Bulldogs Trek To South Carolina To Face Gamecocks

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Game 17: Georgia (12-4, 2-1 SEC) vs. South Carolina (14-2, 2-1 SEC)
Tuesday, January 16 || 9:00 p.m. ET
Colonial Life Arena (18,000) || Columbia, S.C.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, color analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: ESPNU (Roy Philpott, play-by-play; Daymeon Fishback, color analyst)
Video Stream: ESPN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM 387
History: SC leads, 63-59 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - SC, 61-55, on 3/1/23

Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach: Mike White Record at UGA: 28-20 (2nd season) Career Record: 271-148 (13th season)				South Carolina Gamecocks Head Coach: Lamont Paris Record at UT: 25-23 (2nd season) Career Record: 112-95 (7th season)
INDIVIDUAL		TEAM	STATISTIC	TEAM		INDIVIDUAL
Abdur-Rahim	12.9	75.6	Points Per Game	72.9	17.1	Johnson
Anselem-Ibe	.579	.426	Field Goal Pct.	.436	.548	Murray-Boyles
Abdur-Rahim	2.4	8.7	3-Pointers Per Game	8.4	2.1	Johnson
Abdur-Rahim	.427	.356	3-Point Pct.	.336	.400	Cooper
Abdur-Rahim	.895	.709	Free Throw Pct.	.745	.885	Wright
Tchewa	6.5	37.7	Rebounds Per Game	36.9	5.1	Mack
Hill	3.3	12.9	Assists Per Game	14.5	4.3	Cooper
Hill	2.73	1.44	Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.35	3.83	Cooper
Moncrieffe	0.8	3.3	Blocks Per Game	3.1	0.8	Clark
Demary Jr.	1.5	6.4	Steals Per Game	5.1	1.0	Johnson
Thomasson	26.9		Minutes Per Game		32.3	Cooper

The Starting 5...

Georgia makes the roughly three-hour trek on I-20 to Columbia, S.C, to face South Carolina on Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs are 2-0 on the road this season, besting Florida State and Missouri.
Georgia entered the week ranked No. 19 nationally in bench points. The Bulldogs' bench has outscored the its opponents' reserves in 15 of 16 games this season (every contest other than the season opener against Oregon) and sports a scoring margin of +224 (+14.0 ppg).
After shooting 34.4 percent and making 8.0 3-pointers per game in non-conference play, Georgia is shooting 39.8 percent (+5.5 percent) on knocking down 11.7 3s per game (+3.7 3pg) in SEC action.
Georgia's 10-game winning streak, the Bulldogs' longest since the 1947-48 season, was snapped with last Saturday's setback to No. 5 Tennessee.
Georgia was the nation's only Power conference team to face four Power conference foes in its first five outings. Of those, Oregon and Providence are featured in the most recent edition of ESPN's bracketology, while Miami and Wake Forest are the "first teams out" of the projected bracket.

The Opening Tip

Georgia travels to South Carolina on Tuesday night for a 9:00 p.m. matchup between the Bulldogs and the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena.

Georgia is 12-4 overall and 2-1 in SEC play following Saturday's loss to No. 5 Tennessee before a raucous sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum. The setback snapped a pair of 10-game winning streaks – both overall and at home – for the Bulldogs. Georgia's 10-game streak also was the fourth-longest in the nation when it ended.

Georgia is looking to continue a more modest string of success – a two-game road winning streak – in Columbia. The Bulldogs bested Florida State, 68-66, on Nov. 29 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge and then opened SEC play with a 75-68 win at Missouri.

Following a 21-point outburst against the Vols, Jabri Abdur-Rahim slipped past Noah Thomasson atop Georgia's scoring leaders for the season. The senior from South Orange, N.J., is contributing 12.9 ppg, with a single bucket providing the difference between him and Thomasson's 12.8 ppg average. Abdur-Rahim sports team-leading shooting percentages of .427 from 3-point range and and SEC-best .895 at the free throw line.

Two points separate the Bulldogs' third- and fourth-leading scorers as well, with RJ Melendez averaging 9.6 ppg and Justin Hill chipping in 9.5 ppg. Hill has been the best Bulldog in distributing points to teammates. The senior from Houston leads Georgia in assists at 3.5 apg and entered this weed ranked No. 5 in the SEC and No. 46 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.74.

Keeping An Eye On…

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is among UGA's career leaders...
• 5 3FGs from No. 18 Sundiata Gaines
• 6 3FGs from No. 17 Rashad Wright
• 10 3FGs from No. 16 Turtle Jackson
• 34 3FGAs from No. 19 Michael Chadwick

Justin Hill is career statistics wise...
• 34 points from 1,200

RJ Sunahara is
• Playing in his 100th career game against South Carolina
• 1 FGAs from 1000

Noah Thomasson is
• 2 assists from 250

Scouting The Gamecocks

South Carolina enters Tuesday's game at 14-2 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are a perfect 9-0 at home this season.

