University of Georgia Athletics
2021-22 Georgia Basketball Prospectus
July 19, 2021 | Men's Basketball
New Bulldogs Will Be Key During 2021-22 Campaign
Five returning Bulldogs will welcome 10 newcomers to the Georgia Basketball roster for the 2021-22 season.
The Old Dogs
Graduate P.J. Horne, senior Jonathan Ned, juniors Jaxon Etter and Tyron McMillan and sophomore Josh Taylor comprise the quintet of Bulldogs back from an exciting campaign last winter.
Horne, a Tifton, Ga., native who played his first three seasons at Virginia Tech, was one of only two Georgia players to start all 26 games in 2020-21. Though he was one of the team's most physical post presences, Horne connected on a team-high 46 3-pointers last season. His most memorable shot was well within the arc, however. Horne converted on a layup with just 1.3 seconds remaining to secure a 63-62 win over Kentucky and snap a 14-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
Etter's role for the Bulldogs grew considerably last season. A walk-on, Etter played nominal minutes in nine outings as a freshman. Last season, he logged quality PT in the majority of the 20 contests he checked in to. Etter gave Georgia it first lead – and one it never relinquished – against Samford in non-conference play. He was one of two Bulldogs with a better scoring average in SEC action (3.2 ppg) than overall (2.4 ppg) and also upped his efficiency in conference action, improving from a 63.0 percent overall field goal clip to 71.4 percent effort against league foes.
Ned also drew quality minutes throughout non-conference play, when Georgia raced to a 7-0 start that was the Bulldogs' best beginning since their 1983 run to the NCAA Final Four. Overall, Ned averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 boards while logging action in 14 games. With a year under his belt, Ned, who was rated as the No. 15 junior college prospect in the Class of 2020, will look for bigger and more consistent contributions this winter.
McMillan, who was the No. 11 junior college recruit in the Class of 2020, garnered playing time in 20 games in his first season with the Bulldogs, including a pair of starts versus Samford and Auburn in Athens. After scoring nine points in a combined 41 minutes of Georgia's first 10 SEC outings (with a pair of DNPs), McMillan scored a career-high eight points in just seven minutes in a victory over Vanderbilt.
Two seasons ago, Taylor was the only prep player in 24 Gwinnett County High Schools to average a double-double, scoring 11.7 points and grabbing 10.7 rebounds per game for Norcross High. Taylor, a consensus top-150 recruit nationally in the Class of 2020, will look to significantly increase his contributions in Athens this winter.
New To The "G"
Eligibility wise, the ledger of first-year Bulldogs includes three freshmen (Tyrone Baker, Camron McDowell and Christian Wright), two sophomores (Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Kario Oquendo), one junior (Dalen Ridgnal), two seniors (Noah Baumann and Braelen Bridges) and two "super" sixth-year seniors (Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram).
With the NCAA awarding an extra year for eligibility for the 2020-21 season, Abdur-Rahim, Baumann, Bridges, Oquendo and Ridgnal all have the potential to play one more season than their classification would traditionally indicate.
Abdur-Rahim, a transfer from Virginia, was a consensus four-star and top-50 prospect in the Class of 2020. He was tabbed No. 38 overall by ESPN.com and in the 247Sports.com composite, as well as No. 41 by 247Sports.com and No. 45 by rivals.com. Adbur-Rahim was New Jersey's 2019 Player of the Year, but missed all but two games of his senior season at Blair Academy due to an injury.
Baker played at Hightower High in Missouri City, Texas, as a senior after previously attending at Riverdale High in Fort Myers, Fla. Baker was listed among the nation's top-50 power forwards by ESPN (No. 30) and rivals.com (No. 41). He averaged a double-double during each of those three seasons – 11.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg as a sophomore, 20.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg as a junior and 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds as a senior.
Baumann becomes a Bulldog after two campaigns at San Jose State and one at Southern Cal. He played in 31 games for the Trojans last season, an "Elite Eight" squad that finished ranked No. 9 nationally. Baumann enjoyed two explosive and productive seasons at San Jose State from 2017-19, establishing school records for 3-pointers in a game (8 vs. New Mexico) and season (81 in 2018-19).
