Men's Basketball Tips Off Against Oregon

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (0-0) vs. Oregon (0-0)
Monday, November 6 at 4:30 p.m. ET
T-Mobile Arena (18,000) - Las Vegas, Nev.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, color analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: TruTV (Spero Dedes, play-by-play; Grant Hill, color analyst; Allie LaForce, sideline reporter)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM 381
History: Oregon leads, 1-0 (Full History)
Last Meeting: Oregon, 87-74, on 12/20/75

The Starting 5...

Georgia christens its 119th basketball season on Monday when the Bulldogs face Oregon in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Bulldogs finished third KenPom.com's tempo ranking of SEC teams in conference play during the 2022-23 season...and look to play at an even quicker pace in 2023-24.
Last season, Georgia upped its win total from the 2021-22 campaign by 10 victories, which equaled the second-biggest increase in regular-season wins by any Power 5 program.
Georgia's freshman and transfer recruiting classes both were ranked as high as No. 11. The Bulldogs were only one of three teams to have both of those groups ranked top-20 nationally by On3.com.
Georgia's four returning letterwinners include Bulldogs who led the team in the following stats last season – Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (5.1 rpg), Jabri Abdur-Rahim (1.4 3FGs per game, .387 3-pointer pct. and .818 FT pct) and Frank Anselem-Ibe (0.7 bpg).

The Opening Tip

The Georgia Bulldogs open their 2023-24 campaign on Monday afternoon when they venture to Las Vegas to face the Oregon Ducks in a Naismith Hall of Fame Series matchup at T-Mobile Arena. The contest will tip at 4:30 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on truTV.

Georgia's 16-player roster features six returnees (four letterwinners), five transfers and five freshmen.

In head coach Mike White's first season in Athens last winter, the Bulldogs upped their win total from the previous season by 10. That double-digit tally equaled the second-highest increase of victories among all Power 5 programs in 2022-23.

Series History With the Ducks

Georgia and Oregon have met only once before on the hardwood, in the consolation game of Indiana's 1975 IU Classic. The Ducks secured an 87-74 victory in that matchup.

Oregon led 39-36 at the half, and the contest remained tight throughout most of the second stanza before the Ducks finally gained some distance by outscoring the Bulldogs 19-11 over the final 5:47 of the evening.

The previous day, Georgia face top-ranked Indiana in the opening round. The Bulldogs dropped a 93-56 decision that also served as the 200th victory – of the eventual 902 – during Bob Knight's head coaching career. Of note, those Hoosiers also were the last Division I men's basketball team to finish undefeated. Oregon fell, 87-60, to Virginia Tech in the Ducks' first-round matchup at Assembly Hall.

Scouting The Ducks

Oregon returns eight letterwinners from last season's team, which finished 21-15 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

The Ducks welcome back their top-two scorers from that squad – N'Faly Dante at 13.4 ppg and Jermaine Couisnard at 12.8 ppg. Dante also paced Oregon in rebounding (8.4 rpg), field goal percentage (.614) and blocked shots (1.4 bpg) in 2022-23.

Oregon welcomed eight newcomers to its roster – four transfers and four freshmen.

The Ducks' freshman class was ranked among the nation's top 10 be every recruiting service and includes three top-100 prospects – Kwame Evans Jr., Mookie Cook and Jackson Shelstad.

The transfers include former Bulldog Kario Oquendo, Mahamadou Diawara from Stetson, Jadrian Tracy from St. Joe's and Jesse Zarzuela from Central Michigan.

I know That Dude...And That one Too!

Oregon's roster includes two former Bulldogs.

Kario Oquendo played for Georgia during the past two seasons before transferring to the Ducks. Oquendo started 59 of 60 games played and scored 840 points for the Bulldogs, averaging 15.2 ppg in 2021-22 and 12.7 ppg in 2022-23. He recorded 43 double-digit scoring outputs, including 14 20-point contests and a career-high 33 point at Texas A&M on Feb. 22, 2022.

