Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 68, Georgia Bulldogs 56: The Instantaneous Ill-Informed Roundball Wrapup
by T Kyle King on Dec 7, 2011 9:11 PM EST
in Georgia Bulldogs Basketball
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PrintMark Fox’s Georgia Bulldogs welcomed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to the Classic City on Wednesday night, hoping to snap a three-game losing streak and continue their dominance over their in-state rivals in Stegeman Coliseum. Instead, against a Ramblin’ Wreck squad every bit as mediocre as the Athenians, Georgia proved incapable of preserving a halftime lead for the third straight outing, ultimately falling in a 68-56 embarrassment.
Though the game was statistically even for most of the initial 20 minutes of play, it was clear by intermission what each team was doing well. Seven Golden Tornado turnovers led to just two Bulldog points, probably because the Yellow Jackets were dominant inside: Georgia Tech led in rebounds (20-14) and points in the paint (16-8). The Red and Black countered with 18 points off the bench and eight free throws in 13 trips to the charity stripe. The Ramblin’ Wreck shot 42.9 per cent from the field (12 of 28), but the Engineers were ineffectual from beyond the arc (1 of 6) and at the line (0 of 1) in the first half.
Nevertheless, the Classic City Canines’ 29-25 edge at the break was erased by a 6-0 Georgia Tech run to start the second half. Torrid shooting by the visitors to open the second period enabled the Yellow Jackets to open up a ten-point lead with ten minutes to play. At that point, the Bulldogs proceeded to self-destruct, affording the Engineers too many second chances, failing to work the ball inside, fouling indiscriminately, and displaying an appalling lack of ball security. In the second half, the home team did nothing well and the visitors could do no wrong.
Consequently, for just the third time in the 17 seasons since the series moved from the Omni back to campus, the home team lost, permitting Georgia Tech to come away with its first men’s basketball win in Athens since 1976, when Ray Goff was the Bulldogs’ quarterback.
In the final four minutes, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope cut into the lead with a steal and a slam on which he drew a foul, but he turned right around and fouled the Yellow Jackets, effectively undoing the good he had done. The exchange was emblematic of Wednesday night’s Coliseum catastrophe, which dropped the Fox Hounds below .500 and led inevitably to the conclusion that a losing record is likely in a season that no longer can be classified as anything other than a rebuilding year, at best.
Go ‘Dawgs!
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We are painfully
Dreadfully awful.
It’s difficult to watch us play basketball. It’s sad, for I thought we were headed in the right direction.
I still don’t know what it’s going to take to become a good team.
GATA!
by Jman781 on Dec 7, 2011 9:42 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I badly want UGA to have at least a good basketball team, if not a really good one.
For one, its fun, and it something for the winter months. For two, basketball can help football recruiting.
I want to support them, but as Jman781 just wrote, it’s almost painful to watch.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
Basket-who, now?
Because, in much funnier news for soccer fans, LOL MANCHESTER.
(Sorry, didn’t have a good place to put it anywhere else on the website, but Manchester City and Manchester United both being punted from the Champions League on the same day is too delicious to go uncommented-upon.)
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
Unfortunately
that just means they are healthier for when they play league games against our teams.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Maybe you can hold out hope,
That for some godforsaken reason, Ferguson and Mancini will use their starting lineups in the Europa competition that they’ve been relegated to :-P
"90% of everything is crap. Except crap. 100% of crap is crap."
by Wonton Beef Stew on Dec 8, 2011 10:12 AM EST up reply actions
We've had to essentially restart the program repeatedly since Tubby Smith left
After Tubby, every coach was a disaster for one reason or another (which it’s too late tonight to recapitulate but you know what I’m talking about). Mark Fox has given the fan base hope and he should be given every opportunity to show he can build a stable winning culture.
"Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Thomas J. Jackson
I know I gripe about this a lot,
but I really wish the department and ticket office would do something about the empty lower level center court seats. It looks really bad on tv. Looks like the students had good numbers. But even if the Steg isnt full, at least give the appearance on tv. If I am a high school player in Georgia, and I tune in the occasional UGA game, and see empty seats, lack of fan noise no one ever stands up, I wouldn’t find it motivational.
Dr Morpheus is right, Coach Fox inherited a mess, one that will take a few years more to fix. The next steps are going to be getting (this is from Mr Sanchez, and I completely agree with him) a great recruiter, someone that knows Atlanta and Georgia, and also getting our fanbase energized and involved.
I would like all the fans to know that basketball can help football, so supporting basketball, even if you are football person, has benefits.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
I made the trek over to Athens for the game...
Prolly 2/3 full & just a terrible atmosphere… We’ve a long way to go to be a good team.
That's the problem...
I start to think we turn the corner, and then I find myself watching awful basketball again.
Maybe someone who follows the team in depth can reassure me, but I see nothing but trash on the court, save a few players. We have zero inside game and our perimeter players are woeful shooters, except for spurts where they catch fire.
Every game I’ve seen this season, and I’ve watched at least a part of every game except the Cincy and Cal games, includes us chucking the ball at the hoop from outside like we’re a pick-up basketball team playing at Ramsey. It’s awful.
I’m not advocating a coaching change, for, quite frankly, I don’t see the program ever sustaining success. The best players want to go to teams like Florida, Kentucky, and, heck, even GT. It’s sad, but I don’t know how we’re going to suddenly pull in studs…Yes, we got Caldwell-Pope, but he doesn’t appear to be a dominant, Durant/Melo/Wall type player who can carry a team.
Quite simply: we need more Dawgs!
GATA!
by Jman781 on Dec 8, 2011 10:25 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You're right, we don't have a post presence at all.
Having said that, when you lose four guys who were major cogs in the post (Leslie, Thompkins, Price, and Barnes) that’s going to happen. I had hoped that our experienced guards would be able to work around this with good ball movement (I’m looking at you, Dustin Ware), but it seems like those guys might have been bigger beneficiaries of playing with experienced forwards than we thought.
As much as it hurt losing Travis, I think the two biggest losses were Trey and Jeremy Price. We enjoyed a luxury last year that many teams don’t have…big men with soft hands who are good passers and know where to position themselves. Unfortunately, some of those skills are learned over time and through much practice (good passing and good positioning) and others are a gift (soft hands as a big guy isn’t really a teachable trait normally).
I think the team will still improve as we move along in the season…we’ve played some good teams and our flaws have been exposed. We’ve still yet to play a complete game all year, and we’re consistently awful in the second half. When you say we look like a pick up team, you’re right, and that’s because we’re playing with a number of guys who simply don’t have the experience to know how to handle themselves maturely for two halves. I think the tournament is a big time long shot, but there are still areas where we can grow…Fox is a good coach and was blessed with two big time players his entire career here so far. This year will tell us how good of a coach he really is.
by hailtogeorgia on Dec 8, 2011 11:14 AM EST up reply actions
Thanks.
It makes sense that we’d regress after losing the players you listed; however, I didn’t expect to look this bad. Many programs lose players every year and don’t suffer precipitous drop-offs; they simply reload each season.
UGA’s not in a position to have crappy seasons, and, I fear, the inertia gained by improving the team and making the tourney has been wasted. We knew these guys were graduating/leaving, and, yet, it looks like we didn’t recruit for the inevitable.
I haven’t seen a single big show promise (yet). Who’s supposed to be our stud? D. Williams? Djurisic? Florveus? I haven’t been impressed with any of them. Obviously, two of the names listed are freshmen, so I’m sure they’ll all develop and improve.
It’s sad, really, that in a state this talented, we’re left with junk, save Caldwell-Pope.
GATA!