Bridges is a Georgia native will join the Bulldogs as a senior from Illinois-Chicago. Bridges played at Union Grove High before two years at Northwest Florida State College and two more at UIC. With the Flames, Bridges started 37 of 49 games played and averaged 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor.
Cook arrives in Athens after helping Gonzaga to a national runner-up finish in 2021. He played in 30 games for the Zags, including all six NCAA Tournament outings. Prior to his successful venture in Spokane, Cook played four seasons at Southern Illinois, including a redshirt campaign in 2019-20. Among the Salukis' all-time career leaders, he left Carbondale ranked No. 10 in steals (138) and No. 17 in assists (258).
Ingram also is a graduate transfer who started 105 of 120 games played at FAU over five seasons, including a medical redshirt campaign. Among the Owls' career statistical leaders, he ranks No. 6 in points (1,334) and No. 3 in rebounds (630). A native of Madison, Ga., Ingram helped Morgan County High to a pair of Class 3A state titles 2014 and 2016 and another runner-up finish in 2015.
McDowell enjoyed a standout senior season at McEachern High, leading the Indians to a 24-5 finish and the semifinals of the Georgia 7A state tourney. He averaged 21.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game en route to earning first-team All-State honors. As a junior, McDowell averaged 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Indians, who finished 22-6 en route to advancing to the state tourney semis.
Oquendo played his best basketball against the stiffest competition in his one season at Florida SouthWestern State College. Overall, he averaged 13.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while connecting on 55.4 percent of his shots from the floor and 40.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. In conference play, Oquendo's contributions improved to 15.3 points and 4.8 boards and his shooting percentages ascended to 57.4 overall and an eye-catching 51.3 percent from 3-point range. In four matchups versus ranked opponents, he averaged 22.0 points and 5.8 rebounds and shot 63.6 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from behind the arc.
Ridgnal is one of only two players to earn All-American honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in both 2020 and 2021. A native of Kansas City, Mo., he was a first-team honoree this season after securing third-team recognition as a freshman. He became just the third two-time All-American in Cowley College's history and the first since 1957. Ridgnal led Cowley College to a runner-up effort in the 2021 NJCAA Tournament, when he led the NJCAA in both total points (611) and total rebounds (371)
Wright was tabbed a three-start prospect for the Class of 2020 before spending last season playing for the post-graduate team at The Skill Factory (TSF) in Atlanta. Before transferring to TSF, Wright played two seasons at Milton High, scoring more than 1,000 points and earning honorable mention All-State as a sophomore in 2017-18. Wright helped the TSF program win the 2021 Phenom Post Graduate National Championship in March, averaging 22.0 points in three games at the tournament.
An Influx Of Statistics
Georgia's five Division I transfers –Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Braelen Bridges, Noah Baumann, Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram – bring with them some hefty combined statistical numbers.
That quintet already has played in 414 games, drawing 258 starts in those contests. They have combined to score 3,354 points, grab 1,246 rebounds, dish out 643 assists, collect 244 steals and swat 116 shots.
Equally impressive is their efficiency shooting the ball in live action. Those newcomers have shots 46.0 percent from the floor, connecting on 1,241 of their 2,698 field goal attempts. From behind the 3-point arc, they are a combined 38.0 percent, knocking down 354 of 931 shots.
While those overall numbers are on par with what Georgia shot last season (45.8 percent), they are a considerable improvement on the Bulldogs' 32.4 percent 3-point effort during 2020-21.
A Familiar Peach State Name
Though Jabri is from New Jersey, the "Abdur-Rahim" is a familiar name in the state of Georgia's basketball circles.
Jabri's father, Shareef, starred at Wheeler High in Marietta before becoming an NBA All-Star and 2000 Olympic Gold medalist.
In addition to his dad, five of Jabri's uncles played college basketball – Amir (SE Louisiana), Muhammad (Detroit Mercy), Tahir (Shaw), Bilal (Southern Miss) and Malik (Newman).