Meechie Johnson leads South Carolina and is ranked No. 6 in the SEC in scoring at 17.1 ppg. He leads a trio of Gamecocks scoring at a double-digit pace along with B.J. Mack at 13.4 ppg and Miles Stute at 10.2 ppg.

Ta'Lon Cooper paces South Carolina and among SEC leaders is ranked No. 3 in assists (4.31 apg) and No. 2 in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.83).

Series History With S. Carolina

South Carolina leads the all-time series with Georgia, 63-59, including a 39-19 advantage in Columbia. The Bulldogs and Gamecocks split two meetings last season, with each team winning at home.

Most recently last March 1 in Columbia, Georgia dropped a 61-55 decision in the regular-season finale.

Georgia trailed by one with four seconds left before the Gamecocks converted on 5-of-6 free throws to round out the scoring. Following eight ties and seven lead changes, the Gamecocks went up for good on a pair of free throws with 40 seconds remaining in the clock.

Earlier on Jan. 28 in Athens, Georgia defeated the Gamecocks, 81-78, in overtime to snap a 12-game losing skid to South Carolina.

Mardez McBride came off the bench to score what was then a season-high 17 points and lead Georgia at a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum.

Kario Oquendo added 16 points, Frank Anselem notched a career-best 12 points and Terry Roberts chipped in 10.

Georgia rallied from a double-digit deficit with 6:31 remaining to force overtime and then improve to 11-1 at home on the season. A three-point play by Oquendo at the 6:23 mark started a 10-0 surge that knotted the score at 62-62 just 68 seconds later.

Oquendo scored all eight of Georgia's points in OT, including going 6-of-8 from the line.

Last Time Out

Jabri Abdur-Rahim topped a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures and Georgia led by as many as 11 in the second half; however, No. 5 Tennessee rallied for an 85-79 win before a sellout crowd at Stegeman Coliseum last Saturday.

The Volunteers gradually built a 14-point first-half lead before the Bulldogs exploded on a combined 15-0 run over the last 3:47 of the first half and the opening 34 seconds of the second stanza to go up 43-42.

Georgia's lead maxed out at 11 points twice, lastly at 75-64 at the 6:24 mark. Tennessee then closed out the contest on a 21-4 surge.

The loss ended the Bulldogs' 10-game winning streak, which equaled the fourth-longest in 118 seasons of Georgia Basketball and was UGA's longest since the 1947-48 campaign.

"Let's see how we handle some adversity," head coach Mike White said. "It's been a while. But also, let's not ever be thrilled about a loss. We played them close. We had a chance. The people that say, 'That's a great effort' – that's not what we are about. We're trying to win those. Let's be positive about the positive things that we did, and let's continue to work to get better at the things we need to get better at."

Georgia Looks To Extend A More Modest Streak

The Bulldogs are 2-0 on the road this season, winning at Florida State during the ACC/SEC Challenge and at Missouri to open SEC play.

The last time Georgia won back-to-back road games was during the 2017-18 season when the Bulldogs defeated Cal State Fullerton in the Wooden Legacy on Nov. 23 and then beat Marquette on Dec. 2.

The last time Georgia won back-to-back road games against Power conference teams was during the 2016-17 campaign when the Bulldogs topped Tennessee on Feb. 11 and knocked off Alabama on Feb. 23.

Did We Mention We're 2-0 On The Road

Georgia is 2-0 in road games this season.

"Good for you" would probably be the best passive aggressive condescending response.

It is good for the Bulldogs, considering they were a combined 1-20 on the road the past two seasons, 0-10 in 2021-22 and 1-10 in 2022-23.

Bulldogs, Gamecocks Doing Better Than Projected

Granted, we're only three games into SEC play; however, Georgia and South Carolina would have to be off to what's considered surprising starts in league action.

The Bulldogs and Gamecocks were predicted to finish 12th and 14th, respectively, in the league this season in a preseason poll of selected national and league media. Both UGA and USC are currently 2-1 in the SEC and among a six-team logjam for second in league standings.

Bulldogs' Bench Providing Productivity

Georgia enters this week ranked No. 19 nationally in benching scoring, with the Bulldogs' reserves contributing 30.4 points per game.

Georgia's reserves have outscored their counterparts in every outing since the season opener. After being outscored 28-22 in bench points by Oregon, the Bulldogs now sport a +224 scoring margin – a 230-point swing and a massive differential of +15.3 ppg in Georgia's last 15 outings.

The Bulldogs' bench had been even more impressive in SEC play. Georgia's reserves are +60, an easy to equate 20.0 ppg against Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Bulldogs' Stats Trending Upward In SEC Play

Generally, team's statistical performances slip slightly once Southeastern Conference play starts...the whole tougher competition thing.

