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DEL.ICIO.USDogs a different breed since last visit to Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Bradley
Athens — When last Georgia played at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the Bulldogs lost by 38 points and were relieved it wasn’t 50 or 60. Georgia Tech was eight months removed from the NCAA championship game, and Georgia was free-falling to its post-Jim Harrick low.
Two years later, the Bulldogs are rising as fast as they’d plummeted. Georgia will arrive at Tech for Friday’s date having won its past seven games and having toppled No. 16 Gonzaga. What seemed a perfunctory entity a month ago now bears the look of a major test for both programs. The Jackets were ranked in preseason but aren’t today; picked to finish last in the SEC East, the Bulldogs are close to crashing the Top 25.
“Things have changed significantly,” said Sundiata Gaines, the point guard who suffered through that 87-49 thrashing in December 2004. “We’ve got a lot of talented players now.”
Case study: Two years ago, the freshman center Dave Bliss started against Tech and fouled out in four official minutes. (“Less than that, actually,” said Dennis Felton, Georgia’s coach. “It was three-something.”) Today Bliss is Georgia’s 10th man. It isn’t that he has gotten worse — on the contrary, he has improved quite a lot — but that the Bulldogs keep adding.
With Harrick’s holdovers gone and probation setting in, Georgia finished 8-20 two seasons ago. Those Bulldogs averaged just 60.1 points, infamously managing an aggregate 75 in consecutive losses to Vanderbilt and Florida. Today an emboldened Georgia averages 91.8 points, third-most among Division I schools, and is a team transformed.
“We knew [in 2004-05] we had to shorten games just to have a chance,” Felton said. “Last year was the first time we had anything resembling reasonable depth, and we started to run more. That didn’t really work out then [the Bulldogs lost 12 of their last 17 games to finish 15-15], but it helped to make us a better running team now. Today our games are some of the fastest-paced in the country.”
A proud man, Felton is proudest of this: Georgia has bootstrapped itself without cutting a single corner, without even landing a McDonald’s All-American. (Tech has two in its freshman class.) “We’ve made progress without a lucky break,” he said. “There have been no home runs, no magic moments. Louis Williams [who signed with Georgia but entered the NBA draft out of high school] would have been a home run, but he didn’t come here. We’ve done it the old-fashioned way.”
For a time, it was possible to wonder if Felton was too old-fashioned. The attrition rate during his stewardship has been pronounced: Younes Idrissi was ushered out after last season, and Channing Toney, a two-year starter, just departed. Indeed, the Bulldogs might well be undefeated if transfer Takais Brown, the biggest inside presence Felton has had in his four seasons here, had been deployed in the season’s first two games. (Brown was academically eligible by Georgia standards, but not by his coach’s.)
With Brown, who has scored in double figures in every game since being cleared to play, Georgia has struck a balance that Gonzaga, which beat North Carolina last month, conspicuously couldn’t handle. The Bulldogs were already strong on the perimeter: Gaines leads the league in steals and is second in assists; Levi Stukes is a superior shooter, and Mike Mercer, who played alongside the more heralded Williams at South Gwinnett, is strong enough to take any collegiate defender off the dribble.
“Dennis has done a great job letting players mature,” said Cliff Warren, formerly Paul Hewitt’s assistant at Tech. Now Jacksonville’s coach, Warren was speaking after Georgia beat his Dolphins here Tuesday. “He put Levi Stukes and Mike Mercer out there as freshmen and said, ‘Go play.’ They’ve developed their players.”
The next three weeks should be instructive. After Tech, Georgia plays Clemson, Wisconsin and Florida.
The Bulldogs could lose all four — only the Wisconsin game is at home — but surely won’t. (Gaines sprained his ankle Tuesday but isn’t expected to be lost for extended duty.) Two years after not having a prayer against any opponent of consequence, the Bulldogs stand a chance against anybody anywhere.