His uncle, Amir, was an assistant coach on Tom Crean's staff for the 2018-19 season before becoming the head coach at Kennesaw State.
The Old Dogs
Graduate P.J. Horne, senior Jonathan Ned, juniors Jaxon Etter and Tyron McMillan and sophomore Josh Taylor comprise the quintet of Bulldogs back from an exciting campaign last winter.
Horne, a Tifton, Ga., native who played his first three seasons at Virginia Tech, was one of only two Georgia players to start all 26 games in 2020-21. Though he was one of the team's most physical post presences, Horne connected on a team-high 46 3-pointers last season. His most memorable shot was well within the arc, however. Horne converted on a layup with just 1.3 seconds remaining to secure a 63-62 win over Kentucky and snap a 14-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
Etter's role for the Bulldogs grew considerably last season. A walk-on, Etter played nominal minutes in nine outings as a freshman. Last season, he logged quality PT in the majority of the 20 contests he checked in to. Etter gave Georgia it first lead – and one it never relinquished – against Samford in non-conference play. He was one of two Bulldogs with a better scoring average in SEC action (3.2 ppg) than overall (2.4 ppg) and also upped his efficiency in conference action, improving from a 63.0 percent overall field goal clip to 71.4 percent effort against league foes.
Ned also drew quality minutes throughout non-conference play, when Georgia raced to a 7-0 start that was the Bulldogs' best beginning since their 1983 run to the NCAA Final Four. Overall, Ned averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 boards while logging action in 14 games. With a year under his belt, Ned, who was rated as the No. 15 junior college prospect in the Class of 2020, will look for bigger and more consistent contributions this winter.
McMillan, who was the No. 11 junior college recruit in the Class of 2020, garnered playing time in 20 games in his first season with the Bulldogs, including a pair of starts versus Samford and Auburn in Athens. After scoring nine points in a combined 41 minutes of Georgia's first 10 SEC outings (with a pair of DNPs), McMillan scored a career-high eight points in just seven minutes in a victory over Vanderbilt.
Two seasons ago, Taylor was the only prep player in 24 Gwinnett County High Schools to average a double-double, scoring 11.7 points and grabbing 10.7 rebounds per game for Norcross High. Taylor, a consensus top-150 recruit nationally in the Class of 2020, will look to significantly increase his contributions in Athens this winter.
New To The "G"
Eligibility wise, the ledger of first-year Bulldogs includes three freshmen (Tyrone Baker, Camron McDowell and Christian Wright), two sophomores (Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Kario Oquendo), one junior (Dalen Ridgnal), two seniors (Noah Baumann and Braelen Bridges) and two "super" sixth-year seniors (Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram).
With the NCAA awarding an extra year for eligibility for the 2020-21 season, Abdur-Rahim, Baumann, Bridges, Oquendo and Ridgnal all have the potential to play one more season than their classification would traditionally indicate.
Abdur-Rahim, a transfer from Virginia, was a consensus four-star and top-50 prospect in the Class of 2020. He was tabbed No. 38 overall by ESPN.com and in the 247Sports.com composite, as well as No. 41 by 247Sports.com and No. 45 by rivals.com. Adbur-Rahim was New Jersey's 2019 Player of the Year, but missed all but two games of his senior season at Blair Academy due to an injury.
Baker played at Hightower High in Missouri City, Texas, as a senior after previously attending at Riverdale High in Fort Myers, Fla. Baker was listed among the nation's top-50 power forwards by ESPN (No. 30) and rivals.com (No. 41). He averaged a double-double during each of those three seasons – 11.4 ppg and 10.7 rpg as a sophomore, 20.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg as a junior and 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds as a senior.
Baumann becomes a Bulldog after two campaigns at San Jose State and one at Southern Cal. He played in 31 games for the Trojans last season, an "Elite Eight" squad that finished ranked No. 9 nationally. Baumann enjoyed two explosive and productive seasons at San Jose State from 2017-19, establishing school records for 3-pointers in a game (8 vs. New Mexico) and season (81 in 2018-19).
