 |
Free Throw Pct. | .685 | .710 |
Free Throws Per Game | 13.9 | 16.2 |
Rebounds Per Game | 38.6 | 40.6 |
Opp. Rebound Per Game | 36.5 | 39.5 |
Rebound Margin | +2.1 | +1.1 |
Assists Per Game | 13.8 | 13.8 |
Turnovers Per Game | 14.9 | 15.8 |
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio | 0.92 | 0.87 |
Turnover Margin | -1.0 | -1.9 |
Steals Per Game | 7.7 | 6.4 |
Blocks Per Game | 3.5 | 4.8 |
The Starting 5...
- Anthony Edwards is the nation's top-scoring freshman at 19.9 ppg...more than two points per game more than any other Division I freshman.
- Sahvir Wheeler is eight assists away from becoming the first UGA freshman with 100 assists in more than a decade...since Dustin Ware in 2008-09 season.
- Jarvis Hayes was inducted into the Circle of Honor on Feb. 7, becoming Georgia Basketball's third member of the all-sports group that is the UGAA's highest honor.
- Six of nine SEC games at Stegeman Coliseum are now sellouts – Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas and Florida.
- Georgia's celebrated freshman class – ranked among the top-10 groups nationally by every recruiting service – features five of the nation's top-100 prospects.
The Opening Tip
Georgia opens up a two-game homestand by hosting Alabama at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum on Saturday evening. The Bulldogs also will entertain South Carolina next Wednesday before returning to the road.
Georgia is 12-10 overall and 10-2 at Stegeman this season. The Bulldogs are averaging 81.1 points at home, where UGA possesses a substantial scoring margin of +13.0 points per game.
Georgia's average home attendance of 9,581 is on pace to be the second-best effort in school history (trailing only 9,857 in 2002-03). Since two of Georgia's remaining four home dates following the Alabama outing are already sellouts, the Bulldogs could approach the school-record average attendance mark by season's end.
Tom Crean has credited fan support as an integral part of the Bulldogs' home success, most notably following a double-overtime win over SMU on Dec. 20.
"We don't win this game without this crowd," Crean said bluntly in his postgame press conference. "We do not win this game without this incredible, passionate, stick-with-us, not let us drop crowd. I reminded the players a few times that we're sitting here in basically a sold-out game, and these fans are not giving up on you, so don't give up on yourself. I'm extremely proud of how we found a way to win, and I'm unbelievably thankful for our fans."
Anthony Edwards, one of only two freshmen included on the 20-player late-season Wooden Award Watch List, is the nation's top-scoring freshman at 19.9 ppg. Edwards, this week's SEC Freshman of the Week, is averaging 28.0 points and 10.3 rebounds over the last three outings.
Game Promotions
The first 1,250 UGA students at Saturday's game will receive red "The Steg" socks, which will be a nice compliment to the black replica game jersey and shorts given away at the last two Saturday home dates.
The Stegeman Coliseum concourse on the Smith Street side of the arena will be transformed into a "Kids Zone," with face painting, a balloon artist, a sign making station and a bouncy house.
In addition, members of Georgia's baseball team, which has been ranked as high as No. 4 in preseason polls, will be signing autographs from 4:30-5:30 on the Carlton Street concourse. They also will throw out t-shirts at a timeout to promote Opening Weekend next weekend.
Keeping An Eye On . . . Entering Today's Game Among UGA's career Leaders
Tyree Crump is...
• 9 3FGAs from No. 8 G.G. Smith
• 10 3FGs from No. 10 Jody Patton
Among UGA's Freshman Leaders - Anthony Edwards is...
• 43 points from No. 3 Litterial Green
• 77 points from No. 2 Jumaine Jones
• 208 points from No. 1 Jacky Dorsey
Series History
Although Alabama leads the series 95-52 overall, the Tide's edge in Athens is by a much tighter 32-31 margin.
Last season in Tuscaloosa, Derek Ogbeide's 17 points led a quartet of Bulldogs scoring in double figures; however, Alabama earned am 89-74 victory at Coleman Coliseum.
Georgia trailed by just three, 41-38, at halftime before Alabama began the second period with an 18-9 surge over the first 6:39 of the period to seize control.
In the Crimson Tide's last trip to Athens on Jan. 6, 2018, stifling defense and a 20-point, double-double performance from Yante Maten powered Georgia past Alabama 65-46.
