Georgia Hoops recruiting going great...
by Mr. Sanchez on Apr 2, 2010 1:17 PM EDT
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while I know several around here don't care for such nonsense about a sport with a round, orange ball, it should be noted that Mark Fox has been very hard at work this spring.
First, he landed another post player in Miller Grove's Donte Williams to join Cady Lalanne in the grooming to slide into a role once Jeremy Price, Chris Barnes, and Trey Thompkins are all gone (and Thompkins is said to still be considering throwing his name into the NBA draft ring, with April 25 the deadline to declare and May 8th the deadline to withdraw if he does declare).
Next, we filled the role of departing Ricky McPhee with another sub 6'3 sharp shooter from Dublin in Sherrard Brantley. For more on Brantley, see Paul Westerdawg's recent reports found here, here, and here.
No, not that sort of sharp shooter from Dublin.
As things currently stand, Mark Fox has added 4 new players to the mix with Williams and Brantley joining Lalanne and transfer Gerald Robinson Jr with 4 outbound in guards Ricky McPhee and Demario Mayfield and big men Albert Jackson and Drazen Zlovaric.
With 2011 recruiting about to heat up and about to demand focus, that leaves two major roster construction projects left for next year's roster. The big project is of course having Trey Thompkins think it's in his best interest to stick around for one more year. The other key piece is high flying Dwaynee Polee. The former California skateboarder is looking to decide between UNLV, New Mexico, Oregon, and Georgia by the end of the month, if not within two weeks.
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Mr. Sanchez
I was going to do a roundball recruiting wrapup after the signing period ends, but hey, no time like the present, right?
One thing that I think is significant is that the big guys coming in are more athletic as a group than the guys they’ll replace. Lallane and Polee are both guys who can play facing the basket at 6’8 or 6’9, and even create their own shot in the lane sometimes. This fits well with what Coach Fox wants to do. Williams I don’t know a lot about. But he can’t possibly get fewer quality minutes than Drazen was, right?. And AJ, God bless him, was just never an offensive weapon inside.
And I agree with PWD on Brantley. Saw the guy play a little in high school, and his ability to shoot the 3 is one thing we’ve been sorely missing. I’m curious where Coach Fox will slot the new guys and returning players at the guard spots. I assume Dustin Ware will still play the point with Leslie and Gerald Robinson playing the 2 guard, but Brantley may play a little of both slots. We have to have some guys who can keep teams from collapsing the zone in around Trey, assuming he’s back (which I think will be the case).
I'd think differently on the lineup...
and there’s no saying you can’t do something better when the signing period ends in a few weeks. By then, we’d know yeah or nay on Polee, and he’d make a HUGE difference as a potential energy F off the bench who can play shut down D at multiple spots, form a powerful bench, and give us a big time building block for next year.
As for starting Gs, I’d assume Ware plays the 1, Robinson 1/2, and Brantley straight 2, with Williams and Anyaorah behind them, and Leslie exclusively at the 3 unless we find a backup for him. That makes for the start of a solid bench with one of those Gs, and then the non-starter between Price and Barnes at C, and then Lalanne and Williams. Add Polee and it’s as good as some teams starting 5.
My thinking is that
Leslie is clearly a 2 in the NBA, so Coach Fox moves him out there if we’re able to. But I agree with you that Polee’s decision will make a big difference in how everyone else is slotted. I actually like the idea of Price and Barnes getting more time at center. I think in the college game you can be successful with a big bodied guy like Jeremy in the middle.
The college 3 vs. NBA 2...
people keep pointing that out, but I don’t see it being much of a factor. For a PG, something like that can matter, because well you are either a PG or you are off the ball, and the difference is signficant. But 2 vs. 3, both are generally on the wings. One generally has more ball handling duties than the other, but in our system Leslie spends enough time on the perimeter that I don’t think he really needs to play SG here to prove he can do it in the NBA. If he shows he can handle in traffic better, improves his range a few more feet and his court awareness on both ends, that’ll be enough. Besides, somewhat comparable NBA SGs Vince Carter and Jason Richardson played the SF in college, so that also leads me to think the position doesn’t make too big of a difference. Besides, we’ve got Leslie at the 3 right now, and really no one else. At the 2, we’ve got options with Robinson and Brantley, as well as Anyaorah (who can help at the 3, but isn’t ideal there at 6’3).
