Bulldogs Visit Auburn In Regular-Season Finale

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Game 31: Georgia (16-14, 6-11 SEC) vs. Auburn (23-7, 12-5 SEC)
Saturday, March 9 || 6:30 p.m. ET
Neville Arena (9,121) || Auburn, Ala.
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 (Dave Neal, play-by-play; Jon Sundvold, color analyst)
Video Stream: SECN+
Audio Stream: georgiadogs.com
Satellite: SiriusXM 384
History: AU leads, 101-97 (Full History)
Last Meeting: - AU, 97-76, on 2/24/24

Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach: Mike White Record at UGA: 32-30 (2nd season) Career Record: 275-158 (13th season)				Auburn Tigers Head Coach: Bruce Pearl Record at AU: 196-118 (10th season) Career Record: 658-263 (29th season)
INDIVIDUAL		TEAM	STATISTIC	TEAM		INDIVIDUAL
Thomasson	12.8	74.9	Points Per. Game	83.2	16.4	Broome
Tchewa	.556	.430	Field Goal Pct.	.471	.705	Cardwell
Abdur-Rahim	2.1	7.9	3-Pointers Per. Game	8.0	1.7	Holloway
Thomasson	.356	.331	3-Point Pct.	.347	.439	Williams
Abdur-Rahim	.887	.739	Free Throw Pct.	.760	.910	Johns
Tchewa	6.7	35.6	Rebounds Per. Game	38.1	8.5	Broome
Hill	3.3	11.6	Assists Per. Game	17.7	3.3	Donaldson
Hill	2.27	1.00	Assist-to-Turnover Ratio	1.68	3.36	Holloway
Anselem-Ibe	0.7	3.2	Blocks Per. Game	6.0	2.3	Broome
Demary Jr.	1.5	6.3	Steals Per. Game	7.5	1.2	Johnson
Thomasson	28.0		Minutes Per. Game		24.8	Broome

The Starting 5...

Georgia treks to Auburn for its regular-season finale and 199th meeting with the Tigers. That ties Auburn with Georgia Tech as the Bulldogs' second-most frequent foe all-time.
Nine of Georgia's 30 games have been a one-possession contest in the final 30 seconds of regulation, with the Bulldogs sporting a 5-4 record in those outings.
Georgia has now used 11 players to comprise 11 different starting fives this season. Over the last 11 games, the Bulldogs have utilized eight different quintets of starters.
Freshmen Blue Dain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James got the starting nod in Tuesday's win over Ole Miss, the first time the Bulldogs started a trio of freshmen since Anthony Edwards, Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler did so in a March 11, 2020 SEC Tournament win over Ole Miss.
Georgia entered this weekend No. 22 nationally in bench points, with UGA's reserves contributing 28.6 ppg. The Bulldogs' bench has outscored its opponents in 24 of 30 games and supplied a season-long scoring margin of +298, an average of +9.9 ppg.

The Opening Tip

Georgia makes the three-hour, 180-mile trek down I-85 to face Auburn in the Bulldogs' regular-season finale on Saturday. The Bulldogs are coming off a 69-66 win over Ole Miss on Tuesday and sport records of 16-14 overall and 6-11 in the SEC entering the contest.

With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 7-7 in outings that were one-possession contests in the final five minutes of regulation this season, as well as 5-4 in games that were one-possession affairs in the final 30 seconds

Georgia used its 11th different starting five this season against the Rebels. Graduate transfers Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson are the only Bulldogs who have been on the floor for every opening tip; however, freshman Silas Demary Jr. has started 29 of 30 outings, missing only the Texas A&M contest when Georgia went with an all-senior lineup on "Senior Day."

Thomasson is Georgia's leading scorer, both overall (12.8 ppg) and in SEC play (13.2 ppg).

Jabri Abdur-Rahim also is scoring at a double-figure pace for the Bulldogs at 12.2 ppg, largely due to sporting team-high shooting percentages of .356 from 3-point range and .887 at the free throw line. Abdur-Rahim missed the Ole Miss game due to an ankle injury, his first DNP of his career at Georgia. Prior to that, Abdur-Rahim has played in 93 straight contests for the Bulldogs.

A balanced offensive attack features five more players contributing between 7.0-9.9 ppg.

Five Bulldogs have upped their scoring averages from their non-conference contributions to SEC play, topped by Russel Tchewa's jump of 2.9 ppg (from 6.1 to 9.0).

