Dogs Host No. 24/22 Alabama At Stegeman

Wednesday, January 31

Athens, Ga.

6:30 p.m.

University of Georgia

Alabama

January 30, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Game 21: Georgia (14-6, 4-3 SEC) vs. No. 24/22 Alabama (14-6, 6-1 SEC)
Wednesday, January 31 || 6:30 p.m. ET
Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) in Athens, Ga.
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Sports Network (Flagship: WSB AM 750); (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, color analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer) | Affiliates
TV: SEC Network (Eric Freed, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, color analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM 106 or 190
History: UA leads, 99-54 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - UA, 108-59 on 2/18/23

Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach: Mike White Record at UGA: 30-22 (2nd season) Career Record: 273-150 (13th season)				Alabama Crimson Tide Head Coach: Nate Oats Record at UA: 106-48 (5th season) Career Record: 202-91 (9th season)
INDIVIDUAL		TEAM	STATISTIC	TEAM		INDIVIDUAL
Abdur-Rahim	13.4	77.3	Points Per Game	89.7	20.0	Sears
Tchewa	.542	.434	Field Goal Pct.	.486	.702	Pringle
Abdur-Rahim	2.4	8.3	3-Pointers Per Game	11.4	2.3	Sears
Abdur-Rahim	.400	.351	3-Point Pct.	.389	.461	Walters
Abdur-Rahim	.871	.716	Free Throw Pct.	.791	1.000	Wrightsell Jr.
Tchewa	6.9	36.9	Rebounds Per Game	39.8	6.0	Nelson
Hill	3.7	12.7	Assists Per Game	15.8	4.0	Estrada
Hill	2.52	1.12	Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.25	1.67	Estrada
Anselem	0.9	3.6	Blocks Per Game	4.2	1.4	Nelson
Demary Jr.	1.5	6.7	Steals Per Game	7.4	1.6	Sears
Abdur-Rahim	27.2		Minutes Per Game		30.6	Sears

The Starting 5...

Georgia returns to the friendly – and increasingly more raucous – confines of Stegeman Coliseum on Wednesday evening to host No. 24/22 Alabama.
Georgia entered the week ranked No. 15 nationally in bench points at 31.4 ppg. The Dogs' reserves have won the bench point battle in 18 of 20 games and sport a scoring margin of +292 (+14.6 ppg).
Georgia is one of two teams with a higher scoring offense in SEC games over non-conference play. The Bulldogs put up 75.4 ppg in 13 non-league games before averaging 80.9 in SEC outings (+5.4 ppg).
Georgia is the only team with five players averaging double digits in SEC play – Jabri Abdur-Rahim (13.9), RJ Melendez (13.4), Silas Demary Jr. (12.4), Noah Thomasson (11.1) and Justin Hill (10.4).
After compiling an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.93 (87-to-94) in the first eight games, Georgia's effort has improved considerably to 1.26 (167-133) in the last 12 outings.

The Opening Tip

Georgia returns Stegeman Coliseum and its noticeably enhanced atmosphere on Wednesday night to host No. 24/22 Alabama in an SEC Network televised matchup.

Georgia is 11-1 at home this season, improving to 24-5 during head coach Mike White's two campaigns with the Bulldogs. The moving of UGA's student section to touch the playing floor level of the arena prior to this season has produced the intended and desired results. Through three SEC home dates, the student section has been at 132 percent of capacity (we'll explain that later).

Georgia is currently 14-6 overall and 4-3 in SEC play – two victories shy of matching the Bulldogs' overall and SEC win totals from a year ago with 11 regular-season outings remaining.

The 2023-24 campaign has been a streaky one for Georgia.

The Bulldogs put together a 10-game winning streak from Nov. 24-Jan. 10, their longest string of success in 75 years since the 1947-48 season.

Georgia also won 10 consecutive games at Stegeman Coliseum, matching the Dogs' seventh-longest home winning streak ever and their fifth-longest since moving into the Coliseum in 1964.

Georgia won its first three road outings at Florida State, Missouri and South Carolina. The modest three-game winning streak made the Bulldogs – who were a combined 1-20 on the road over the past two seasons – one of the last five (of 362) D-I teams with an undefeated road record.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim leads a trio of Bulldogs scoring at a double-digit pace for Georgia at 13.4 ppg, largely due to shooting team-high percentages of .400 from 3-point range and .871 at the free throw line. Noah Thomasson and RJ Melendez are contributing 11.9 ppg and 11.1 ppg, respectively. Silas Demary Jr. is literally one bucket shy of averaging double digits with 198 points (9.9 ppg).

Georgia is the only league team with five players averaging double digits in SEC games – Jabri Abdur-Rahim (13.9 ppg), RJ Melendez (13.4 ppg), Silas Demary Jr. (12.4 ppg), Noah Thomasson (11.1 ppg) and Justin Hill (10.4 ppg).

