Mike White wants Georgia focused ‘until the ball stops bouncing’

There is no denying the last two seasons for Georgia basketball have been anything but a storybook ending. In fact, it was more than a bad ending, it was a nightmare, both times.

In 2025, Georgia finally punched its ticket back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, only to be paired up with No. 8 Gonzaga, which blew out the Bulldogs 89-68.

Last season, the Bulldogs had their best season under head coach Mike White, finishing 22-11 overall and posting a program-best 10 conference wins. The regular season success helped lead Georgia to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2001-02.

However, a similar, if not worse, fate struck the Bulldogs in Buffalo, New York, this time around. UGA came into its first-round matchup versus 10th-seeded St. Louis, which blitzed the Bulldogs into oblivion. At one point, St. Louis led by as much as 40 points before finishing with a 102-77 win.

This past season’s defeat was shocking because of how well Georgia was playing to round out the regular season, winning five of its final six games, before a second-round exit to Ole Miss at the SEC Tournament and then a season-ending beatdown by the Billikens.

“I feel like our focus down the stretch wasn’t what it was to finish the SEC regular season. I mean, we finished really strong,” White said on Tuesday.

These unfortunate endings left White and his staff searching for answers on how to avoid this situation again in the future. One thing he pointed out was players dealing with off-the-court distractions, the transfer portal, and not being as locked in as they needed to be.

“When you have guys that know that they’re hearing noise, and sometimes not even noise, it’s legitimate; it’s from their agent. These guys have representatives that know that they’ve got very lucrative options at other places,” White said. “It’s easier said than done to continue to be locked in and play the role that your current team needs you to play.”

In retrospect, a handful of UGA’s top playmakers from a year ago did transfer, including Jeremiah Wilkinson, who went to Arkansas; Somto Cyril transferred to Miami; Jake Wilkins and Jordan Ross moved on to Cal; and Dylan James left for George Washington.

Even returning starters Blue Cain, Marcus “Smurf” Millender, Kanon Catchings and Kareem Stagg all had better and more lucrative options but chose to stay to lead this year’s group, White said. But how the coaching staff navigates the portal while retaining players’ attention for the full year will be the key.

“As you prepare for the end of the season and the portal’s right around the corner, we have racked our brains as a staff, with other staffs; I’ll continue to evaluate it and investigate it all season,” White said. “How do you keep guys locked in all season to being a 2026-2027 Georgia Bulldog until the ball stops bouncing? And then let’s figure out what we’re doing next.”

Staying locked in for the entire season seems simple enough, but given how ever-changing the landscape of college athletics is with NIL and the transfer portal, maintaining players’ focus for an extended period does bring its challenges.

“It’s at every level,” White said. “It’s prevalent in the NBA. We’re talking about 19-year-olds being able to handle that, not 30-year-old professionals, 19-year-olds that are juggling classes at the same time, and it’s the first time they’ve been through it. I’ve got to do a better job at managing that.”