Bridges is a Georgia native will join the Bulldogs as a senior from Illinois-Chicago. Bridges played at Union Grove High before two years at Northwest Florida State College and two more at UIC. With the Flames, Bridges started 37 of 49 games played and averaged 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 58.7 percent from the floor.
Cook arrives in Athens after helping Gonzaga to a national runner-up finish in 2021. He played in 30 games for the Zags, including all six NCAA Tournament outings. Prior to his successful venture in Spokane, Cook played four seasons at Southern Illinois, including a redshirt campaign in 2019-20. Among the Salukis' all-time career leaders, he left Carbondale ranked No. 10 in steals (138) and No. 17 in assists (258).
Ingram also is a graduate transfer who started 105 of 120 games played at FAU over five seasons, including a medical redshirt campaign. Among the Owls' career statistical leaders, he ranks No. 6 in points (1,334) and No. 3 in rebounds (630). A native of Madison, Ga., Ingram helped Morgan County High to a pair of Class 3A state titles 2014 and 2016 and another runner-up finish in 2015.
McDowell enjoyed a standout senior season at McEachern High, leading the Indians to a 24-5 finish and the semifinals of the Georgia 7A state tourney. He averaged 21.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game en route to earning first-team All-State honors. As a junior, McDowell averaged 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Indians, who finished 22-6 en route to advancing to the state tourney semis.
Oquendo played his best basketball against the stiffest competition in his one season at Florida SouthWestern State College. Overall, he averaged 13.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while connecting on 55.4 percent of his shots from the floor and 40.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. In conference play, Oquendo's contributions improved to 15.3 points and 4.8 boards and his shooting percentages ascended to 57.4 overall and an eye-catching 51.3 percent from 3-point range. In four matchups versus ranked opponents, he averaged 22.0 points and 5.8 rebounds and shot 63.6 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from behind the arc.
Ridgnal is one of only two players to earn All-American honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in both 2020 and 2021. A native of Kansas City, Mo., he was a first-team honoree this season after securing third-team recognition as a freshman. He became just the third two-time All-American in Cowley College's history and the first since 1957. Ridgnal led Cowley College to a runner-up effort in the 2021 NJCAA Tournament, when he led the NJCAA in both total points (611) and total rebounds (371)
Wright was tabbed a three-start prospect for the Class of 2020 before spending last season playing for the post-graduate team at The Skill Factory (TSF) in Atlanta. Before transferring to TSF, Wright played two seasons at Milton High, scoring more than 1,000 points and earning honorable mention All-State as a sophomore in 2017-18. Wright helped the TSF program win the 2021 Phenom Post Graduate National Championship in March, averaging 22.0 points in three games at the tournament.
An Influx Of Statistics
Georgia's five Division I transfers –Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Braelen Bridges, Noah Baumann, Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram – bring with them some hefty combined statistical numbers.
That quintet already has played in 414 games, drawing 258 starts in those contests. They have combined to score 3,354 points, grab 1,246 rebounds, dish out 643 assists, collect 244 steals and swat 116 shots.
Equally impressive is their efficiency shooting the ball in live action. Those newcomers have shots 46.0 percent from the floor, connecting on 1,241 of their 2,698 field goal attempts. From behind the 3-point arc, they are a combined 38.0 percent, knocking down 354 of 931 shots.
While those overall numbers are on par with what Georgia shot last season (45.8 percent), they are a considerable improvement on the Bulldogs' 32.4 percent 3-point effort during 2020-21.
A Familiar Peach State Name
Though Jabri is from New Jersey, the "Abdur-Rahim" is a familiar name in the state of Georgia's basketball circles.
Jabri's father, Shareef, starred at Wheeler High in Marietta before becoming an NBA All-Star and 2000 Olympic Gold medalist.
In addition to his dad, five of Jabri's uncles played college basketball – Amir (SE Louisiana), Muhammad (Detroit Mercy), Tahir (Shaw), Bilal (Southern Miss) and Malik (Newman).
His uncle, Amir, was an assistant coach on Tom Crean's staff for the 2018-19 season before becoming the head coach at Kennesaw State.
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