On the contrary, the vast majority Georgia's stats have improved over the Bulldogs' non-conference numbers as outlined below.

While we know three games is a very small sample size, Georgia is:
• One of four teams with a higher scoring offense in SEC play.
• One of four teams with a higher 3-point field goal percentage in SEC outings.
• One of five teams making more 3-pointers per game against SEC competition.
• One of three teams averaging more assists in league games.
• One of five teams with a better assist-to-TO ratio versus SEC teams.
• One of three teams with a better turnover margin in league contests.

Stat	Non	SEC
UGA's SEC Increases
Scoring Offense	75.4	75.7
3FG Pct.	.344	.398
3FGs Per Game	8.0	11.7
3FG Pct. Def.	.301	.273
Free Throw Pct.	.696	.773
Assists	12.8	13.0
Assist-to-TO ratio	1.14	1.15
Turnover margin	0.8	1.0

White Begins SEC Slates With Wins

Georgia started SEC play with victories in both of Mike White's first two seasons at UGA, winning at Missouri, 75-68, on Jan. 6 and topping No. 22 Auburn, 76-64, a year ago.

White is the first Georgia men's basketball coach to begin SEC play with a 1-0 record in his first two seasons since...Ralph "Shug" Jordan during the 1946-47 and 1947-48 campaigns. Jordan left Athens in 1951 to become the head football coach at Auburn, his alma mater, where he is now a namesakes of the school's Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Dogs' Ball Security Takes Dramatic Turn

During Georgia's first eight games – through the Mercer game on Dec. 1 – the Bulldogs delivered 87 assists while committing 94 turnovers. That equates to an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.93.

During Georgia's last eight games, the Bulldogs have dished out 119 assists while committing just 86 turnovers. That equates to a much healthier assist-to-TO effort of 1.38.

"Don't Look, Ethel!"...Of Steaks and Stuff

Georgia put together a 10-game winning streak from Nov. 24-Jan. 10, tying the fourth-longest in program history as outlined below.

Within their 12-3 start, the Bulldogs were 10-0 at Stegeman, equaling the seventh-longest home winning streak as outlined below and the fifth-longest home streak since Georgia moved into the Coliseum in 1964.

Rk.	Season	No.
UGA Winning Streaks
1.	1912-13 & 1913-14	16
2.	1930-31	13
3.	1947-48	11
4.	2023-24	10
	1930-31	10
6.	2010-11	9
	1982-83	9
	1923-24	9

Rk.	Season(s)	No.
UGA Home Streaks
1.	1912-13 & 1913-14	16
2.	1930-31	13
3.	1947-48	11
4.	2023-24	10
	1930-31	10
6.	2010-11	9
	1982-83	9
	1923-24	9

A Very "Maddening" Schedule

Georgia's 31-game regular-season slate includes 13 matchups – 41.9 percent – against teams featured in the most recent edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology. In addition, the Bulldogs played both Wake Forest and Miami, the first two "teams out" of ESPN's current bracket.

Double-Digit Win Totals Before The New Year Are Rare

Georgia's 10 wins in November and December represented just the fifth time in program history that the Bulldogs notched a double-digit victory total before the calendar flipped. Three of the previous four teams went on to earn NCAA Tournament bids.

White's Teams Strong In Stegeman...Now And Then

Georgia is 10-1 at Stegeman Coliseum this season, upping the Bulldogs' home record to 23-5 (.821) under head coach Mike White during his two campaigns in Athens.

A year ago, Georgia won its first 10 home games and eventually finished 13-4 at Stegeman, matching Georgia's the second-most regular-season home victories ever.

White's success at Stegeman isn't limited to his time on the Bulldogs' bench. He was 7-1 in the arena as a visiting head coach. White led Louisiana Tech to an NIT victory over Georgia at Stegeman in 2014 and was 6-1 against the Bulldogs in seven seasons at Florida from 2015-22.

All told, White is now 30-6 as a head coach at Stegeman, a sizzling 83.3 winning percentage.

Jabri Among Best Bulldogs At The Line

Jabri Abdur-Rahim already owns spots among Georgia's best game, season and career leaders among the Bulldogs' best free throw shooters ever.

Abdur-Rahim's school-record 10-of-10 effort against Mount St. Mary's represented the 15th time a Bulldog converted on all nine or more FTs in a single contest.

A minimum of 50 made FTs are required for inclusion on the Bulldogs' single-season leaders ledger. Abdur-Rahim surpassed that standard during the Mount St. Mary's game, just the 11th outing of the season. He has now connected on 68-of-76 (.895) free throws, equals the third-best percentage in school history as outlined to the right.