Maten scored 26 points, his 14th straight double-digit output, and grabbed 11 boards, his seventh double-double of the season.
The 19-point win was Georgia's largest over the Tide since 1969-70. The Bulldogs' defense held Alabama to what was season-low in total points as well as the lowest point total for the first and second halves, individually.
The Bulldogs led 44-24 at the break and never allowed Alabama to get closer than 16 points thereafter.
Scouting The Tide
Alabama is currently 12-10 overall and 4-5 in SEC play. The Tide arrives in Athens looking to snap a three-game losing streak.
After starting SEC play 1-2, Alabama reeled off four consecutive wins, including a 77-74 decision over Kansas State in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. At that point, the Tide was 12-7 overall and 4-2 in the SEC.
In Alabama's next outing against LSU, starter Herbert Jones suffered a fractured wrist. He is now out indefinitely. The Tide's losing streak coincides with Jones' injury.
Through games on Feb. 6, Alabama led the SEC and ranked No. 9 nationally in scoring average at 81.6 points per game. That topped all SEC teams be a relatively wide margin of 1.4 points per contest.
Last Time Out...
Freshmen Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler scored 32 and 16 points, respectively, in an 81-75 loss at Florida on Wednesday.
Dogs Drawing At Record Pace
Georgia's current attendance average of 9,581 would be the second-best effort in school history (trailing only 9,857 in 2002-03).
The Bulldogs are well on their way to shattering their all-time total attendance record for the second consecutive season. A year ago, Georgia's tally of 148,700 fans through the Stegeman turnstiles broke the previous program record by more than 9,000.
This year, 114,968 spectators have attended Georgia's 12 home dates so far. That is 33,732 shy of the current mark with six games left, meaning an average of 6,747 would top the existing record.
Hayes Enters Circle of Honor
Jarvis Hayes, a two-time All-American for the Bulldogs in 2002 and 2003, was officially enshrined in the UGA Athletic Association's Circle of Honor on Friday night.
The Circle of Honor is an all-sports award that is the highest recognition a former UGA student-athlete or coach can receive. Inducted with Hayes were gymnast Jenni Beathard, kicker Kevin Butler and golfer Nick Cassini.
Hayes is the third Georgia basketball player inducted into the Circle, joining 1990 SEC Player of the Year Alec Kessler and Zippy Morocco, a two-sport star who was the Bulldogs' first All-American in basketball.
A native of Atlanta, Hayes averaged an SEC-best 18.6 points per game in 2002 and again led the Bulldogs offensively in 2003 while averaging 18.3 points per game. He reached 1,000 career points in just 55 games, six games quicker than UGA's career scoring leader, Litterial Green.
Hayes helped Georgia to a combined 41-18 record in his two seasons, including a 2002 NCAA Tournament bid. He joined Dominique Wilkins as just the second Bulldog to earn consensus first-team All-SEC honors twice.
Hayes was selected by Washington with the No. 10 overall pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft. He played seven seasons with Washington, Detroit and New Jersey.
Dogs End Brutal Stretch
Georgia's endured a grueling stretch to open SEC play.
The Bulldogs began league action by facing six straight 2019 NCAA Tournament teams – Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky (again) and Ole Miss.
Tom Crean has undergone some serious hazing from the scheduling Gods since arriving in Athens. A year ago, Georgia opened SEC play with consecutive Saturday road trips to the defending league co-champions from the previous year – Tennessee and Auburn.
Edwards Soaring Up Bulldogs' Freshman Leaders Ledger
Anthony Edwards joined Georgia's top-10 season scoring efforts by a freshman in just the 18th game of the season at No. 15 Kentucky. Over the past four outings, he has ascended all the way up to the No. 4 position as outlined below.
The Atlanta native's 16 points at Rupp Arena on Jan. 21 pushed him past the previous No. 10 freshman effort by Eric Marbury. He moved to No. 9 against Ole Miss, No. 8 at Missouri, No. 6 versus Texas A&M and No. 4 at Florida.
Edwards' current scoring average of 19.9 ppg would be second best among all players on the top-10 ledger, trailing only Jacky Dorsey. At his current pace, Edwards would wrap up the Bulldogs' 31-game regular-season slate with 617 points.
