ATHENS – Georgia nabbed another quality player out of the transfer portal and, suddenly, the Bulldogs look like they’re ready to compete again in the SEC.
They’re definitely bigger after adding Russel Tchewa to the 2023-24 roster. Tchewa is coming to UGA from the University of South Florida (USF), where he’s listed as 7-feet tall and weighing 285 pounds. Tchewa was the Bulls’ leading rebounder (8.6 rpg) and No. 2 scorer (11.1 ppg) last season while starting 29 of 30 games. He scored in double figures 11 times, including eight of South Florida’s last 12 games.
A native of Douala, Cameroon, Tchewa (pronounced CHEE-wuh) began his career at Texas Tech, where he spent one season. He has one year of eligibility remaining with the Bulldogs. Joe Tipton of on3.com was first to report Tchewa’s pledge. UGA has yet to announce his signing.
“I’m excited to play for the coach and staff and want to contribute and help us have a special, special year,” Tchewa told Tipton.
Tchewa is a math major who speaks four languages (English, French, Italian and Cameroonian). He played for Brian Gregory at USF, which is now coached by former Georgia assistant and Kennesaw head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. He learned to play basketball while living in Italy before coming to the U.S. to play one year at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.
For the Bulldogs and second-year coach Mike White, Tchewa is the third portal addition this spring and the sixth new player overall. Georgia added RJ Melendez from Illinois and Jalen DeLoach of VCU via transfer and signed Silas Demary, a Top 100 guard from Combine Academy in Charlotte last week. The Bulldogs also signed high school played Mari Jordan and Dylan James in the early period, giving them a total of five former Top 100 recruits with which to go to battle next season.
Georgia can sign at least one more player before next season. The Bulldogs return six players from last year’s team, which went 16-16 (6-12 SEC) in White’s first season as coach.
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