Georgia will play Vanderbilt on Wednesday night with a depleted roster that has been ravaged by injuries. But considering what could have been, the Bulldogs will arrive thankful just to be battered and bruised.
Yante Maten, a star freshman from Detroit, was struck by a car in a pedestrian crosswalk accident Sunday night. He escaped with only a concussion and some minor cuts to his face. But the thought of what could have happened has kept in perspective the thought of a little athletic attrition.
“A freak, unfortunate accident,” sophomore guard J.J Frazier said. “Thank God, he’s OK. We’re praying for a speedy recovery.”
Said junior Charles Mann: “You never want a friend, a brother, to be put in a situation like that. I’m glad he’s OK. He’s going to come back, and when he comes back he’s going to be stronger.”
Maten should be OK. It remains to be seen whether Georgia’s team will be.
Maten’s injury is the latest and most dramatic for the Bulldogs. In all, four players are sidelined with various wounds.
The status of starting guard Juwan Parker is uncertain after he left the LSU game because of a chronic Achilles tendon issue. They already know they will be without forward Kenny Paul Geno, who is out for several weeks with a fractured wrist. And freshman forward Brandon Young had to be taken to the hospital Tuesday to be treated for gash above his eye. He’ll be available if needed but has yet to play this season.
Then there’s the matter of Georgia’s bruised psyche. The Bulldogs (9-5, 0-2 SEC) are coming off excruciatingly close losses in their first two games, against Arkansas and LSU. The latest was an 87-83 double-overtime defeat in Baton Route
“We can’t dwell on that situation,” Mann said of both the injuries and the losses. “It’s tough. We’re in a hole. We’re down two games in the conference. We’ve just got to come out and fight.”
Said Frazier: “We’re prepared for it. We have a deep team. Coach (Mark Fox) prepares us for the ‘next man up’ mentality. That’s what we’re accustomed to and that’s what we’ll continue to do throughout the season until everybody gets healthy.”
Vanderbilt (11-4, 1-1) already is a tough team to beat without being short-handed. The Commodores rarely lose in quirky Memorial Gymnasium, where they play on a raised court with the team benches situated under the opposing goals.
Maten’s loss attacks Georgia’s depth in the front court. The 6-foot-8 forward was averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds with a team-high 26 blocks and was coming off a career-high 28 minutes against LSU. Senior Nemanja Djurisic starts at that position, and the Bulldogs will try to shore up with sophomore Houston Kessler and senior Cameron Forte.
Parker has not practiced since the LSU game, and his availability for Vanderbilt will be determined before tipoff.
“This is a curve ball,” Fox said of all the injuries. “I’m just thankful that nobody’s hurt more than they are. … We’ll figure out a way.”
The Bulldogs can help their cause by taking better care of the basketball. Point guards Frazier and Mann combined for 11 of Georgia’s 20 turnovers against LSU.
“When your point guards play like that, you don’t have a chance to win — but we still did,” Frazier said “That’s what really hurts more than anything. But that gave us a sense of urgency to get our stuff together. We’ve got to get back on track and it starts with us.”
Maten was using a cross walk on Carlton Street on Sunday night near Aderhold Hall when he was hit. Maten would have been much more seriously injured had he not jumped seconds before impact. As it was, he was thrown up into the air and smashed the car’s windshield. He suffered minor facial lacerations and some bruising and soreness in his legs, but the concussion is the only thing keeping him sidelined.
“He was able to jump before the car hit him, so instead of having broken legs and getting run over, he went up and shattered the windshield,” Fox said. “So we’re just thankful he’s OK.”
The driver was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, according to UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson, but Yaten declined to pursue any other charges. Both parties were treated at the scene by emergency medical technicians.
Fox said Maten’s return will be determined by UGA’s medical staff using concussion protocol.
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