The Georgia men’s basketball team got its third SEC win on Wednesday night, beating Kentucky 90-85. Terrance Woodbury led the Bulldogs (12-18, 3-12) with 30 points and the victory was Georgia’s first on the road. Perhaps the most important thing to take from the victory is that it shows there is some talent in the fold.Judging by their record, it would be easy for an outsider or even a prospective head coach to assume the Bulldogs do not have any talent, but that is not the case. Sure, the senior Woodbury has been a catalyst for two of Georgia’s SEC wins (Florida and Kentucky), but the Bulldogs also got nice contributions from freshmen Dustin Ware and Trey Thompkins in the victory over the Wildcats.
Ware has continued to be more forceful at point guard since taking over for Zac Swansey in late January. He has the ability to play the game fast and will only grow because of this season. Over Georgia’s last six games Ware is averaging 12 points and five assists a contest, while shooting 47 percent from the field. The Bulldogs are 3-3 over that stretch. Thompkins is a 6-9 forward with a variety of post moves and a 3-point shot in his repertoire. Once he is totally comfortable with the physicality of the college game, he should be one of the conference’s top players. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds against a physical Kentucky front-line after tallying just seven points and three rebounds in the teams’ first meeting. With those two being only freshmen, a new head coach may not have to wait establish recruiting contacts in Georgia before being competitive.
FOOTBALL TIME
Head football coach Mark Richt addressed the media via teleconference on Wednesday, regarding the Bulldogs’ upcoming spring practice, which is two weeks away. Richt touched on offense, defense and special teams, as well as the coaching staff. One interesting note is Georgia’s status at defensive end. According to Richt, Demarcus Dobbs and Justin Houston have made strides amongst a group that loses its two top tacklers in Jarius Wynn and Jeremy Lomax. Houston and Dobbs ranked second and third in sacks for defensive ends, albeit at 2.5 and two respectively.
Richt also mentioned redshirt freshman Jeremy Longo as a possible contributor. Longo prepped at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and posted eye-catching tackle numbers there. Kiante Tripp has also moved over to defensive end after spending time at offensive tackle and tight end last year. Rod Battle returns as well, but was scheduled to miss spring practice because of a shoulder injury. By the time the regular season rolls around, the end spot should also be helped by the play of the defensive tackles as Geno Atkins, Kade Weston and DeAngelo Tyson among others will be a year older and Jeff Owens returns after missing practically all of last season with a knee injury. Georgia’s defense appeared sharp, hungry and to relish contact in its season-ending Capital One Bowl win over Michigan State, some of the things were not evident in losses to Alabama, Florida and Georgia Tech. Finding playmakers off the edge that can set a tone and provide a spark will be one of the tasks for the Bulldogs this spring.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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