In beating the regal Big Blue, UGA proves it’s big-time, too
Gerald Robinson and Trey Thompkins: Some darn good Dawgs. (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
ATHENS – We might have seen the eventual SEC champion here Saturday, and that team mightn’t be the one you’d think. The Georgia Bulldogs looked snooty Kentucky in the eye and weren’t overly impressed by what they saw. The Bulldogs, see, have reason to believe they’re the class of this league, and this result did nothing to dissuade them.
Said Trey Thompkins, surely the SEC’s best player: “We expect to play with teams like Kentucky and Tennessee and Florida. … We feel like we can play with anybody.”
Georgia beat Kentucky 77-70, and it was no home-court fluke. Georgia was the better side for 35 of the 40 minutes. It built an early lead, saw it disappear not long after halftime and then rebuilt it. It was just as Mark Fox, the canny Georgia coach, said it would be.
Here’s what Fox said he told his Bulldogs, who led by 11 at halftime: “[That] we were mature enough to play 40 minutes, mature enough to withstand the run we knew they were going to make. We’re an older team now, and we should be able to finish this type of game.”
And there’s the key reason — one of two key reasons, actually — that Georgia has a chance to serious damage: The Bulldogs are seasoned in a way most big-time college teams aren’t. They start a senior and four juniors. Most of these guys suffered through the final days of Dennis Felton and have found in Fox the man who could maximize their potential.
It’s also clear, in the cold light of hindsight, that Felton’s final recruiting class was his best: Thompkins was in it, and so were Travis Leslie and Dustin Ware. Thing was, Felton’s grind-it-out style would never have showcased their talents. Georgia needed a tactician for that, and Damon Evans, then Georgia’s athletic director, found a Fox for his Hounds.
This correspondent trashed the Fox hire, and this correspondent was as wrong as he has ever been on anything. (Which is saying something.) Fox can sketch X’s and O’s with anybody, and Saturday he outdrew the head Wildcat. John Calipari’s methodology is to recruit one-and-dones and let them freelance off his dribble-drive offense. Fox runs Tex Winter’s old triangle — most know it as Phil Jackson’s triangle — and in this team he has the requisite three sides.
Georgia got the ball where it wanted more often Saturday and found better shots. (It made 44.9 percent of its shots to Kentucky’s 38 percent.) It fed Thompkins early — he had 14 points in 17 first-half minutes — and allowed its guards to shoot when Calipari switched to a zone to keep Thompkins from setting some sort of record. But come the game’s biggest possession, Georgia up five inside the final three minutes, guess where the ball went?
Thompkins on the right baseline. Thompkins turning for a half-hook. Thompkins making it a seven-point game.
Fox: “It was a called play and a big basket. We were going to him, and he made a player-of-the-year-type play.”
Some coaches outsmart themselves by eschewing their main man for fear of a defense overload. Fox sees it more simply: When you’ve got the best player on the floor, you get him the ball.
Thompkins: “He drew up the play. He’s a mastermind.”
Does the play have a name? Said Thompkins, smiling: “It does, but I can’t tell you.”
Whenever Kentucky comes to town, there’s going to be top-shelf talent on display. What was revelatory Saturday was that Georgia had just as many good players as the big-ticket Big Blue. Asked if this was an upset, Leslie said: “Not really. I knew had the tools to compete.”
Asked what he thought after he had watched tape of Kentucky: “I didn’t think we’d be totally outclassed.”
This team won’t be outclassed by anyone it sees. It has the players, it has the blend, and it darn sure has a coach. Georgia could/should be in the SEC East chase until the last dog dies, and don’t be surprised if the last dog standing is a Bulldog.
By Mark Bradley
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228 comments Add your comment
Bark Madly
January 9th, 2011
9:05 am
I don’t believe it, Mark is never wrong about a coach! He is right that Paul Johnson is the greatest coach ever. NO ONE can stop his offense!