UGA's Top-10 Freshman Scorers | |||||
Player | Pts. | Year | G | Avg. | |
1. | Jacky Dorsey | 646 | 1975 | 25 | 25.8 |
2. | Jumaine Jones | 515 | 1998 | 35 | 14.7 |
3. | Litterial Green | 481 | 1989 | 31 | 15.5 |
4. | Anthony Edwards | 438 | 2020 | 22 | 19.9 |
5. | Cedric Henderson | 433 | 1985 | 28 | 15.5 |
6. | K. Caldwell-Pope | 422 | 2012 | 32 | 13.2 |
7. | Walter Daniels | 404 | 1976 | 27 | 15.0 |
8. | D.A. Layne | 381 | 1999 | 30 | 12.7 |
9. | Terry Fair | 368 | 1980 | 27 | 13.6 |
10. | Trey Thompkins | 354 | 2009 | 28 | 12.6 |
Camara's Contributions Climbing
Toumani Camara, who moved into the Bulldogs' starting lineup in the 10th game of the season against SMU and has remained there since, has seen a massive up-tick in his production over the last 16 outings.
The freshman from Brussels has nearly doubled his scoring and rebounding efforts and has logged more than twice as many minutes as he did in the first six games of the season as outlined below.
Over that span, Camara posted career highs of 16 points vs. Georgia Southern, nine rebounds vs. Austin Peay and 34 minutes of playing time vs. SMU.
Camara's Increased Efforts | ||
Stat | First 6 | Last 16 |
Points per game | 4.0 | 7.0 |
Rebounds per game | 2.5 | 4.8 |
Minutes per game | 13.2 | 27.1 |
Edwards, Wheeler Included Among NCAA's Freshman Leaders
Through games of Feb. 6, Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were among the nation's top freshmen in scoring and assists, respectively, as outlined on the next page.
Edwards was the top scorer among all Division-I freshmen and the only one included among the nation's top-50 scoring leaders.
Wheeler sported the eighth-best average assists tally by a freshman.
Top Freshman Scoring Averages | |||
Rk. | Player, school | GP | Avg. |
28. | Anthony Edwards, Georgia | 22 | 19.9 |
84. | Vernon Carey, Duke | 22 | 17.8 |
87. | Isaiah Stewart, Washington | 23 | 17.7 |
97. | Landers Nolley, Va. Tech | 23 | 17.2 |
98. | Jordyn Adams, Austin Peay | 24 | 17.2 |
Top Freshman Assist Averages | |||
Rk. | Player, school | GP | Avg. |
32. | Nico Mannion, Arizona | 22 | 5.7 |
40. | Yuri Collins, Saint Louis | 23 | 5.4 |
58. | Ellis Magnuson, E. Wash. | 22 | 5.0 |
68. | Sean East, UMass | 23 | 4.8 |
70. | Rylan Jones, Utah | 21 | 4.8 |
85. | Ethan Anderson, USC | 23 | 4.6 |
94. | Isaiah Stevens, Colorado St. | 25 | 4.5 |
101. | Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia | 21 | 4.4 |
Eyes Are On Edwards
Anthony Edwards was named to updated Watch Lists for the Wooden and Jerry West Awards this week.
On Monday, Edwards was the only SEC player and one of just two freshmen featured on the new top-20 list of candidates for the Wooden Award.
On Tuesday, Edwards was one of two freshmen and four SEC players on the top-10 list for the West Award, which is given to the nation's top shooting guard.
Edwards Earns Georgia's Third SEC Freshman of the Week Honor
Anthony Edwards was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday after averaging 26.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in Georgia's outings against Missouri and Texas A&M.
Bulldogs have now been named SEC FOTW three times this season. Previously, Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler were honored on Dec. 1 and Dec. 23, respectively.
Last week, Edwards became the first Bulldog freshman to post consecutive double-doubles since Jumaine Jones did so during the 1997-98 season. Edwards' 15 rebounds against Texas A&M were the most by a Georgia freshman since Jones' 16 versus Penn State in the semifinals of the 1998 NIT.
Edwards also was selected by the league – and also was tabbed National Freshman of the Week by CBSsports.com – following the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Most notably, he poured in 37 points against No. 3 Michigan State on Nov. 26, including a 33-point explosion in the second half.