Keeping An Eye On…

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is among UGA's career leaders...
• 6 3FGs from No. 15 Terrance Woodbury
• 17 3FGs from co-No. 13s Ty Wilson and Ray Harrison
• 3 3FGAs from No. 19 Michael Chadwick
• 21 3FGAs from No. 18 Rashad Wright

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

Scouting The Tide

Alabama, which is ranked No. 24 and No. 22 in this week's AP and coaches polls, respectively, arrives in Athens sporting records of 14-6 overall an SEC-leading 6.1 in conference play. The Tide's lone league setback was at No. 6 Tennessee.

Mark Sears is the SEC's second-leading scorer...by a single point. Sears' average of 19.95 is just behind Wade Taylor IV of Texas A&M. Among conference leaders, Sears also is No. 5 in field goal percentage, No. 7 in assists, No. 7 in free throw percentage, No. 10 in steals, No. 6 in 3-pointers per game and No. 14 in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Aaron Estrada is adding 12.9 ppg, Grant Nelson is chipping in 12.1 ppg and a team-high 6.0 rpg and Rylan Griffen is putting up 10.7 ppg.

Series History With Bama

Despite the series being tied in Athens, 33-33, Alabama sports 99-54 advantage in all-time meetings between the Bulldogs and the Tide.

Last season on Feb. 18 in Tuscaloosa, Justin Hill's 17-point performance, his fifth-consecutive double-figure output, led Georgia in a 108-59 loss at No. 1 Alabama.

The Tide made their first three shots of the day – all 3-pointers – over the first 110 seconds to race to a 9-2 lead and never looked back.

In Bama's last trip to Athens on Jan. 25, 2022, Aaron Cook's 15-point performance led a quartet of Bulldogs in double figures during an 82-76 win over the Tide. The victory was Georgia's lone SEC win of the 2021-22 season.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Braelen Bridges added 13 points apiece and Kario Oquendo chipped in 11 for Georgia, which snapped an eight-game losing skid with the victory.

The Bulldogs surged ahead late in the contest, outscoring the Tide 20-10 over the final 5:12. Abdur-Rahim started the spurt by connecting on a trio of free throws.

Last Time Out

Florida withstood a furious Georgia rally and then secured a 102-98 overtime victory over the Bulldogs last Saturday at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville.

Georgia trailed by as many as 21 points four times in the second half, lastly at 68-47 with 12:52 remaining. After Florida led 77-61 at the 7:47 mark, the Bulldogs outscored the Gators 24-8 during the rest of regulation to knot the score at 85-85. The Gators outscored Georgia, 13-7, in OT.

RJ Melendez exploded for a career-high 35 points off the bench to lead the Bulldogs, while Russel Tchewa notched his second-straight double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Reserves Blue Cain (14) and Justin Hill (11) also scored in double figures as Georgia outscored the Gators in bench points, 62-15.

"I think these comebacks start with our guys individually," head coach Mike White said. "Who they are, in terms of their character and especially their basketball character. These guys just continue to fight. When you're out of character there for a few minutes, when you're getting beat to lose balls and offensive rebounds, and you find yourself in a big hole, to me that's uncharacteristic of who this group is. We get back in character when a couple of good things happen for you. It was a heck of a fight by our guys."

Melendez Has Bulldogs' Biggest Game Ever Off Bench...We Think

RJ Melendez's 35-point performance at Florida last Saturday tied the 20th-highest single-game output ever by a Georgia Bulldog. It may be the most points ever by a Bulldog off the bench.

Box scores determined the vast majority of the scoring efforts tied with and ahead of Melendez were done by starters. In fact, there are only five performances where research as yet to confirm were accomplished by starters as outlined below.

It's hard to fathom that Alfred Scott did not start Georgia's 122-2 win over Southeast Christian on Jan. 12, 1918. FYI, that performance stands as the largest margin of victory by any Division I team.

Jacky Dorsey was known to start throughout his career in Athens; however, box scores for the two games haven't been located...we've emailed LSU and Southern Miss, by the way.

Zippy Morocco's two contests came during the same season when he set what was the SEC's season scoring record, 590 points and...we've emailed Alabama and Tennessee too.

Pts.	Player, Opponent, Date
Did He Start??
62	Alfred Scott vs. SE Christian (1/12/1918)
43	Jacky Dorsey vs. So. Miss (12/21/74)
41	Jacky Dorsey vs. LSU (1/20/75)
38	Zippy Morocco vs. Tennessee (2/25/53)
37	Zippy Morocco vs. Alabama (1/10/53)

Bulldogs' Bench Providing Productivity

Georgia entered this week ranked No. 15 nationally in benching scoring at 31.4 ppg.

The Bulldogs' reserves have outscored their counterparts in 18 of 20 games – every outing other than versus Oregon and at No. 8/10 Kentucky.

