Georgia’s three seniors will be honored before Wednesday night’s game against Florida at Stegeman Coliseum on the occasion of playing their final home games for the Bulldogs.
No, freshman Anthony Edwards won’t be similarly feted.
Edwards -- who was named as a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award on Tuesday -- will indeed be playing his final game at Stegeman Coliseum, too. Unless, that is, the Bulldogs (15-14, 5-11 SEC) get on some crazy kind of run and play their way into a postseason bid of some sort. The way Georgia and Edwards have been playing lately, that's within the realm of possibility.
As it is, though, this likely will be we the last the locals will see live and in person of the one they’ve come to call “Ant Man.” That Wednesday’s game is Georgia’s seventh sellout and is expected to draw the 11th crowd of more than 10,000 its home arena is no coincidence. Projected as a Top 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Edwards will be cleaning out his UGA locker as soon as the season is complete.
But that's kind of like the family secret the Bulldogs don't really talk about. Besides, it's somewhat of a basketball faux pas to draw any attention away from the players whose careers have represented a true matriculation and dedication to the alma mater.
“I just think you focus on the most important aspect and that’s getting ready to play the game,” Georgia coach Tom Crean said Tuesday. “Obviously when it’s Senior Night, you focus on that. But the focus is really on how we get ready to play Florida more than anything else.”
There are team goals the Bulldogs still can achieve. The most tangible one is a scenario in which they could play their way out of a bottom-four seed for the SEC Tournament. The league’s last four teams have to compete in a play-in game next week in Nashville.
Georgia currently stands 13th among the 14 SEC teams, tied with Ole Miss (14-15, 5-11) but just a game behind Arkansas (18-11, 6-10) and Missouri (14-15, 6-10) for the 10th spot, which won’t play until Thursday. To be in position for that, the Bulldogs likely would need to win the last two regular-season games, Wednesday versus Florida and this Saturday at LSU.
That may seem unreasonable considering the last two opponents are currently among the top four seeds and are playing for the coveted two-round bye that comes with that. But Georgia is playing really well of late, winning three of the last four and losing only an overtime game on the road to South Carolina.
Finishing strong is a source of motivation for the Bulldogs’ seniors, especially Tyree Crump and Jordan Harris. The two South Georgia buddies came to UGA four years ago as a package deal. But they’ve experienced the joy of postseason play only that freshman year when Georgia made a one-round appearance in the NIT.
Every year, they’ve come in with expectations far more grandiose than that. Understandably, they haven’t given up on such hopes this season.
“We're not thinking about anything but winning this next game,” Crump said.
Georgia knows it can. The Bulldogs had the Gators seemingly down for the count in Feb. 5 in Gainesville. Georgia led by 22 points with 16:43 to play only to watch Florida execute its largest comeback in school history. Guard Andrew Nembhard scored 14 of his 25 points in the final seven minutes and the Gators won 81-75.
Thanks in part to that win, Florida (18-11, 10-6) is currently tied with Mississippi State for the coveted fourth spot in the SEC. The Bulldogs would like nothing better than to exact revenge.
“That’s the rival school, man,” Harris said of Florida. “I mean, when you go against that orange and blue you just try to destroy them. That’s always been the case here, in every sport.”
Such subtleties have become fully ingrained in an indoctrinated senior. If Edwards was not initially aware, Harris has made sure that he is now. The 6-foot-5 guard from Atlanta scored 32 points in that first meeting and enters his final home game leading his team as well as the nation’s freshmen in scoring at 19.8 points per game.
Edwards is in a particularly torrid stretch at the moment, scoring 62 points in the last two games to earn SEC freshman of the week honors for a record fourth time this season. He has gotten better of late, scoring more efficiently and playing better defense down the stretch.
Georgia’s seniors, including graduate transfer Donnell Gresham, don’t begrudge Edwards for all the attention he has gotten. In fact, they believe they’ve had a hand in his growing maturity on and off the court this season.
“Anthony, he’s a stud, man,” Harris said. “He’s a great basketball player, but he’s a great person also. He’s young, and just having this time with him has been good. We’ve been able to learn from each other. I just hope I had an impact on him while he was here.”
For at least 20 minutes before tipoff Wednesday, though, the evening is going to be all about the Bulldogs’ three seniors. UGA is urging fans to be in their seats inside Stegeman by 6:40 p.m. for Senior Day ceremonies. They will be accompanied at center court by their families, which is a big deal for all of them but particularly for Gresham, whose family will be traveling to Athens from St. Paul, Minn.
All of them expect it to be an emotional exercise.
“Most definitely, I’m gonna cry like a baby,” Crump said. “I’m a real emotional guy.”
GEORGIA’S SENIORS
- Tyree Crump, 6-1, 185, Bainbridge: Wears the number 4. A three-time all-state player for Bainbridge High School, where he scored in double figures in 101 of 109 games. Signed with UGA under former coach Mark Fox as a 3-point specialist and has lived up to billing. Started 21 career games, including 14 this season, before moving into a reserve role midseason. Made 30-foot, buzzer-beating shot to defeat Vanderbilt in Nashville on Feb. 22 and several key shots down stretch for 14 points in Georgia's last win versus Arkansas. Scored a career-high 25 points in 2018 versus Texas Southern. Will leave among school's Top 10 in 3-pointers made. He needs eight more makes to tie Bernard Davis at No. 9.
- Jordan Harris, 6-5, 195, Iron City: wears the number 2. A highly-decorated player out of Seminole County, Harris was the 2A Player of the Year. Led his school to 28-3 record and state title in 2015. A major contributor throughout out his career, only injuries and a couple disciplinary suspensions have held him back. After missing the first nine games of this season, Harris became a regular starter this year. Scored a career-high 18 points against Auburn last year during a late stretch when he had double figures in nine of 10 games.
- Donnell Gresham, 6-3, 195, St. Paul, Minn.: Wears the number 0. Came to Georgia as a graduate transfer from Northeastern University, where he was the everyday starter at point guard and had 105 assists as a junior. Started 20 games for the Bulldogs, but lately has come off bench in deference to freshman Sahvir Wheeler. Scored 13 points twice at Georgia and is averaging 4.1 rebounds.
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