Even though podunkdawg beat me to the punch, it bears repeating that Trey Thompkins is NBA-bound and Travis Leslie is testing the waters. If you're an optimist, that means one of them is gone and the other one is exploring his options while preserving the possibility of returning to Athens for another season. If you're a realist, that means one of them is gone and the other one is long gone. You don't need Depressive Kyle to rear his ugly handsome head to know that the realistic view is the one that makes the most sense; guys who had the choice whether to return for their junior seasons don't choose to return for their senior seasons, and guys don't explore options they aren't already inclined to take.

Leslie and Thompkins are guys, like Sundiata Gaines and Dominique Wilkins, to whom we owe tremendous gratitude for putting Georgia basketball on the map while they were in the Classic City. They are damn good 'Dawgs who deserve our thanks . . . but now our thoughts must turn to the future, and to the question whether the Fox Hounds have the long-term staying power the program lacked after the departures of Gaines and (following the Final Four run, obviously) Wilkins. Here is where we find out whether Mark Fox is our Lon Kruger or our Billy Donovan. This time, at least, it actually matters to me which way that one breaks.

Let the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope era begin!

Go 'Dawgs!