GT
January 9th, 2011
9:05 am
There must be some scientific terminology for it. When more energy goes into a operation than the operation produces. Both Georgia football and Tech basketball are eaten up with this. The Georgia basketball program is the opposite. It mainly recruits in Georgia, competes for oxygen with a extravagant football program and in the end is a formula for other schools to follow. I think the fact that Thompkins might walk through the Georgia campus unnoticed since he is not a football player and he is about as humble as I have ever seen a kid may be two places to start looking for the reason of success. Lattimore the football player at South Carolina has some of these same wonderful characteristics. We all could learn from these young men. Great coaches in all sports look for that, I don’t think Fox is lucky, I think he is very good. Bobby Knight use to send em home by the bus loads but the ones that stayed were winners, same with Bear down in Alabama. Gary Patterson at TCU is a modern day version of these coaches.
SimpleDawg
January 9th, 2011
9:08 am
The football team could use a smart, young energetic coach to lend them back from despair and disrepair.
Buzz 2010
January 9th, 2011
9:08 am
Dawgs are the best in the mighty SEC basketball conference!! My gosh they have won more games this year than the past three years combined…
DAWGHATER
January 9th, 2011
9:12 am
Gawga basketball big time..you are joking…Not a big time win since 1983 yawn..stick to football or boiled peanuts..UK will win SEC without the home cooking refs…at Rupp It will be embarassing..
Back to UGA and whatever..
DAWGHATER
January 9th, 2011
9:15 am
GAWGA will end up 4th in SEC East..Is it Spring Football yet..snicker?
boots
January 9th, 2011
9:32 am
UGA and its fans are a strong basketball school. It was excited with the Final Four team. It got behind Tubby, big-time, and rallied around the team. And it even got excited with he-who-shall-not-be-named, before he destroyed our program through the NCAA. This is a football state and UGA is a football school, BUT it is also a basketball state and a basketball school. It really is. UGA can do what may schools can’t – get behind both programs.
Mark Fox is the man. We need to keep him and, if we do, he will grow this program (and this job) in to one of the nation’s best. This team is awesome, and it will go far. It is also just the start of great things to come. Good work, Dawgs & Coach, and know that we are with you, we are excited, and we are loyal. Go Dawgs!
Sandman053
January 9th, 2011
9:35 am
@ boots: very well stated!! And yes he SHALL remain nameless lol). I think this team will do very well this year. Make the dance? probably. win the conference, doubtful, but make a good showing in the SEC Tourney. yep probably so. I am not sure that we are all the way there yet, but maybe so. I for one am going to get over to Stegman and watch them play. Go Dawgs!
DAWGHATER
January 9th, 2011
9:37 am
bet the next home game is 5,000 fans max…wanna bet?UK is the Draw not UGA
Sandman053
January 9th, 2011
9:40 am
@ DAWGHATER I doubt that since the next home game is vs. Tennessee. I’m sure they will have folks come down to the Steg and I think depending on what happens the next week or ten days there will be plenty of red and black in the house. Heck that is January 18th….maybe by the Georgia Tech will have won a game in 2011
BobDog
January 9th, 2011
9:42 am
Bad news for the Dogs. Everytime we beat Kentucky in basketball, they turn around and hire our coach at the end of the season!
jasont13
January 9th, 2011
9:45 am
DAWGHATER, your name clearly states your agenda. Were you there? (i’ll answer these questions for you) No. Did you see how many seats were filled with UK fans? Not many. There was over 11K seats filled and probably 500 UK fans there. UK was not the draw, its the fact that UGA basketball is on the rise.
Sandman053
January 9th, 2011
9:50 am
Was UK ranked? I really haven’t followed college basketball other than UGA lately, but with bowl season winding down I guess I should start.
bitter dawgs fan
January 9th, 2011
9:54 am
to COOL, who’s on top, the BIG dawg!!!!!!!!!!
PS keep going young men—-on a side note, please dont visit the clarke county jail YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW, BAD AS—-’s yaaaaw “R”
Vick=Dog killing Thug
January 9th, 2011
10:01 am
Great win. Go dawgs
Fan of the Game
January 9th, 2011
10:07 am
I heard they could have sold 30,000 tickets yesterday. A great day to have the big recruits in. If the Dawgs can shoot free throws like they did yesterday, great things could happen. In Coach Fox’s offense you are going to get fouled and you have to knock them down. Go Dawgs! Vandy is always a tough place to play.