Edwards' effort equaled the No. 11 single-game scoring tally in Georgia's history and represented the most points by a Bulldog freshman since Jacky Dorsey scored 41 versus LSU on Jan. 20, 1975.
Wheeler was honored after he scored layups in the final five seconds of both the first and second overtime periods of UGA's 87-85 double-OT win over SMU. He scored with four seconds remaining in the first OT to tie the score. In the second extra session, Wheeler's layup with 1.9 seconds left supplied Georgia with the victory.
Wheeler Back In Action
Sahvir Wheeler returned to the court against Texas A&M on Feb. 1 after missing a Jan. 28 game at Missouri.
Wheeler, who leads Georgia in assists and is third in scoring, suffered an upper body injury in practice on Monday before the team departed for Columbia.
The Houston native had a strong linescore against the Aggies, with nine points, five assists, four boards and two steals in 31 minutes of PT. He followed that with 16 points and four assists in a season-high 36 minutes of action at Florida.
When He's Hot, He's Really Hot
Tye Fagan scored 14 points at No. 15 Kentucky on Jan. 21 by connecting on all six of his shots from the field (including a 3-pointer) and his one attempt at the free throw line.
Fagan has now scored in double figures three times this season and has done so in an extremely efficient fashion. In that trio of contests, Fagan has connected on 81.0 percent (17-of-21) of his shots from the floor.
Fagan recorded his first double-digit scoring output with 11 points against Dayton in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. He connected on 5-of-5 shots from the field, including his only 3-point attempt, against the Flyers.
The sophomore from Logtown paced Georgia with 15 points at Arizona State on Dec. 14. Fagan did most of his damage in the second half in Tempe with 11 points in 10 minutes.
Before that, Fagan's top offensive performances were early last season. He notched eight points in three of the first four games of his freshman year.
A Trio Of Freshman Starters
Freshmen Toumani Camara, Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler all started for the Bulldogs at No. 5 Auburn on Jan. 11. That marked the first time Georgia started a trio of freshmen in a decade and 11 days.
To find the last contest when three first-year Bulldogs got the nod you have to venture back to a date with Kennesaw State on New Year's Eve in 2008 when Travis Leslie, Trey Thompkins and Dustin Ware all started.
All told, four members of the Bulldogs' top-10 recruiting class have now started at some point this season. Rodney Howard did so against N.C. Central and Arizona State.
Feel Free To Call Him "Ty-3"
Tyree Crump continued a familiar theme to his scoring this season, with 35 of his 50 made field goals (70.0 percent) coming from behind the 3-point arc.
More than two-thirds of Crump's made shots from the floor at UGA have come on 3-pointers. Crump has 162 3s as a Bulldog, which accounts for 68.9 percent of his 235 made field goals.
Bulldogs Reversing Fortunes
Georgia is 4-1 this season in games decided by four points or less.
That's a dramatic difference last season when UGA was 0-6 in such outings, with all six setbacks coming to NCAA tourney teams.
Georgia's non-conference effort in 2018-19 featured four- and two-point setbacks to Temple and Arizona State, respectively.
In SEC play, the Bulldogs dropped four consecutive extremely excruciating losses by a combined nine points between Feb. 16-27 – to LSU (83-79), Mississippi State (68-67), Ole Miss (72-71) and Auburn (78-75).
This season, Georgia defeated Georgia Tech (72-68), Chaminade (80-77), SMU (87-85) and No. 9 Memphis (65-62) before the Bulldogs suffered their first tight-score setback at Missouri (72-69).
Crump Joins, Approaches UGA Top 10s For 3-Point Takes, Makes
Tyree Crump ascended into Georgia's all-time top-10 career leaders in 3-point attempts at Arizona State on Dec. 14 and is closing in on the top 10 for successful shots behind the arc as outlined on the next page.
Crump has 162 3-pointers, leaving him just 10 away from the Bulldogs' current No. 10 tally of Jody Patton.
