Georgia open practice outlook....

With Yatta gone, the future of UGA basketball is uncertain. During open practice the biggest guy on the court was a sideline watcher, former power forward Dave Bliss. UGA fans were stunned and excited at the buzzer beater shot and win in the SEC championship last year. But the question is....is this excitement going to last?

Last year, in search of a turnaround season one could only look at the coach. Dennis Felton, a would be goner if it wasn't for the win of the SEC championship, clinched another four years at least as head coach for the Bulldogs. Is this good or bad? Well, I would definitely say that if it wasn't for our recruiting class this year, we would be like Washington State in football. But, somehow we managed to pick up some decent and pretty good freshmen. Whether or not this is linked to Felton's appeal or the idea of actually getting some playing time is unknown. What is known is that Felton's track record for developing players is helter-sketler.

The signees for the 2008-2009 season for the Georgia Bulldogs are...
Ebuka Anyaorah SG
Travis Leslie SF
Howard Thompkins PF
Dustin Ware G
Drazen Zlovaric F

During open practice three of these players caught my eye.
1. Travis Leslie: He can dunk....no doubt about it and he actually has some youtube footage.
2. Drazen Zlovaric: From Serbia....Idrissi Jr. He's wet in trey land, but don't know if he's a Thursday All-American or PTP'er.
3. Howard Thompkins: By far my favorite. If he can look good injured just fooling around on the sideline then imagine what he can do in games.

Out of the return players, my favorites are...
1. Zack Swansey: A lot more shooting out of Swanzey this year and hopefully he can start to fill the entire stat column like Gaines.
2. Woodbury: If he can play like he did in the SEC tournament then were set. Even though he didn't play in open practice, Dickens and I have great expectations for Wood.
3. Everyone else....I'm semi-excited about all of the returning players, but nervous that it might not be enough. Albert Jackson's signature dunk move gets old. Brewer and Butler are good, but maybe not great. Butler was going for a D-Wade style with leggings on in practice? Maybe he stole Yatta's arm sleeve and put it on his legs? I'm not sure. All our big men(Price, Albert, and Barnes) got skinny off the "J.J. Redick 2004-05 diet." Problem is, they are big men and we might need some more floor to cover than that on defense. And on offense, since they can't shoot three's, we can't go for a run-and-gun fast pace offense.

I'm looking forward to watching the exhibition game tomorrow night with hopes to get a better glimpse of what this season has to offer...

Just when you thought the game had peaked, that this was as good as it gets, you're proven wrong. When O.J Mayo, Derrik Rose, and Michael Beasley to name a few, entered the required one-and-done program of college hoops, everyone knew that they defined the game of young all-stars. Everyone knew that players like this were atypical and that some players might come close to match their rare talent, but never surpass it. However, the glass ceiling of freshmen basketball talent has been broken. Last year, what you thought was a glimpse of unforeseen talent was just another day at the park. This years incoming freshmen class offers above and beyond what you thought was good, it offers you above and beyond what you thought was great. This year offers you...a new definition of college basketball.

Top Incoming Freshmen for the 2008-2009 Season

Willie Warren (Oklahoma)
Al-Faroug Aminu (Wake Forest)
Tyreke Evans (Memphis)
Jrue Holiday (UCLA)
Demar Derosan (USC)
B.J. Mullens (Ohio State)
Kemba Walker (UCONN)
Samardo Samuels (Louisville)