Permalink | Comments (20) | Post your comment | Categories: Mark Bradley, Tech / ACC, UGA / SEC
Comments
By BarkinDog
December 21, 2006 09:54 AM | Link to this
We’re going to the big dance, Mark! The Dawgs have finally risen from the Harrick as*es, I mean ashes. I knew Coach Felton would retore order in this program, having watched him take Western Kentucky to the dance and beat Kentucky more often than most. Barring injuries, UGA roundball will be very exciting to watch this year and for many more. Go Dawgs… all the way to the top ten!
By Perfunctory Entity
December 21, 2006 10:17 AM | Link to this
I had to look up “perfunctory entity”. “Perfunctory” means routine, rote, mechanical, done without care. I knew what entity meant. Although it is not clear from the sentence, the context of the article makes it appear that the phrase “perfunctory entity” is used to describe the UGA basketball teams of the recent past. The idea is, apparently, that prior UGA teams were just ‘going through the motions’. However, if the phrase is supposed to mean that the UGA-Tech game looked originally to be a predetermined Tech victory then the choice of words seems very awkward.
Merry Christmas and Go Dawgs
By Barry
December 21, 2006 10:26 AM | Link to this
Mark:
It’s time for the Dawgs to start talking about a contract extension. Felton has performed magically, both on and off the court. Imagine a coach at other schools, coming off terrible (2004-5) and mediocre (2005-6) seasons and still having the strength of will to bench an excellent player because he didn’t perform to the coach’s standards academically.
I don’t know that the Dawgs are a NCAA tournament team yet (that will surely come next year) but I do know that after years of humiliation, I am proud to be a Dawgs basketball fan again.
By GADAWG
December 21, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this
Shut the perfunctory up
By Buck Cochran in the NW
December 21, 2006 10:45 AM | Link to this
What time Gaines will be slowed down, I hope it’s the Tech game. That way meybe he “full bore” for the other 3. I won’t be able to watch many games unless they play on ESPN, so go win a bunch for we Dawg fans on the wrong side of the “Big Ditch”, that’s the only way we get to watch you play.
By Gordon
December 21, 2006 12:00 PM | Link to this
Even as a Tech fan, I’ve seen for years that Felton was going to turn it around at Georgia. That was never the question. The question is whether Georgia will support the program enough to keep him. You have a 40 year old (it isn’t called the Stegasaurus for nothing) arena and could only draw 6,000 against Gonzaga. The other night against Jacksonville it looked like the place was empty. Any basketball blog quickly turns to a discussion of football. Felton is a great coach, but he’ll go the way of Tubby if basketball is always treated as the red headed step child. No one expects it to be bigger than football at UGA, but I wonder if there are enough people at UGA who really care. Anyway, it should be a great game Friday. I hope Gaines is recovered by then.
By sam
December 21, 2006 12:24 PM | Link to this
Coach Felton is a class act, You cant help but root for him and his team. But then again, who cares about UGA Hoops?
By Joe
December 21, 2006 12:30 PM | Link to this
Gordon, The Gonzaga game was played in Gwinnett, not at Stegeman. Get your facts straight.
By Gordon
December 21, 2006 12:54 PM | Link to this
Read my post again, Joe. I never said it was played at Stegeman. I am well aware of where it was played. 6,000 against a top 20 team on a weekend night isn’t a good crowd anywhere. My point was that a great coach like Felton will be lured away if it is obvious not enough people really cares. The post that followed mine proved my point.
By HAPPY AS HELL REGGIE IS SO DUMB
December 21, 2006 01:21 PM | Link to this
TO HELL WITH UGA
By Ernest T
December 21, 2006 01:55 PM | Link to this
I don’t understand this “football only” attitude that is prevalent with UGA fans. Fans of other SEC schools that have highly respected football programs don’t have any trouble mustering up some interest in basketball. Look at Florida , LSU or Arkansas. UGA football isn’t so far advanced of everyone else in the league to warrant the indifference toward every other sport
By Joe
December 21, 2006 02:41 PM | Link to this
You wrote: “You have a 40 year old (it isn’t called the Stegasaurus for nothing) arena and could only draw 6,000 against Gonzaga.”