UGA Career 3FGA Leaders | ||||
Rk. | No. | Player | Seasons | 3FGAs |
1. | 683 | Levi Stukes | 2004-07 | 261 |
5. | 569 | Kenny Gaines | 2013-16 | 213 |
8. | 500 | G.G. Smith | 1996-99 | 193 |
9. | 491 | Tyree Crump | 2016-19 | 162 |
UGA Career 3FG Leaders | ||||
Rk. | No. | Player | Seasons | 3FGs |
1. | 261 | Levi Stukes | 2003-07 | 683 |
4. | 213 | Ezra Williams | 2000-03 | 582 |
213 | Kenny Gaines | 2012-16 | 569 | |
7. | 194 | Dustin Ware | 2008-12 | 536 |
8. | 193 | G.G. Smith | 1995-99 | 500 |
9. | 184 | Bernard Davis | 1990-94 | 453 |
10. | 172 | Jody Patton | 1987-91 | 387 |
11. | 162 | Tyree Crump | 2016-19 | 491 |
Significance of the Memphis Win
While most of the SEC opened league play on Saturday, Jan. 4, Georgia was earning a historic road win at No. 9 Memphis.
That was: 1) just the second road victory over a ranked non-conference foe in 115 seasons of competition for Georgia Basketball; and 2) just the second road win over a ranked foe by any SEC team this season...South Carolina's upset of No. 9 Virginia on Dec. 22 being the other. The victory also represented UGA's first:
• win over a top-10 foe since defeating No. 10 Kentucky, 77-70, on Jan. 8, 2011.
• road win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 5 Kentucky, 65-57, at Rupp Arena on Jan. 17, 2004.
• road win over a ranked, non-conference foe since topping No. 7 Louisville, 73-70 in overtime, on Dec. 29, 1977.
Camara Perfect Against Eagles
Toumani Camara was 8-of-8 from the field against Georgia Southern on Dec. 23, the first time a Bulldog was perfect while attempting that many shots since Jonas Hayes was 8-of-8 versus Florida A&M on Dec. 5, 2003.
Camara also became just the fourth Power 5 player to shoot 100 percent from the field while attempting at least eight shots this season as outlined below.
Power-5 Perfection On FGs | ||
FGs | Player, School | Opp. (Date) |
9-9 | Olivier Sarr, Wake Forest | UNC Asheville (11/13) |
8-8 | Zeke Nnaji, Arizona | San Jose St. (11/14) |
8-8 | Kofi Cockburn, Illinois | Miami (12/2) |
8-8 | Toumani Camara, Georgia | Ga. Southern (12/23) |
The Collegiate Canine Strikes
Donnell Gresham Jr. – the Bulldogs' first graduate transfer – posted back-to-back double-digit scoring tallies against Austin Peay on Dec. 30 and No. 9 Memphis on Jan. 4.
The St. Paul, Minn., native has now reached double figures 33 times as a collegiate canine – 29 as a Northeastern Husky and four as a Georgia Bulldog.
In addition to the APSU and Memphis outings, Gresham also scored 13 points against both The Citadel and Georgia Tech.
Bulldogs Score At Rapid Pace
Georgia averaged 80.8 points per game in non-conference play which ranked No. 22 nationally when the Bulldogs entered SEC play.
Some additional nuggets within the point production prior to opening SEC play include: • UGA scored 91, 95 and 100 points in its first three games – the first time the Bulldogs scored 90 or more three times in a row since 2006. That season, the Bulldogs defeated Gardner-Webb, 96-67, on Dec. 2; No. 16 Gonzaga, 96-83, on Dec. 16; and Jacksonville, 93-77, on Dec. 19.
• UGA had eight 90-point performances in Tom Crean's first 40 games in Athens. The Bulldogs reached the 90-point plateau just eight times in 249 games prior to Crean's arrival.
• UGA had three of SEC's top-10 scoring outputs in non-conference action – the No. 5 mark of 100 points vs. Delaware St. and the co-No. 10 standard of 95 points vs. both The Citadel and N.C. Central.
Dogs' Freshmen Among UGA's Best
Georgia's freshman class features five of the top-100 prospects from 2019 and was consistently ranked among the nation's top recruiting classes – No. 5 by ESPN.com, No. 6 by rivals.com and No. 10 by 247Sports.com.
Headlining the quintet is Anthony Edwards. The Atlanta native, who tabbed the nation's best prospect by some, announced his commitment on national television on Feb. 11. He is the Bulldogs' highest rated recruit ever.
Dominique Wilkins was the most hyped recruit in Georgia history in 1979. Individual rankings for that class are believed to be unavailable, but it also featured future stars such as Ralph Sampson, Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, Clark Kellogg and Sam Bowie.
