ATHENS – Normally exhibition games bring forth a collective yawn from fans. But for Georgia basketball fans – and there still are a lot – Friday night’s exhibition against Morehouse should be like Christmas morning when you finally get to open those mysterious packages that have been sitting underneath the tree.
Few things are more unknown than what Georgia might look like this season. Yes, coach Tom Crean’s fourth team was picked to finish last in the SEC by the league’s coaches. Then, again, there’s always excitement in newness, and there’s a lot of newness to behold in the Bulldogs.
And Friday’s game will come without the anxiousness of having anything to actually lose. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Stegeman Coliseum and admission is free. UGA will even be selling beer for the first time in school history. It’s described as a “pilot program,” so mind your manners.
No, Friday will be about making the final tweaks and adjustments for the regular season. That comes Tuesday when the Bulldogs play host to Florida International (7 p.m.).
Georgia’s roster includes 10 newcomers who will making their Stegeman Coliseum debut. Five of them made up the Bulldogs’ starting lineup for their last exhibition game Oct. 24 at Charlotte. They were sixth-year seniors Aaron Cook and Jailyn Ingram, senior Braelen Bridges and sophomores Jabri Abdur-Rahim and Kario Oquendo getting the nod. Ingram, a 6-foot-7 forward from Madison, led Georgia in that outing with 19 points, while Abdur-Rahim added 12 points. All of them came in via the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Georgia has only four returning lettermen. Those include former walkon Jaxon Etter, who chipped in 10 off the bench in the 76-65 loss against Charlotte. The others returnees are junior Tyron McMillan, sophomore Josh Taylor and senior Jonathan Ned.
The Bulldogs lost their only return starter in graduate forward P.J. Horne, who suffered an ACL tear in preseason practice. The other four transferred out.
Morehouse College, the well-known Atlanta institution, is Division II in basketball. It is returning to action year after cancelling its 2020-21 season due to the pandemic. Two seasons ago, the Maroon Tigers finished 16-13 overall and advanced to the semifinals of the SIAC Tournament.
The Maroon Tigers played an exhibition game at Georgia Tech last Sunday. They fell 89-52.
Friday’s game will be the third between the Bulldogs and Maroon Tigers in a decade. They faced off in 2016 in a regular-season game in 2016, which Georgia won 86-72.
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