Instantaneous Ill-Informed Roundball Wrapup: Kentucky Wildcats 80, Georgia Bulldogs 68
by T Kyle King on Mar 3, 2010 10:22 PM EST
in Basketball
Email
PrintThe Kentucky Wildcats are talented and deep, played a complete game in Athens on Wednesday night, and are supported by fans who care a great deal about basketball. The Georgia Bulldogs lack talent and depth, played a solid first half (down 40-36 at the break after it appeared early as though the Fox Hounds would be run out of their own building), and, judging by the amount of red in the stands at Stegeman Coliseum in the middle of a week in which the Peach State once again experienced snowfall, are supported by fans who are starting to care an appreciable amount about basketball. We don't yet have our Ashley Judd, but we're working on it.
How the Hoop Dogs were outscored only 40-32 after intermission, I'll never know, because the Red and Black turned the ball over fifteen times, had fourteen of their shots blocked (while blocking exactly none of the visitors'), and notched half as many steals as their opponent did. Georgia out-rebounded Kentucky, but 40 per cent shooting from the field doomed the Bulldogs, despite Jeremy Price's 20-minute, 19-point performance.
Georgia lost to a better team and we had better hope that the Hoop Dogs' road woes do not continue this weekend, or else the Red and Black will lose to a worse team on Saturday. This has been a season of hope, though not of results, for Mark Fox's program. This team will not turn the proverbial corner this year, but these Dogs will have their day.
Right now, that may sound a little crazy . . . crazy like a Fox. Georgia basketball will head into the autumn of 2010 as a sleeping giant bursting with untapped potential, in much the way that Florida football headed into the autumn of 1990. Here's hoping the hardwood Bulldogs' next 20 years go approximately as well as the gridiron Gators' last 20 years have.
Go 'Dawgs!
7 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Saturday is a big game...
to get us that long sought road win, to finish the year on a high note, and to maintain our loss-win-loss-win-loss-win pattern we’ve held since February began.
Rough game, but as we all saw, they were simply longer, quicker, deeper than we were. Kentucky under Cal will be a beast, but at least we know that if Fox can get a foothold in recruiting (most feel 2-3 of the state’s top 10 every year will do the trick), we’ve got a coach who can have us competing with the best of the best.
Proud of the team...
Our team quit…for about 2 minutes. Fox called a timeout, got ’em in a huddle and undoubtedly said a few colorful words. The result? A run that made the final score closer than the game eventually turned out with a run that kept a beating from becoming a total embarassment.
You’ve got to give Kentucky credit. They’ve got tremendous talent. They’ve got depth. Kentucky is kind of like a shark’s jaw. As soon as a tooth is lost, another one just pops right back into place, sharper than ever. That’s why Kentucky (usually) is so tough. They’ve got kids that haven’t even enrolled yet waiting to take Wall’s place (who made me a believer last night, BTW).
I know we were ragging on Calipari a bit during the thread last night, but he really had some very complimentary things to say about our program. In fact, I hope some of our recruits view this. Calipari is obviously a huge Mark Fox fan. Here’s a fine interview by Dawgpost’s Dean Legge:
http://georgia.scout.com/2/950990.html
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
although its nice sentiment, Fox is in no position to be coach of the year.
I am proud of the improvement, very proud of the engaged fan base, and it looks like the basketball program is going in the right directions. But you have to win two games in a row at some point. The moral victory card got played out about 6 weeks ago. The bottom line is we dont have the bench we need, we cant finish, we cant handle the full press, we cant maintain MONSTEROUS leads, we get in our own heads and miss clutch FTs.
I am thinking Fox has a great future at UGA, but it needs to be proved at some point, rather than just a hopeful expectation. Going from the basement to a maybe is an improvement, but it is still a “maybe”. And the thing is, he knows this as well.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
"And the thing is, he knows this as well"
That’s the part that gives me hope. As I wrote after going for a big-name hire got us nothing but embarrassed, we needed the guy who could take us to relevance. We got that guy. Mark Fox is the Todd Grantham of roundball: not as famous as the guys we went after first, but the right guy for the job at this moment. The sky is the limit for this program; anyone who doubts that needs to look at where Florida basketball was not so long ago. I don’t know how far Mark Fox can take this program, but I know I’ll know the answer to that pretty definitively five years from now.
Go 'Dawgs!
yea Kyle -
Unlike that damn yankee that hosed us, and unlike Tubbs who used us as a stepping stone, Fox has fire, he wants it, he runs a clean and tight ship, and I like it.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
I think of Fox as more than just a Donnan type...
regain respectability but can’t get us over the hump hire. He can get us to the next level imo. And while I agree with you above tankertoad that we’ve gone from basement to a few steps above, but aren’t there yet, look at what Fox is working with. Last night was a prime example of the lack of depth, and overall talent, Dennis Felton left behind. When Kentucky was focused defensively, with the length and quickness (and depth to stay fresh), we couldn’t get a shot off without turning it over or having it shoved back in our face. We were, with exception of maybe a decimated LSU, the absolute worst collection of players in conference. We started a walk-on that if I’m not mistaken didn’t even start for Gardner-Webb, and played him 30+ minutes per. We took a raw athlete and turned him into a possible lottery pick. We turned an undersized and relatively slow (for his size) PG and turned him into an efficient floor leader. We turned Trey from good to All-SEC, and turned our Cs from total liability to productive. Considering what he had to work with, I’d say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Fox deserves Coach of the Year, and has done more with what he had to work with than any other coach in the country. Now, Coach of the Year is a record award that tends to go to the coach of the best (or a top 3) team. But considering what he walked into, I don’t think we could have asked for more out of Fox.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Dawg Sports
Related FanShots on Dawg Sports
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