A minimum of 125 made free throws are needed to be featured among UGA's career FT percentage leaders. Abdur-Rahim has made 188-of-228 FTs while at Georgia, a sizzling 82.0 percent that currently has him at No. 4 all-time among Bulldogs as outlined to the right.

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Career FT Percentage Leaders
1.	Channing Toney ('05)	.910
2.	Joe Ward ('84)	.902
3.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.895
4.	J.J. Frazier ('17)	.886
5.	Lanny Taylor ('70)	.864

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Career FT Percentage Leaders
1.	J.J. Frazier	.841
2.	Dick McIntosh	.831
3.	Juwan Parker	.828
4.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.825
5.	Jerry Epling	.822

BEWARE: Barking Bench Means Bulldogs May Bite

Getting "three stops in a row" is an extremely popular analytical indicator quoted by basketball coaches competing on just about every level. At Georgia, a sequence of three stops in a row is recorded as a "bite" for the Bulldogs.

If you notice various members of the bench barking loudly while Georgia is on the defensive end of the floor, that indicates that the Bulldogs have already posted two consecutive defensive stops and are just shy of taking a "bite" out of their opponent's offensive efforts.

A Challenging Slate Out Of The Gate

Georgia was the only Power conference team to open the 2023-24 season with back-to-back outings against other Power conference programs. The Bulldogs began the year against Oregon in a Naismith Hall of Fame Series date at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas before hosting Wake Forest.

The Power heavy schedule didn't stop there. Georgia played four of its first five, five of its first seven and six of its first nine games against Power conference foes.

Georgia faced Miami, a 2023 Final Four participant, in the opening round of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship followed by Providence, another NCAA Tournament team last March.

The Bulldogs other two Power conference dates in non-conference action were both versus ACC competition – wins at Florida State on Nov. 29 and over Georgia Tech on Dec. 5.

All told, 24 of Georgia's 31 regular-season games (.774) are against Power conference teams.

A Very "Maddening" Schedule

Georgia is not only playing Power conference teams, it's playing really good Power conference teams – at least according to Joe Lunardi.

The Bulldogs' 31-game regular-season slate includes 13 matchups against teams featured in the most recent edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology. In addition, Georgia also played Oregon, Lunardi's "first team out" of the bracket, in the season opener and defeated Eastern Kentucky, a 14th team projected into the NCAA bracket, in a preseason exhibition.

Cain, Demary Make Their Marks In Collegiate Debuts

Blue Cain and Silas Demary Jr. made key contributions for Georgia in their collegiate debuts against Oregon in the Naismith Hall of Fame Classic.

Demary became the first true freshman to get a starting nod for the Bulldogs in a season opener since Anthony Edwards in 2019. The Raleigh, N.C., native produced a thorough linescore of eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Cain became the first true freshman to notch a double-digit scoring output in the season opener since Edwards and Sahvir Wheeler did so in 2019. Cain posted 12 points off the bench by connecting on 5-of-11 shots from the field and matched Demary for the team high with two steals.

Georgia Signs Top-10 Prospect Asa Newell

Georgia opened the NCAA's early signing period with a bang on Nov. 6 when the Bulldogs signed Asa Newell, the No. 8 overall prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2024.

Newell is the fifth top-100 prospect to sign with Georgia in the last two classes.

The younger brother of current Bulldog Jaden Newell, Asa is a 6-10, 215-pound power forward and a consensus five-star recruit. Asa is the second-highest ESPN.com and third-highest 247Sports.com ranked recruit to sign with Georgia during the internet era. He trails only Anthony Edwards (No. 4 in 2019) on the ESPN.com ledger and only Edwards (No. 2) and Lou Williams (No.6 in 2005) in the 247Sports.com composite. Edwards went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, while Williams elected to turn pro and has enjoyed a 17-year NBA career that includes three NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards.

Newell was a member of USA National Teams for FIBA World Cup tournaments during the past two summers, helping the USA capture a Gold Medal at the 2022 U17 tourney in Malaga, Spain and finish fourth at the 2023 U19 event in Debrecen, Hungary.

Newell is in his second season at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., which finished 23-3 and finished No. 2 nationally in the SCNext Top 25 high school boys' basketball rankings last season.

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.

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.

Bulldogs Tops A-Sun Favorite EKU In Exhibition

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.

EKU returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from a 23-14. The Colonels are the preseason favorite of both media and coaches to win the Atlantic Sun Conference this season and have been a consistent member of ESPN's Bracketology throughout the summer and preseason.

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.

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.

Designer Genes

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, 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 brother, Asa, the No. 8 overall prospect in 247Sports.com Class of 2024 composite rankings, has signed to join him in Athens next season.

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

Terry Roberts

RJ Sunahara

Russel Tchewa

Noah Thomasson