Keeping An Eye On…

Jabri Abdur-Rahim is among UGA's career leaders...
• 3 3FGs from co No. 13s Ty Wilson and Ray Harrison
• 9 3FGs from No. 12 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
• 32 3FGs from No. 11 Jody Patton
• 2 3FGAs from No. 14 Turtle Jackson
• 9 3FGAs from No. 13 Sundiata Gaines
• 36 3FGAs from No. 12 Ray Harrison

Scouting The Tigers

Auburn is 23-7 overall and 12-5 in the SEC entering Saturday's game. The Tigers are in a four-way tie for second place in the league standings.

Johni Broome is in the midst of a dominant season for Auburn, leading the Tigers in scoring (16.4 ppg), rebounding (8.5 rpg), blocks (2.3 bpg) and playing time (24.8 mpg). Among SEC leaders, Broome enters the weekend ranked No. 10 in scoring and No. 2 in rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks.

Jaylin Williams and Chad Baker-Mazara also are double-digit point producers for Auburn, contributing 12.9 ppg and 10.4 ppg, respectively.

Series History With Auburn

Auburn enters Saturday's regular-season finale with a 101-97 advantage in all-time matchups with Georgia.

Two weeks ago in Athens, the Tigers broke away from the Bulldogs late en route to a 97-76 victory at Stegeman Coliseum.

Auburn grabbed a double-digit lead midway through the first half and withstood a Georgia rally that trimmed the margin to three points three times in the second half.

After trailing 58-45 with 15:53 remaining, Georgia closed the gap to 60-57 on a pair of Silas Demary Jr. free throws with 11:49 remaining. The Bulldogs and Tigers traded buckets twice before a Johni Broome 3-pointer ignited a 14-2 surge by Auburn.

Last season, the Bulldogs and Tigers split their matchups, with the home team winning each contest. On Jan. 4 in Athens, Terry Roberts poured in a career-high 26 points to lead Georgia in an impressive 76-64 victory over No. 22/20 Auburn in the Bulldogs' SEC opener. Three and a half weeks later in Auburn, the Tigers secured a 92-73 win in the rematch.

Mardez McBride scored a season-high 20 points to lead Georgia offensively in the Bulldogs' last trip of Auburn, his first 20-point performance at UGA and fifth of his collegiate career.

The Tigers broke the game open midway through the first half. After leading 16-14 at the 11:06 mark, Auburn went on a 17-0 run over the next 4:53.

Last Time Out

Five Bulldogs posted double-digit scoring outputs as a balanced offensive attack led Georgia in a 69-66 win over Ole Miss on Tuesday evening.

Noah Thomasson scored 15 points, Russel Tchewa notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Dylan James recorded career-high tallies of 10 points, nine rebounds and 26 minutes in the first start of his collegiate career.

Georgia led for 36:37 of the contest, but the outcome wasn't decided until the final 30 seconds. The Bulldogs built their largest lead of the night at 65-54 with 2:45 remaining before Ole Miss used an 8-0 surge to pull within 65-63 with 49 seconds left.

Justin Hill assisted a Tchewa layup with 22 ticks on the clock and then knocked down both ends of a one-and-one with a second remaining to put Georgia up by six. Jaylen Murray connected on a three-quarter court heave at the final buzzer.

"We just won a game against a really talented, well coached team with a team that's going to play postseason," head coach Mike White said. "It was a quality SEC win after going 4-of-21 from three. I mean, you can win games like that. We haven't won a lot of games like that, especially against the power five teams, our high major opponents. To win it in that fashion is a really good teaching moment for our guys and for this program moving forward."

A Closely Contested Series

Saturday's game will be the 199th between the Bulldogs and the Tigers, with Auburn owning a 101-97 advantage. The series has been tied five times in the 2000s – at 84-84 in 2005, 85-85 in 2007, 87-87 in 2010, 90-90 in 2015.

While the overall series is close, the location of the game has had a dramatic difference in success. Georgia owns a 63-30 edge in Athens. The Tigers are 64-26 against UGA on The Plains. The Bulldogs are 8-7 against Auburn in neutral site affairs.

Georgia and Auburn traditionally have had a close series in football as well. The Bulldogs are 63-56-8 against the Tigers. That advantage is somewhat inflated, however, since Georgia has won 16 of the last 19 matchups.

Tigers Tie Tech At Georgia's Second Most Frequent Foes

On Saturday, Auburn will tie Georgia Tech in the second spot on the Bulldogs' ledger of most games against an opponent. The Bulldogs and Tigers are facing off for the 199th time, the same number of contests for Georgia against the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia has played Florida more than any other foe, with 229 times contests between the Bulldogs and Gators. Rounding out the top-5 in games played against Georgia are Tennessee with 161 and Kentucky with 160.

