Bulldogs thrive on adversity, uncertainty

Maybe this is the way Georgia wants it. Maybe the Bulldogs prefer to have some kind of dreadful unknown hanging over their heads when they go into a competition.

Maybe adversity isn’t merely something they have to face. Maybe for them it’s a super-vitamin they simply open up and swallow down.

That would appear to be the case as the Bulldogs await their turn to take the court at Bridgestone Arena for the SEC tournament. Because of the double-bye that comes with their top-four seeding, Georgia doesn’t play until late Friday night when it faces the South Carolina-Ole Miss winner from Thursday in the tournament’s 10th game.

As has been the case virtually all season, Georgia will head into the game with rampant uncertainty regarding its lineup. Kenny Gaines, the Bulldogs’ second-leading scorer and best perimeter defender, remains questionable with a foot injury that kept him out of the regular-season finale at Auburn.

Of course, Georgia won that game, too. With point guard Charles Mann switching to Gaines’ shooting guard position and small forward Juwan Parker stepping in to play his most minutes since going down with an Achilles tendon injury in January, the Bulldogs pulled out a three-point victory.

It was their 20th of the season, nailed down the No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament and likely took away any doubt that Georgia will make the NCAA tournament.

But that’s just kind of how this team rolls. It seems to thrive on adversity.

“I wouldn’t oppose that (assertion),” said captain Marcus Thornton, a senior power forward. “This team does deal with adversity very well. We’ve had our fair share of it. Hopefully Kenny will be back. Whether he is or not, we’re going to take it as far as we can.”

Said coach Mark Fox: “I think they believe in each other. Obviously, so many different things have come up, they just kind of keep plugging. And I’m really proud of them for that, quite frankly.”

Georgia’s weekly scrum with injuries has been well-documented. Since small forward Kenny Paul Geno went out with a broken wrist against Arkansas in the first SEC game, a week has not passed when the Bulldogs were not dealing with an illness or injury concern.

Yante Maten, J.J. Frazier and Thornton each missed games with concussions, Cameron Forte missed two games with the flu and Parker missed 14 games with a chronic Achilles injury that will require surgery at season’s end.

Then Gaines went down, spraining his left foot in practice March 5. He didn’t practice in Athens before the Bulldogs left for Nashville on Wednesday, and it’s uncertain whether he was able to go in their shoot-around at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday morning or their practice at Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon. Those were closed workouts, and Georgia would just as soon keep his availability to itself.

Whatever Gaines’ availability is, the Bulldogs aim not to let it affect them.

“A lot of times throughout the season we were backed into a corner, and we had to fight our way out,” junior guard Charles Mann. “We always found a way to win. It happened probably four or five times. That has made us stronger as a team. And we’ve got to continue to build on that.”

Mann’s versatility has helped the situation, as he has started at all three backcourt positions. But Georgia also is one of few SEC teams to have five players who average double-figure scoring. Thornton leads the way with 12.2 points (and 7.0 rebounds) per game. Gaines (11.7 points), Nemanja Djurisic (11.4) and Mann (11.2) round out that group.

Georgia’s strength-through-adversity mindset actually dates to before the season started. While it’s mostly been forgotten now, the Bulldogs suffered a potentially damaging blow when Brandon Morris was dismissed from the team over the offseason for pot possession.

The 6-foot-7 Morris was a 25-game starter at small forward last season, the third-leading scorer and one of team’s top defensive forces. He transferred to California State-Bakersfield and is having to sit out as a junior this season.