Georgia basketball searches for next star player

ATHENS – Remember when Georgia basketball had some star power? It wasn’t so long ago.

While the Bulldogs’ men’s team was left out of the postseason this year and has been oddly quiet in recruiting and the transfer portal – so far – they are at least well represented in the NBA playoffs. Three former Bulldogs, in fact, are set to compete in the NBA postseason, which begins this weekend.

They are Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Nicolas Claxton and Anthony Edwards:

• Caldwell-Pope, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, is in his first season with the Denver Nuggets (53-29), the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor, 42.3% from 3-point range and 82.4 percent from the line. He is making his fourth appearance with a third franchise in the playoffs, including helping the L.A. Lakers capture the 2020 NBA championship.
• Claxton, the No. 31 pick of the 2019 NBA draft, is in his fourth season with the Brooklyn Nets, the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Nets will take on 3-seed Philadelphia in the opening round Saturday. Claxton started all 76 games this season while connecting on a league-high 70.5% of his shots from the field. He averaged career highs of 12.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game and is a leading candidate for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors.
• Edwards – aka “Ant Man” – became the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft following his one season at Georgia, in which he earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors. An All-Star selection with Minnesota, the Timberwolves finished eighth in the Western Conference standings and are currently involved in the NBA’s play-in tournament. Edwards wrapped up the regular season ranked No. 23 among the NBA’s scoring leaders (24.6 ppg) as well as No. 10 in steals (1.6 pg). He also averaged 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists. In January, Edwards became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 500 career 3-pointers.

Meanwhile, Georgia and coach Mike White remain in search mode for the program’s next great player. All has been quiet on the recruiting front, both from the high school ranks and the transfer portal. The Bulldogs have seen only rising senior Kario Oquendo enter the portal – open since March 13 – and no one else come their way as of Wednesday.

Georgia signed two high school players in the November period in Dylan James and Mari Jordan. James is a 6-foot-9 forward from Winter Haven, Fla., who is the nation’s 79th-ranked player per 247Sports. Jordan hails from Norcross, and the 6-6 wing player who is ranked No. 97.

Meanwhile, there are some really big names in the portal. One of those is North Carolina guard Caleb Love, who announced Tuesday he is transferring to Michigan. The biggest name also is the biggest person: 7-foot-1, 260-pound center Hunter Dickinson of Michigan. Kentucky is among the many suitors, but some predictions have Dickinson remaining with the Wolverines. Surely the Bulldogs made a pass.