Another Nail-Biter For The Bulldogs

Tuesday's win over Ole Miss was not decided until the final 30 seconds, upping the number of "close games" for Georgia this season to 14.

Of the Bulldogs' 30 games to date...
• 14 have been a one-possession game in the last five minutes. Georgia is 6-7 in those games.
• 12 have been a one-possession game in the last 90 seconds. Georgia is 5-7 in those games.
• Nine have been a one-possession game in the last 30 seconds. Georgia is 5-4 in those games.

Bulldogs' Freshmen Making Their Mark

Georgia's freshmen have made a impressive impact this season, particularly in SEC play.

Against Ole Miss, Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James all got a starting nod – the first time a trio of freshmen started for Georgia since Anthony Edwards, Toumani Camara and Sahvir Wheeler did so in the 2020 SEC Tournament.

Cain and Demary are two of only seven freshman who are logging 20.0 mpg in conference outings. In addition, James has seen his playing time jump significantly, averaging 14.9 mpg in the last eight games.

Demary was the only freshman in the league to start every game this season before that streak was snapped for the Bulldogs' "Senior Day" lineup, and he is one of only six freshmen in the SEC averaging double figures in conference action at 10.2 ppg. He also ranks No. 9 among league leaders in steals per game at 1.53 spg.

Cain, who made his first career start at LSU on Feb. 27, is one of just 10 SEC freshmen scoring 6.5 ppg or more in league games. He has done much of his damage from 3-point range, with 37 of his 82 field goals (45.1 percent) coming from behind the arc.

In addition to his increased playing time, James is averaging 4.9 ppg and 3.3 rpg in Georgia's last eight contests, which more than double the 2.1 ppg and 1.4 rpg he contributed in seven games played during the Bulldogs' first 22 outings of the season.

Georgia's Magic Number Is On The "Other" End of The Floor

The 13th and final rule Dr. James Naismith listed when creating basketball was "The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner." Quite simply, the team that scores the most points wins.

For Georgia, the number of points the opposing team scores has been an extremely strong indicator of success during Mike White's two seasons with the Bulldogs.

With Tuesday's win over Ole Miss, Georgia improved to 26-2 when holding its opponents under 70 points during White's tenure...and 6-28 when opponents reach the 70-point plateau.

The losses on that ledger were a 66-67 setback at LSU on Feb. 27 and a 61-55 decision at South Carolina in the 2022-23 regular-season finale.

Some Big Numbers for UGA "Seniors"

Georgia honored seven players on "Senior Day" against Texas A&M, even though a couple of those are graduate transfers.

Those Bulldogs included first-year grad transfers RJ Sunahara, Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson; second-season seniors Frank Anselem-Ibe, Justin Hill and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe; and third-year senior Jabri Abdur-Rahim.

That septet – we googled it – of Bulldogs has combined to comprise some pretty massive statistics as NCAA basketball players. Those totals, with the D-I statistical leader, are listed below.

Stat	No.	Leader
Seven Seniors Totals
Games played	763	Tchewa	134
Games started	429	Tchewa	90
		Thomasson	90
Minutes	16,664	Thomasson	3,208
Points	6,785	Thomasson	1,410
Rebounds	3,003	Tchewa	697
Assists	1,112	Hill	406
Blocks	367	Anselem-Ibe	54
Steals	474	Hill	108

Bulldogs Continue To Shuffle Starting Lineup

Eleven Bulldogs players have been used to comprise 11 different starting fives this season.

Georgia mixed and matched seven players to form three different starting quintets over the first 10 outings. The Bulldogs then settled into the same starting unit for the next 10 contests.

Over the last 11 games, Georgia has used eight different sets of starters.

Russel Tchewa and Noah Thomasson are the three constants who have started every game. Silas Demary Jr. started every game until "Senior Day." At that point, he was the only freshman in the SEC to start every game in 2023-24.

Tchewa's Numbers, Efficiency Up In SEC play

Graduate transfer Russel Tchewa has increased his production and shooting efficiency considerably during SEC action.

Eight of Tchewa's 11 double-figure scoring outputs and all five of his double-digit rebound counts have come during league play. Those tallies produced his team-leading four double-doubles on the year.

After averaging 6.1 ppg in 13 non-conference games, Tchewa has upped that average to 9.0 ppg against SEC foes – an increase of 2.9 ppg.

After averaging 6.3 rpg in November and December, he is grabbing 7.0 rpg in league outings – an increase of 0.7 rpg.

After shooting 49.1 percent from the field in non-conference action, Tchewa is converting on 59.2 percent versus conference competition – an increase of 10.1 percent.