DawgVoiceofReason
January 9th, 2011
10:09 am
Sandman053,
You really don’t know anything about basketball, do you? “Was UK ranked?” Get real. They are ALWAYS ranked.
Pope UGA XXIII
January 9th, 2011
10:12 am
Very nice article from a Big Blue fan – thanks !
Did anyone notice that there were no “Dancing with the Stars”
episodes going on during the game? These guys came to play,
stayed focused on the game and you see the results. Did you
happen to notice Coach Richt ? I saw Greg McGarity on the
front row at the press table – bet he was taking notes.
Sandman053
January 9th, 2011
10:15 am
Yeah I just looked that up Voice of Reason lol. Made myself look like a D.A. huh? Anyway, I thought they had lost more than they had for some reason.
Ben
January 9th, 2011
10:15 am
I was fortunate enough to attend this game. The fact that the name Gerald Robinson doesn’t appear in this column is a crime. That kid is a player. He gets to the basket at will, and is definitely the most important addition to this program in a long time.
UK IS SEC KING
January 9th, 2011
10:21 am
Question:
How mnay SEC Championships has Georgia won..1 UK 43
How Many National Championships has Georgia won..Zero UK 7
We can go on but useless..Nice win Georgia with refs help..Georgia basketball is a blip on the radar and entertainment til Spring Football..UK is The SEC end of discussion..Next..
harold
January 9th, 2011
10:24 am
GEORGIA IS GOING TO WIN THE SEC THIS YEAR AND COULD BE A FINAL FOUR TEAM. TOO BAD THAT THE FOOTBALL TEAM IS BELOW AVERAGE.
bruce mac
January 9th, 2011
10:25 am
Dawghater, your ignorance is showing. If you knew anythng about the game of basketball you would recognize the difference between the coaching and execution of UGA versus KY. And since UGA sold out 5 games last year you should realize attendance will be excellent all year. But don’t let the facts get in your way, idiot!!!!!
bruce mac
January 9th, 2011
10:28 am
UK is King, calm down there son. No one is saying UGA is now on par with UK. We still can get excited about our team, their effort, our coach, etc. UK is the King, no doubt there.
bruce mac
January 9th, 2011
10:37 am
College BBall is all about freshmen. Last year KY was all freshmen also, how did that work out?
ToccoaDawg
January 9th, 2011
10:43 am
This must be hard for Kentucky Mark to take.
John
January 9th, 2011
11:01 am
It was an upset. Nothing more. Nothing less. Let’s see how the Dawgs look with a bullseye on their back every, single game.
UK IS SEC KING
January 9th, 2011
11:01 am
Elite 8 tops Gawga since 1983……. Gulp…Nice try Bruce…No Cigar
THOROUGHBRED
January 9th, 2011
11:33 am
UK IS SEC KING… really relax man. I bleed blue but were not going to win every game. You must be part of the fan base that thinks when other teams see Kentucky across the jersey our oppenent should just roll over. Put down the big blue kool aid my friend. UGA fans should be pumped.
I want UGA and the other schools in conference to be good year in and year out. Don’t get me wrong I don’t like the dawgs at all. It is better if the SEC as a whole is better in basketball. I like it when we are the heavy favorites to win the SEC but also like when the SEC has a bunch of good teams like this year.
UK is going to struggle every game we get in foul trouble. We have no depth. UGA should of won the game yesterday when the free throw shooting attempts were so lop sided and the rebounding and turnover margins were similar for both teams. UGA shot 18 more free throw than UK. No I am not blaming the refs stats are stats. The East is going to be tough this year for us all.
Flatsdawg1
January 9th, 2011
11:36 am
Great game to watch. Maybe the first time ever we played KY first and won! I’m with Tompkins, they can play with anybody but when they go to the line, I cringe! IF they continue to get better at the line, they will have a shot at going deep in the NCAA tourney! Go DAWGS! I said WOW twice yesterday, after that win and when marshawn lynch shook off everybody but shaun payton. Is it still a good thing if seattle comes to the dome?
