Georgia will be without its leading scorer and rebounder when it travels to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks on Saturday.
Marcus Thornton will miss the game while he recovers from a concussion suffered in this past Tuesday night’s 70-62 win over Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-8 power forward landed on his head, neck and shoulders when he was the victim of a flagrant foul as he attempted a fast-break dunk in the first half. Thornton immediately popped up after the play and finished the game.
Thornton finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds but experienced dizziness, nausea and pain in the second half and immediate aftermatch. He was checked out by doctors in the training room after the game concluded and went in for further testing Wednesday morning. He has been unable to participate since.
“Marcus was injured in the game and obviously we have a concussion protocol that’s in place,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “He’s a great kid who’s been through a lot. He’ll get through this, too. But obviously we’ll be without him until he’s cleared.”
Thornton leads the Bulldogs with an average of 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. Georgia is already playing without starting small forward Juwan Parker, who’s out with an Achilles injury, and his backup Kenny Paul Geno, who has a broken wrist. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs (14-5, 4-2 SEC) have won five games in a row.
“Regardless of who’s out at a given point, we’ve still got to suit up and represent the university and represent ourselves as well,” sophomore guard J.J. Frazier said. “And that’s what we’ve been doing. Others have picked up the slack in guys’ absences and we’re looking forward to doing the same.”
With Thornton out, the Bulldogs most likely lean hard on freshman Yante Maten. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Maten plays Thornton’s power forward on offense and then guards the post as a center on defense while playing on the front line with senior starter Nemanja Djurisic. Maten averages 4.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 18 minutes of play per game.
Maten also missed a game with a concussion this season. He missed Georgia’s road win at Vanderbilt on Jan. 14 after being struck by a car in a pedestrian cross-walk accident a few days earlier.
The Bulldogs also play 6-8 sophomore Houston Kessler and 6-9 freshman Osahen Iduwe regularly on the front line and can play 6-7 win Cameron Forte in the low post.
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