After being outscored 28-22 in bench points by the Ducks, Georgia's outscored its counterparts in 16 straight games. Despite Kentucky's 31-25 advantage in bench scoring, the Bulldogs still sport an impressive +292 scoring margin in bench points – an advantage of +14.6 ppg.

The bench has been even more impressive in SEC play. Through seven contests, Georgia's reserves are +128 (+18.3 ppg) versus league competition.

Dogs' Stats Trending Upward In SEC Play

Generally, team's statistical performances slip slightly once SEC play starts...the whole tougher competition thing. To the contrary, several of Georgia's stats have improved over the Bulldogs' non-conference numbers as outlined below.

The Bulldogs are:
• One of two teams scoring more points in SEC play.
• One of two teams with a better TO margin in SEC games.
• One of three teams shooting a higher field goal percentage against conference foes.
• One of four teams with a higher 3-point field goal percentage in SEC outings.
• One of four teams making more 3-pointers per game versus league competition.

Stat	Non	SEC
UGA's SEC Increases
Scoring Offense	75.4	80.9
FG Percentage	.432	.436
3FG Percentage	.344	.363
3FGs Per Game	8.0	8.7
FT Percentage	.696	.753
Rebound Margin	-1.6	+2.0

Individual Scoring Up Too

This is hopefully the third time you've read it – we're hoping it sinks in – but Georgia is the only team with five players averaging double figures in SEC play.

Since only three Bulldogs are scoring at a double-digit pace overall, it's obvious that a couple of those guys have upped their averages in conference games as outlined below.

Four of those five Bulldogs listed have increased their scoring averages by more an 3.0 ppg since the SEC season began on Jan. 6.

Statistic	Non	SEC
UGA's PPG Increases
Jabri Abdur-Rahim	13.2	13.9
RJ Melendez	9.8	13.4
Silas Demary Jr.	8.5	12.4
Justin Hill	8.5	10.4
Russel Tchewa	6.1	9.1

UGA Students Packing Stegeman

Georgia has played three SEC home games to date. During those contests, the Stegeman Coliseum student section has overflowed its capacity of 2,065.

When more than 2,065 students show up and there are still remaining unsold seats in Stegeman, those students are allowed to occupy the empty locations. Georgia drew 3,026 students for the Arkansas game, 2,330 for the Tennessee contest and 2,806 for the LSU outing. That gives the Bulldogs an average of 2,721 students per game, 132 percent of the 2,065 guaranteed allotment.

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 12 games, the Bulldogs have dished out 167 assists while committing just 133 turnovers. That equates to a much healthier assist-to-TO effort of 1.26.

A Very "Maddening" Schedule

Georgia's 31-game regular-season slate includes 13 matchups – 41.9 percent of the schedule – against teams featured in the most recently published edition of ESPN.com's Bracketology.

In addition, the Bulldogs have three more contests against squads listed among the first eight "teams out" (Oregon and Florida) and defeated projected tourney team Eastern Kentucky in a preseason exhibition.

Any Scoring Comparison To "Ant" Is Impressive

Jabri Abdur-Rahim's 34 points at No. 8/10 Kentucky represented the most by a Bulldog versus a top-10 team since Anthony Edwards' 37-point showing against No. 3 Michigan State on Nov. 26, 2019 in the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational. Silas Demary Jr.'s 22 points at Kentucky represented the most by a Georgia freshman against a top-10 team since Edwards' 37-point showing against Spartans in Maui.

FYI, Edwards scored 33 points in the second half against the Spartans and those 20 minutes played a pivotal part in him becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

"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 and the longest in 75 years since the 1947-48 season 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

Rk.	Season(s)	No.
UGA Home Streaks
1.	1930-31 & '31-32	25
2.	1938-39 & '39-40	20
3.	1988-89, '89-90 & '90-91	15
4.	2001-02 & '02-03	13
5.	1997-98 & '98-99	12
6.	1984-85 & '85-86	11
7.	2023-24	10
	2022-23	10
	2007-08	10

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.

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 2023 NCAA Tourney teams Miami and Providence at the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. The other Power conference dates were 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) during the 2023-24 season are against Power conference teams.

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.

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 88-of-101 (.871) free throws, equals the fourth-best percentage in school history as outlined below.

A minimum of 125 made free throws are needed to be featured among UGA's career FT percentage leaders. Abdur-Rahim has made 208-of-253 FTs while at Georgia, a sizzling 82.2 percent that currently has him at No. 4 all-time among Bulldogs as outlined below.

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Career FT Percentage Leaders
1.	Channing Toney ('05)	.910
2.	Joe Ward ('84)	.902
3.	J.J. Frazier ('17)	.886
4.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.879
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.

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 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 No. 2 in the SCNext Top 25 national rankings last season and is currently ranked No. 1 this season.

Newest Bulldogs Rated Highly

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 Class of 2023 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.

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.