Oregon assistant coach Brian Fish served as the Bulldogs' Director of Player Development for two seasons from 2019-21.

Last Time Out

Six Bulldogs scored in double figures at Georgia defeated Eastern Kentucky, 99-82, in an exhibition game benefiting the American Red Cross at Stegeman Coliseum on Oct. 30.

RJ Melendez Georgia with 21 points and added nine rebounds, while Russell Tchewa notched a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Noah Thomasson added 15 points and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr. all chipped in 12.

As a team, Georgia shot 54.8 percent from the field.

"I thought we did some good things and we've got a lot to work on," head coach Mike White said. "I was very pleased with their tenacity defensively, and progression and tempo offensively. It was a really fast-paced game."

Georgia opened the game with a 6-0 surge 73 seconds into the contest and lead throughout the entire opening half. The Bulldogs kept the Colonels at bay, ending the half on a 13-3 run and carrying a 21-point lead headed into the locker room. From there, Georgia controlled the second half and was ahead by as many as 24 points.

Bulldogs In Season Openers

Georgia has compiled an 85-33 record in opening contests of the Bulldogs' 118 seasons of basketball. That includes an even more impressive 39-6 mark in openers at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs' matchup with Oregon marks the first time Georgia will play a season opener away from Athens since a 74-64 loss at Clemson on Nov. 11, 2016. Georgia last began the season at a neutral site on Nov. 18, 2005, when the Bulldogs fell of Old Dominion, 74-65, in the opening round of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

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

Mike White In Season Openers

Georgia head coach Mike White has a 9-3 mark in season openers during his coaching career as outlined to the right.

White was 2-2 in initial outings at Louisiana Tech and then 6-1 in the first contests at Florida. He began his tenure with the Bulldogs by besting Western Carolina, 68-55, last season in Athens.

Both Packs of New Bulldogs Highly Rated

Georgia was one of three programs with both its freshman and transfer recruiting classes ranked among the nation's top-20 groups by On3.com. The Bulldogs' five transfer were tabbed as at No. 11, while the freshmen were featured at No. 18.

All four of Georgia's freshmen were rated as top-100 prospects in the Class of 2023 by various recruiting services. The highest rankings were: Blue Cain at No. 53 by On3.com, Silas Demary Jr. at No. 56 by Rivals.com, Dylan James at No. 78 in the 247Sports.com and Mari Jordan at No. 87 by ESPN.com.

As a class, the freshman were ranked No. 11 by Rivals.com, No. 15 in the 247Sports.com composite, No. 18 by On3.com and No. 20 by 247Sports.com. Georgia's freshmen were the second-highest ranked class in the SEC 247Sports.com's composite ledger of the average ranking of those recruiting services. Ten of 14 SEC schools were ranked among the nation's top-50 freshman classes in the 247Sports.com composite as outlined to the left.

A "March Madness" Pedigree

Seven Georgia players have played in the NCAA Tournament at previous schools.

Third-year Bulldog Jabri Abdur-Rahim was a member of Virginia's roster in 2021 when the Cavaliers won the ACC regular-season title en route to March Madness.

Frank Anselem-Ibe, Justin Hill and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, who are in their second seasons in Athens, also reached the Big Dance. Anselem-Ibe helped Syracuse reach the 2021 Sweet 16. Hill led Longwood to the 2022 tournament. Moncrieffe played in the 2021 NCAA Tournament while at Syracuse.

Georgia newcomers Jalen DeLoach, RJ Melendez and RJ Sunahara bring NCAA Tournament experience as well. DeLoach helped VCU earn an NCAA bid last spring. Melendez was on Illinois teams that reached the 2022 and 2023 tourneys. Sunahara played in a trio of Division II tournaments at Nova Southeastern, including the Sharks perfect 36-0 march to the 2023 national title.