In the internet age, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the highest ranked player in the 247Sports.com composite to enroll at Georgia at No. 12 in 2011. Louis Williams signed with the Bulldogs as the No. 6 prospect in the nation in the 2005 composite but opted to enter the NBA Draft.
The Bulldogs' highest recruiting class ever was No. 2 in 1992 when UGA inked four top-100 prospects – Shandon Anderson, Terrell Bell, Pertha Robinson and McDonald's All-American Carlos Strong – in the fall and added then added Cleveland Jackson, the National JUCO Player of the Year, in the spring.
Additional top classes at Georgia include those in 1979 and 1980 which featured four McDonald's All-Americans between them – Wilkins and Terry Fair in 1979 and Vern Fleming and James Banks a year later.
UGA's Freshman Class Also Among The Nation's Largest
The Bulldogs' class of nine freshmen – seven scholarship and two walk-ons – ranks as the third-largest in D-I hoops.
Navy, TCU and Utah sport a nation-leading 11 freshmen on their rosters. Air Force has 10 freshmen. In addition to Georgia, Louisville also has nine freshmen.
On this list, "freshman" is defined as a player who is a freshman eligibility wise and competing at that school for the first time this season...so there are some redshirts.
Edwards, Wheeler Star In Debut
Anthony Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler poured in 24 and 19 points, respectively, in the season opener against Western Carolina on Nov. 5 – the second- and third-most points ever by a freshman in their Bulldog debut.
Since NCAA rules changed to allow freshmen to compete in basketball in 1972, 23 Bulldogs have scored in double figures during their first collegiate contest.
Edwards came within a bucket of Dominique Wilkins' school record against Troy on Nov. 30, 1979 as outlined below.
Top Tally Debuts By UGA Freshmen | ||
Year | Player | Points |
1979 | Dominique Wilkins | 26 |
2019 | Anthony Edwards | 24 |
1979 | Terry Fair | 19 |
2019 | Sahvir Wheeler | 19 |
1998 | D.A. Layne | 18 |
2007 | Jeremy Price | 18 |
2004 | Sundiata Gaines | 17 |
2017 | Rayshaun Hammonds | 17 |
2011 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | 15 |
More On Edwards' Opener
Anthony Edwards' 24 points against Western Carolina were the most by a Bulldog in an opener in nearly two decades – since Ezra Williams' 26 versus Furman on Nov. 16, 2001.
"B" Is For Basketball Player
You may have noticed Georgia's roster has gone away from listing traditional basketball positions of guard, forward and center.
Tom Crean is a proponent for "position-less" basketball so players are now simply listed as the position "B"...which stands for "Basketball Player."
"That's what they are," Crean said. "It's not valid to call them centers and forwards and things like that with the way that we're trying to play. They're being trained as basketball players, every day. If you came out there to practice (6-11) Rodney Howard, a lot of times is doing the same things that (5-10) Sahvir Wheeler's doing in the sense of how we train ball handling, driving, shooting...all those type of things. That's what we're recruiting. We're recruiting basketball players."
Georgia Inks Four Standouts
The Bulldogs signed four standouts to letters-of-intent during the NCAA's early signing period, Tom Crean announced on Nov. 18.
Georgia's incoming recruiting class was listed at No. 24 nationally in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
Two in-state prep prospects – Kadarius "K.D." Johnson from Decatur and Josh Taylor from Norcross – and a pair of Eastern Florida State College teammates – Jonathan Ned and Mikal Starks – will play for the Bulldogs beginning next season.
Bulldogs' Schedule Is Maddening
Georgia's 31-game regular-season slate includes 14 games against teams featured in the last preseason edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology released on Nov. 4.
The Bulldogs will host games against seven teams in the predicted field and take on six more away from Stegeman Coliseum.
In Athens, Georgia will entertain Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, N.C. Central and Tennessee.
The Bulldogs met Dayton and Michigan State in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational and will play road games at Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU and Memphis.
Players Mentioned
Georgia Men's Basketball Newell Brothers Feature
Monday, March 24
Georgia Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Coach White, Asa Newell and Silas Demary Jr. Press Conference
Thursday, March 20
Georgia Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Coach White Press Conference
Wednesday, March 19
Georgia Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Silas Demary Jr and Blue Cain Press Conference
Wednesday, March 19