I think this writeup is impressive, Mr. Sanchez.
I look forward to the day (hopefully in only 1 or 2 years’ time) when I understand more than half of what you’re writing about.
I barely keep track of football recruiting, and basketball recruiting is well and truly beyond my level of comprehension. (Other than the fact, of course, that people always say Atlanta has some of the best players in the country, but none of them ever want to come to Georgia. As you point out, though, it looks like Mark Fox is starting to change that for the better.)
I do diss on basketball more than my fair share, but I remember when the Stegosaurus was known colloquially as “The Tub,” and it was pretty darn fun during that two-year period. It would be nice to have that kind of atmosphere on a regular basis again.
Not to bash anyone but...
I was talking with a coaching connection of mine, one who coached a player that Coach Fox recruited a few years ago, and he was less than complimentary of Coach Fox. I know we can debate the merits of this guy and why he may have some sort of ill will toward Coach Fox.
Here was his take on things. He simply stated that Coach Fox showed up at the school, walked into this coach’s office, and was getting info on the player. Ok so far. Next came Coach Fox’s comments, they were simply that he didn’t do the “family of players” thing, basketball at a major college is a business and that’s how his team works.
Now, I know, we all know, basketball for the coaches at that level is a business, a high profile business. We also know that football is a business too. That being said, Coach Richt surely has enjoyed success using the family style approach, and it just concerns me that Coach Fox may not employ a similar style. Questions pop up for me, like is this why Coach Fox didn’t stay in Nevada for an extended time after becoming head coach? Is this the reason for players transferring after coming to Nevada while Coach Fox was at the helm? Is this the reason some of the people seemed to be happy Coach Fox was leaving Nevada? Is this some of the reason that Coach Felton had troubles at UGA and are we heading down the same road?
I want Coach Fox to be successful. I want the basketball program to be another great program at UGA. I want players, sportswriters, parents of players, other coaches, and even networks like ESPN to look at the basketball program at UGA and hope to go there. (I want ESPN to want to be there when it’s not the UK or the UF game).
As I said this was years ago, maybe the m.o. has changed, maybe it hasn’t. I’d love to hear any knowledge you folks have on these situations.
He has come in speaking of things similar to Richt...
and a family atmosphere. Between him and his assistants, they are almost all young families with maybe half a dozen or more elementary school aged children. Maybe it’s just for outside appearances, but he seems to have taken on a more familial atmosphere now.
That’s not saying the “business” like approach can’t be effective, as shown through Calipari. I don’t want that, but see others like Saban. That approach to college coaching can certainly work. But Nevada comments I read after the change all seemed complimentary (and FSU fans were happy to see Richt go too), and I never read anything about numerous transfers during his time they, which seems unlikely considering their success and NCAA appearances.
As for Felton, he had numerous problems besides transfers (which I agree was a huge problem), and we are certainly not “heading down the same road”.
Thanks for the input Mr. Sanchez
I don’t disagree about there being varying approaches, just seems like there are more winning programs with the familial approach (Duke, UNC, Texas, any team Bob Huggins coaches, etc..). The comments that stick in my mind when Fox was leaving Nevada were about how some folks were glad he was leaving so that an assistant who had played and coached at Nevada could take over, and that a “big time” center that he had recruited left the team because of issues with the coach.
I would LOVE to see him be ultra successful. Having a combination like say a Texas or even Tennessee does with a great football program and a great basketball program does nothing but help both teams and the university. I hope you are correct in his approach, and I look forward to seeing the results of that approach and his ability to recruit.
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