In addition, Russel Tchewa's Texas Tech team was on the NCAA bubble in 2020 before the championship was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sunahara Takes One For the Team...accepts new nickname

It's not uncommon for basketball teams to have multiple players with the same first name, but that usually occurs with a rather common name. When a pair of "RJ's" transferred to Georgia during the offseason, it left the coaching staff scratching their heads.

"We're going to have to figure this out," Mike White quipped to the media when discussing the Bulldogs' summer trip to Italy.

It didn't take long for RJ Sunahara to become "Sunny"...at least while he's on the basketball court. Even though his name is pronounced "soon-ah-hara," the 2023 Division II National Player of the Year is now "Sunny." Actually, the nickname fits quite well with Sunahara's Hawaiian heritage.

Forza dogs...Georgia's Tour of Italy

Georgia got a jump on preparations for the 2023-24 season during the summer when the Bulldogs ventured to Italy for a three-game international tour from July 20-29.

On the the hardwood, Georgia defeated different teams from the Italian Club Orange Basket Bassano by 39.3 points per game. Each Bulldog dressed out for two of the three games, with nine different players recording one or more double-figure scoring outputs.

Away from basketball, Georgia spent four days in Rome, one day in Florence and two days in Sorrento. The team toured the traditional sites such as Vatican City, The Colosseum, The Forum, Pompeii, Amalfi and Positano. The Bulldogs also enjoyed a cooking class where they prepared – and then dined on – their own pasta and tiramisu.

All In The Family

We believe that Georgia Basketball's family tree may be the most athletic in the country. Almost every Bulldog has immediate family who competed at the collegiate or professional levels, including:

Jabri Abdur-Rahim – his dad, Shareef, was a 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2002 NBA All-Star and current president of the NBA's G League; and five of his uncles (Amir, Muhammad, Tahir, Bilal and Malik) played college basketball.

Blue Cain – his mom, the former Myriah Lonergan, played basketball at George Washington and is in GWU's Athletic Hall of Fame; his dad, Chris, played golf at Duke; and his sister, Sophie, is a senior setter on Appalachian State's volleyball team.

Jalen DeLoach – his brother, Kalen, is in his third season as a starting linebacker at Florida State; and his sister, Taylor, was a Big Ten champion in the 400-meter relay at Ohio State.

Silas Demary Jr. – his dad, Silas Sr., played at Virginia State and was the 2005 Arena Football League Defensive Player of the Year for the L.A. Avengers.

Justin Hill – his dad, Keith, played basketball at Michigan State and New Mexico State, where he helped the Aggies reach the NCAA Tourney; his mom, the former Donna Holt (pictured above), played basketball at Virginia, where she was 1988 ACC Player of the Year and was named to the ACC's Silver Anniversary team in 2002;

Dylan James – his brother, Dorian, is a redshirt senior of North Florida's basketball team; and two additional siblings – brother Darius and sister Charla – played basketball at Lynn University.

Markel Jennings – is distant cousins on his dad's side with NFL players Vernon and Vontae Davis, who both were multiple Pro Bowl selections.

Brandon Klatsky – his dad, Brian, played college basketball at DIII Skidmore; and his brother, Alex, is a redshirt senior on Florida's basketball team.

Jaden Newell – his . . . oops, we can't say anything about that until Nov. 8.

RJ Sunahara – his dad, Reed, was a two-time All-American in volleyball at UCLA and is the current women's volleyball coach at West Virginia; his mom, the former Laura Rekstis, played volleyball at Cincinnati; his grandfather, Peter Rekstis, played football at Cincinnati; his uncle, Chet Moeller, played football at Navy and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Noah Thomasson – his dad, Leon, played football at Texas Southern and for the Atlanta Falcons; and he's distant cousins with Spud Webb on his mom's size.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jabri Abdur-Rahim

Frank Anselem-Ibe

Blue Cain

Jalen DeLoach

Silas Demary Jr.

Justin Hill

Dylan James

Markel Jennings

Brandon Klatsky

RJ Melendez

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

Jaden Newell

Kario Oquendo

RJ Sunahara

Russel Tchewa

Noah Thomasson