Rival
January 9th, 2011
11:46 am
Weird. A Mark Bradley column that didn’t take a dig at Mark Richt or praise the “genius” of Paul Johson…
Buzz Me
January 9th, 2011
11:52 am
As a GT fan I can honestly say I would much rather have the UGA hoops team and coach than Hewitt and the state of our program. Congrats to the Dawgs on a big win.
DAWGS GONE 46
January 9th, 2011
12:31 pm
GEORGIA ‘S BASKETBALL TEAM SHOWED HEART AND PRIDE ,NOT LIKE THE GEORGIA FOOTBALL TEAM . HAS SH OWED NO PRIDE AND LOYALTY TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
January 9th, 2011
12:45 pm
Just returned from Athens and was impressed. Thompkins, Leslie, and Price, dominated the last 5 minutes of the game, particularly on the boards. UK has some great talent but you got the feeling that UGA wanted it more.
Convinced that this team will get an NCAA invite this year. Strong starting 5 plus some bench guys who can come in and give good minutes.
Mummy Head
January 9th, 2011
12:50 pm
It’s not my knife!!
Furman Bishop
January 9th, 2011
12:51 pm
I don’t know what Fox’s coaching salary is at UGA, but he ought to be making as much money as that bloodless, expressionless, mediocrity Richt.
marcus
January 9th, 2011
1:22 pm
you’re a fair weather guy i see, you have about as much loyalty as a wolf. kudos to uga on a quality win and the job they are doing in athens. heaven forbid if they would have lost, you’d have burned the whole team on a stake. have you ever attended a uga or tech game or just write
marcus
January 9th, 2011
1:23 pm
.. the b.s. for the sake of a deadline.
ga_tech_92
January 9th, 2011
1:27 pm
If we had fired Paul Hewitt years ago, we would have done it before UGA was on such a significant upswing. Way to go Tech. Fire Paul Hewitt!
Dawg Tired
January 9th, 2011
1:34 pm
Can this Mark (Fox that is) coach football? Just hoping.
Ted M
January 9th, 2011
1:41 pm
@Vandy Wednesday…I hope its on TV…a win there and that should definitely put the Dawgs in the top 25.
Looks like the Dawgs might not just be looking to make the Tourney but instead will be wrestling for a great seed in the Tourney.
lawzoo
January 9th, 2011
1:43 pm
You had to endure your alma mater getting beat in the spledor of the palatial Stegeman Autotorium? My sympathies!
Ted M
January 9th, 2011
2:06 pm
I understand Dan Radakovich has to spout all the clichéd vote of confidence crap, I just hope he doesn’t believe any of it. He couldn’t possibly look at his basketball program and think it is any good…could he?
Billy Jack
January 9th, 2011
2:39 pm
@ Ted M it is on TV
Ted Striker
January 9th, 2011
2:49 pm
Nice column. Good read, good analysis.
Silly, Silly Bark Madly
January 9th, 2011
3:16 pm
Way to go, UGA Basketball. Now if you could just find 10 UGA fans who cared!
Dawg Fan 1st
January 9th, 2011
3:35 pm
The remodeled coliseum was rocking yesterday. I know Mark Richt was there with some football recruits. I hope some basketball recruits were there to soak in UGA fans do for winning teams. The place was truely electric last night.
Go Dawgs !
UGA needs to up Fox’s pay ! He is a keeper.
UK IS SEC KING
January 9th, 2011
3:57 pm
AJ Green just broke all Bulldog hearts…Going Pro..Nobody in Georgia gives a rats arse about basketball..Leave that to UK..we’ve been doing it for 100 years..Now when does Spring Practice start?
Cats Meow
January 9th, 2011
4:01 pm
What was that stupid video I saw at Stegman about the Texas Western Game ..Isn’t Georgia racist enough without that crap…How about showing your EX AD sniffing those panties in his BMW after the DUI arrest..Now that would be “real” classy! You folks are a piece of work..
SID
January 9th, 2011
4:10 pm
Richt should take pointers from Fox on how to dicipline and motivate!!!!!!!!!!!!