Tchewa's playing time also has seen a significant jump since 2024 calendar began. He logged 22.2 minutes of action in non-conference contests but has upped that to 27.9 mpg in the SEC – an increase of 5.7 mpg.

Individual Scoring In SEC Action Up

Five Bulldogs have boosted their point production from non-conference outings to SEC competition, led by Russel Tchewa's increase of 2.9 ppg as outlined below.

Statistic	Non	SEC
SEC Individual Increases
Noah Thomasson	12.5	13.2
Silas Demary Jr.	8.5	10.2
RJ Melendez	9.8	9.9
Justin Hill	8.5	9.2
Russel Tchewa	6.1	9.0

Bulldogs Notch Fourth Road Win

Georgia's victory at Vanderbilt represented the Bulldogs' fourth road win of the season. Georgia is now 4-5 on the road during the 2023-24 season.

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

It is good for the Bulldogs, considering it took Georgia 37 road games (as in a 4-33 record) over four seasons to win four road games prior to this season. The four road Ws in 2023-24 are the most Georgia has recorded in a season since the 2017-18 campaign.

A Lot Of Entertaining Outings During The Losing Streak

Georgia's losing streak from Jan. 27-Feb. 17 featured six competitive and dramatic contests.

The Bulldogs rallied from 21 points down to force overtime at Florida before falling 102-98.

Georgia then owned double-digit leads over both No. 24/22 Alabama and South Carolina before the Tide and Gamecocks rallied. The Bulldogs led for a combined 56:55 of those contests – 33:49 against Alabama and 23:06 versus South Carolina.

Georgia trimmed a 13-point deficit to three in Starkville before State surged to victory.

The Bulldogs matchup at Arkansas on Feb. 10 featured three ties and five lead changes in the final 3:47 before the Razorbacks secured a three-point decision.

Georgia again led for more than half the game – 21:11 to be exact – and built an 11-point, first-half lead over Florida in Athens before the Gators rallied in the second stanza.

Abdur-Rahim, Melendez Own Top-5 Season FT Percentage Marks

Jabri Abdur-Rahim and RJ Melendez now own two of the five best single-season free throw percentages in Georgia history.

A minimum of 50 makes are required for inclusion on the Bulldogs' all-time single-season free throw percentage leaders' ledger.

Abdur-Rahim surpassed that standard during the Mount St. Mary's game on Dec. 20, just the 11th outing of the season. He has now connected on 118-of-133 (.887) free throws, the third-best percentage in school history as outlined below.

Melendez met the 50 makes standard versus No. 24/22 Alabama on Jan. 31. He is currently 57-of-65 at the line this season, an 87.7 percent conversion rate that is No. 5 all-time among Bulldogs as outlined below.

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Season FT Pct. Leaders
1.	Channing Toney ('05)	.910
2.	Joe Ward ('84)	.902
3.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.887
4.	J.J. Frazier ('17)	.886
5.	RJ Melendez	.877
6.	Lanny Taylor ('70)	.864
7.	Christian Wright ('22)	.861
8.	Juwan Parker ('18)	.859
9.	Jerry Epling ('69)	.858
10.	Juwan Parker ('17)	.856

Jabri Sets Game Mark, Joins Career Percentage Line Leaders too

In addition to his aforementioned season efforts, Jabri Abdur-Rahim shares Georgia's best game free throw percentage and is among the best career converters too.

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

A minimum of 125 made free throws are needed to be featured among UGA's career FT percentage leaders. Abdur-Rahim has connected on 238-of-285 FTs while at Georgia, a sizzling 83.5 percent that currently has him at No. 2 all-time among Bulldogs as outlined below.

Rk.	Player	Pct.
UGA Career FT Percentage Leaders
1.	J.J. Frazier	.841
2.	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	.835
3.	Dick McIntosh	.831
4.	Juwan Parker	.828
5.	Jerry Epling	.822

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

RJ Melendez's 35-point performance at Florida on Jan. 27 tied the 20th-highest single-game output ever by a Bulldog. It may be the most points ever off the bench for Georgia.

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 four performances where research has yet to confirm were accomplished by starters.

It's hard to fathom that Alfred Scott did not start Georgia's 122-2 – yes 122-2, that's not a typo – 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 contest came during the same season when he set what was the SEC's season scoring record, compiling 590 points...and we've emailed Tennessee too.

"Don't Look, Ethel!"...Of Bulldogs Winning Streaks & Stuff

Much of Georgia's 2023-24 season has been of the streaky nature.

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 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

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.

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

Terry Roberts

RJ Sunahara

Russel Tchewa

Noah Thomasson