I hear what you’re saying, but the way you wrote it implies that you’re talking about Stegeman.
A short english lesson: You’ve connected two independent clauses with the coordinating conjunction “and,” thus implying a relationship between the two clauses. Take the following sentence for example: “George is an idiot and he’s a Tech fan.”
Now, under your logic, the “he” of the second clause could refer to someone else. But we know that’s not the case because that clause has been linked to the previous one by a coordinating conjunction.
It’s okay. You’re just not a very good writer. I’d blame Tech for not teaching you any better.
By Gordon
December 21, 2006 03:13 PM | Link to this
Joe,
There IS a relationship between the two clauses. Both (an outdated arena and a small crowd against a worthy opponent) indicate an indifference of UGA towards basketball. Your “clever” analogy is completely off base. Your mistake is that you think the common subject between the two clauses is Stegeman, when in fact it is the UGA basketball program. There is nothing in “…only draw 6,000 against Gonzaga” that has any bearing on where the game was played. They both support my larger point. Get it?
Neither I nor any Tech graduate needs lessons from you in English or anything else. Good luck to your team Friday.
By GT Fan Jeff
December 21, 2006 04:02 PM | Link to this
Gordon and Joe….
Enough, already. This is supposed to be a basketball blog today. Guys like you two are the reason I stopped listening to 790 The Zone in the afternoons…they talk about everything now except sports.
By the way..to hell with Georgia.
By NO WAY
December 21, 2006 04:40 PM | Link to this
Felton sucks. Fire him.
By Jay
December 21, 2006 04:47 PM | Link to this
No one cares about uga basketball. More people care about tech football, and thats saying something.
By Ron Roberts
December 21, 2006 05:11 PM | Link to this
Give it time… my fellow Dawg-blawgers will turn this into a conversation about our beloved football team… wich is part of the problem w/our basketball program.
Truth be told, Felton’s starting to get the recruiting tools he needs. Anybody visiting www.georgiadogs.com will see the facility being built adjacent to Stegman Coliseum. It’s very nice! Will be a TERRIFIC recruiting tool for him to bring Georgia Basketball into a consistent Top 25 status, I think.
I, too, would like to see Stegman replaced; but frankly, I’m not sure even that’s necessary, so much as I think a massive overhaul is needed. The addition of the flat-endzone seats in the early 1990s made quite a difference, and I think some better lighting and more open concourses woould go a long way. There’s not a bad seat in the house (as they alllll say when touting a facility) and let’s be honest, Duke seems to do okay with their ancient, cramped facility.
It’s a lack of tradition, alumni and sometimes even student support that makes Stegman look colossally ancient. The Roman Coliseum wouldn’t look so bad if there were bodies in the seats, ya know?
That being said, an arena on-campus, adjacent to downtown Athens (near the decade-old Athens-Clarke Civie Center and parking deck(s) would certainly benefit both Athens-Clarke County and the University, as well.
But I’d be okay with keeping Stegman and just developing a more vibrant atmosphere around this and the ladies’ program.
By blackmountaindawg
December 21, 2006 05:38 PM | Link to this
The support is there for hoops at UGA. It shows up when we have a competitive team. During the winning years of the last regime and Tubby’s, we sold out SEC game after SEC game. When this team starts winning all or most of their SEC games, and its coming, the Steg will be packed.
By GW
December 21, 2006 10:44 PM | Link to this
I’ve been to several packed house games at Stegeman over the years. Those were seasons when Georgia was contending for an NCAA Tourney spot and not playing Gardner Webb or Jacksonville. When the team is truly good and playing a legitimate opponent the fans will show up. If the team can at least split with Tech and Clemson there will be a good crowd vs. Wisconsin on 12/31. If they lose both, the fans will think “here we go again.” Win and they will come. It may be 40 but there is nothing wrong with Stegeman. I can tell by the hairstyles that Felton may be loosening the noose a bit.
By Kenny
December 22, 2006 01:24 AM | Link to this
Go Jackets