We are in a vicous cycle, where the fans dont want to be involved because we arent good,
but we arent going to reach higher levels without fan involvement. So, I think it will take a little of both. CMF is going to have to fight a tough battle to get some good players and start some winning streaks, if/when that happens, we then need our fanbase to get FULLY involved. Last year, we were getting things together and player Xavier. Those same center court seats were empty. That’s embarrasing. That’s as big of a game as it gets, and yet people didn’t care. If the people with the best seats dont care, why should a recruit?
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
by tankertoad on Dec 8, 2011 12:59 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Seems like they need to start selling cheaper seats
Better to have someone sitting in the seat than no one at all. I don’t know if it’s cost, but dropping the price could be worth a shot to see if they can at least get people there.
The seats are like half the price as the WSU shockers here in Wichita.
Those seats I gripe about are season ticket holders – likely long time holders. They need to be monitored for attendance and sent a show up or lose your tickets letter. The AD and ticket department have worked ticketing for football, that same attention needs to be paid to basketball. I think our Gym Squad is going to outsell our Basketball team.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
You're right
I’m just trying to throw out any ideas I can think of. There are a lot of problems with the program, and the bad thing is that if CMF can’t figure things out and improve things somehow, he’s probably going to leave and go somewhere with a better opportunity.
I think he is gonig to half to lead the way a little first,
but when he does, we BETTER get on board. Like I said, we had good things going last year and there were still no shows for some of the biggest games of the year.
I verified last year tickets were scanned. That means they go in a data base. That means the no shows can be ID’d and they can get a warning and then their tickets pulled, and I dont care if they donated X dollars since 1976, an empty seat is an empty seat.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
One problem...
Is location.
Many of the season-ticket holders don’t live in Athens. While I’m not a season-ticket holder, I absolutely could not get off work and make it the Athens for a game during the week.
For weekend games, there’s no excuse, but a 7 p.m. tip-off in a city an hour away from Atlanta (not counting traffic) is nearly impossible to make, at least for me.
Maybe we should stop having big games on weekday nights…
GATA!
Uh, that's a problem of the ticket holder. We can't move Athens.
Give the tickets away. Leave work early. Do something. And it happens on weekends as well anyway. People drive 3 hrs here in Kansas to make Jayhawk games, people can make it from Atlanta to Stegman by 7pm. If you can’t, then dont buy and hold onto tickets to be wasted.
This is a cultural problem for UGA. It’s just like the frat boys showing up casually late for football games. If the fans expect more from the team, then they also need to give more of themselves. Buying tickets and then not using them or showing up late is not being supportive.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
by tankertoad on Dec 8, 2011 2:41 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I agree with everything
You say here.
I was not able to attend two football games this year (Coastal Carolina and Kentucky). Instead of holding on to the tickets knowing I couldn’t attend, I gave them away. I made sure my seat was filled (with Dawg fans, too).
I understand football is different than basketball, but, as you say, by purchasing season tickets, you’re agreeing to attend the games.
GATA!
by Jman781 on Dec 8, 2011 2:53 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe the University should work on a ticket exchange program
allowing season ticket holders who can’t use their tickets to sell at a cut rate (and get the money) or give away for free to say local schools or Boys & Girls Club members.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Also...
As you mention, we need to put a good product out there.
Football can withstand crappy seasons, for the fans know there’s a history of success. Football fans are willing to stick with our team, even in bad times, because of this knowledge. With the basketball program, there’s very little history of success. Thus, when someone drives three-plus hours round-trip to see the mess we currently have on display, they aren’t coming back often.
This may sound dire, and I don’t want to anger anyone, but there’s nothing I see from this team that leads me to believe we’re headed in the right direction. It ticks me off to watch the Gators do so well, for there’s zero reason we can’t be as good as them.
You mention the Jayhawks. If—and this is a big if—UGA ever comes close to the success of the Kansas program, in a decade or so, you’ll see butts in the seats. Do I believe we’ll ever be as good as Kansas (or even Florida)? No, for there’s no reason for me to believe otherwise.
GATA!
Like I said, I think its going to take some success on the court first,
but when it happens, we have got to support. I was terribly dissapointed in that Xavier game last year. We were fighting for a tourney bid, it was a huge game, and so many no shows. If that game and that year didnt get these few hundred to a thousand fans motivated, nothing will.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
It may sound like I'm arguing with you...
But I’m not.
I actually agree 100% with you.
I’m simply frustrated.
GATA!
No, we are totally cool. I didnt think you were arguing - hell I dont care if you do argue.
Just don’t call me names. /bad memories from last night. :-)
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
To further my point...
We lost to GT, arguably our biggest bball rival.
Kyle posted this at 9:11 last night, and we have a whopping 30 comments, including this one, and thirteen are are by me and tankertoad (nearly half). (Heck, seven aren’t even about men’s basketball, but instead soccer, gymnastics, and women’s basketball!)
Most UGA fans simply don’t care or have given up, for I assure you there would be more comments/concern after a loss to the GT football team…
GATA!
And the game was watchable on Sports South or ESPN.
No, we arent a basketball school, and most dont care. I get it, but two points:
a) stop buying season tickets and not using them – talking specifically to the guys that have had seats forever and dont care. Your wasting your money and those seats
b) You know when UF won those football championships? yea, they won in basketball as well. Because Basketball can HELP football. So, we need, with 30K plus students and Athens being bigger than ever, to support our teams.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
by tankertoad on Dec 8, 2011 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
This
as most bloggers/pay websites like rivals and scout, have learned, basketball gets no interest. It’s a shame to the handful that really love UGA hoops, but it is what it is.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Getting killed last Sat by LSU may have hurt things a little as well.
Editor, "Dawgsports"
"The ball ain't heavy." Herschel Walker
This.
But, sadly, meets haven’t been selling out since Coach Yoculan retired.
If the gymnastics program keeps sliding, they might reach men’s basketball levels before too long…
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
they can just give the extras away to local youth gymnasts like Yoculan did
and get their “sell outs” that way.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Or, you know...
… start winning again.
Editor, Dawg Sports.
Go Dawgs!
by vineyarddawg on Dec 9, 2011 2:09 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
We have to be patient.
This is a very young team with several “project” players on the roster. Fox is not going to let them quit, and I’m not going to quit on them. But it’s evident that the outlook this season is bleak. What I want to see is a team that doesn’t throw in the towel and improves. WIns will be hard to come, but we’ve got to develop some guys. Djurassic, has potential. I just hope Fox doesn’t get discouraged. It’s a tough sell, but when we do have a good product, the Stegosaurus can really be a rockin’ place.
I really think the upgrades should have included Chik-Fil-A as the official vendor. I mean, really. How many times do they play a game on Sunday?
Editor @ Dawg Sports. 3rd degree Red 'n Black Belt.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
by DavetheDawg on Dec 8, 2011 7:13 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
frivolous commas
are frivolous.
Editor @ Dawg Sports. 3rd degree Red 'n Black Belt.
"If we score, we may win. If they never score, we'll never lose."
-Erk Russell
Deficiencies of our own team notwithstanding ...
Perhaps this is a new tradition: Tech coaches get to win their first UGA-GT games in Athens then never win again. /CPJ’d
Editorial Staff, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
@NCThom
Go 'Dawgs!
by NCT on Dec 8, 2011 1:03 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Pepper Rogers'd
OK, he won two, but you get the point.
by FisheriesDawg on Dec 8, 2011 1:56 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I can live with that
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Dec 8, 2011 2:24 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
So far this b-ball season makes a person
think whether or not the Bulldog should hibernate during the winter months……
I HATE ORANGE, and DGNBs
Three words:
Gym. Nas. Tics.
Unless this season, too, is a disappointment, in which case, seriously, Jay Clark needs to go.
Manager, Dawg Sports, SB Nation's Georgia Bulldogs weblog.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Dec 8, 2011 9:32 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
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