UGA’s hoops epitaph: It gave itself a chance but lost anyway
It was both the end of the road and the story of the season. (AP photo)
Charlotte — “Losing in the tournament,” Mark Fox said, his voice a rasp as Friday night became Saturday morning, “there should be no shame in that.” There shouldn’t, and there isn’t. You could even describe the presence of Georgia in the NCAA tournament as a breakthrough. And yet …
The season that ended here didn’t feel quite that emphatic. Georgia won 21 games and made the Big Dance, yes. It also lost 12 games and was gone from the NCAA after 40 minutes that could stand as the season in miniature.
The Bulldogs got what they wanted against Washington — the game, the pace, the score. They just couldn’t win it. “Yes,” said Fox, the Georgia coach, “that was frustrating.”
Two years ago it was possible to wonder if the Bulldogs would ever again grace the only tournament that matters. That they made it in their second try under Fox says much about this coach, and in a different era we would look on Georgia and foresee, to borrow from the late Al McGuire, only seashells and balloons. But we live in a colder time, where this season’s team can bear little resemblance to next’s.
There’s a chance we might have watched one of the more talented Bulldog assemblages come and go without registering even one NCAA tournament win. Not since the early ’80s, when Dominique Wilkins and Vern Fleming worked in tandem, has Georgia had a duo as gifted as Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, but what are the chances we’ll see either or both of these juniors play another collegiate minute?
Said Fox: “They could come back and we could have a great team. They could leave and we could have a young team. One could stay and one could go.”
Fox has signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a shooting guard from Greenville High who should become Georgia’s first McDonald’s All-American recruit since Carlos Strong in 1992. (Louis Williams was a McDonald’s All-American but didn’t enroll; Damien Wilkins was, but arrived as a transfer.) Put Caldwell-Pope alongside Thompkins and Leslie and you’d have a Top 10 team. But the probability is that Thompkins will leave, and with him would go any hope of such a lofty ranking.
Georgia left so many winnable games on the table this season they needed an extra leaf to accommodate them all. Friday’s was just the last of a series. The Bulldogs led by seven in the first half, saw Washington tie it at the break, fell behind by 10 with 12 1/2 minutes left and still trailed by eight with 36 seconds remaining. But they cut it to two and had a chance to tie on Leslie’s fling off a deflection at the buzzer.
Afterward Thompkins didn’t care to ponder missed opportunities. “We gave it every shot we had,” he said. And then: “I don’t regret anything. We’re a tough bunch.”
But they weren’t tough or clever enough to turn a good season into something more. Big men Jeremy Price and Chris Barnes were inconsistent. Guards Gerald Robinson Jr. and Dustin Ware were too much alike — neither a true point guard, neither a knockdown shooter. And there was nothing beyond Barnes in the way of depth. Said Fox after Georgia’s full-tilt rally that fell one basket short: “We’re just not deep enough to play that way all the time.”
Georgia scored 65 points against Washington; Thompkins and Leslie accounted for 38 of those. And now their partnership could end after three seasons, and if it does, Fox will have a hard time finding a starting five, let alone filling out his bench.
And that’s why college basketball has become such an ephemeral thing: You must win big when the opportunity arises, for next season holds no guarantee. (Indeed, who’s to say Caldwell-Pope mightn’t be a one-and-done?)
There was no dishonor in anything Georgia did this season: Its losses were all close, all to worthy opponents. But it would be wrong to suggest there wasn’t disappointment. The Bulldogs gave themselves a chance against Washington, same as they’d given themselves a chance against everybody. Chances, alas, aren’t the same as victories.
By Mark Bradley
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284 comments Add your comment
Producer
March 19th, 2011
10:20 am
No surprise. First football, now basketball. The teams that never fail to disappoint. But please tell us that the coach is a “good man.” Was said about Tubby, Goff, Donnan, Durham, Richt. Give me a nasty, mean, SOB who can motivate the players. “I love the smell of Georgia sporting events in the morning. It smells like…mediocrity” – Lt. Col. William “Bill” Kilgore, Apocalypse Now
5150 UOAD
March 19th, 2011
10:23 am
Mark what time does UGA start the Beat Down of the Tar Heels today?
SEC Impotent
March 19th, 2011
10:24 am
UT & UGA showed how weak the SEC is.
Katherine
March 19th, 2011
10:29 am
I’m very proud of the dawgs….hopefully the basketball program will continue to get better and better ::) oh and please don’t compare a 3 point loss to the way tennessee just gave up….
Mark Bradley
March 19th, 2011
10:34 am
Headed home from Uptown Charlotte.
Westdawg
March 19th, 2011
10:35 am
Thanks to Coach Fox and all the guys for a good(not great) season! All of the poor mouthers and haters need to get a better sense of reality.Fox stated numerous times-and knowledgeable BB fans can see it-that this team was flawed from the start.No real point guard,and not enough bench depth played out many times this year-and last night was another example.The classy Washington fans who have commented(GT fans in general could learn from them) know they were in a game last night and were fortunate to win.
It will be fun watching Fox next year and on…he obviously has BB smarts-time management not withstanding.Good luck to Trey in the bigs next year-Travis needs to stay another year.
TampaDAWG
March 19th, 2011
10:37 am
Funny how most of the haters are from teams that didn’t make the tournament, like NC State, GT, and Alabama. To the Gator and Tech fans that do have class we appreciate it. No bench equals no tournament run. Not much else to say 0 bench points says it all.
5150 UOAD
March 19th, 2011
10:37 am
The Dawgs really had a shot to really be up big at the half. Washington was shooting terrible in the first half but the Dogs were Tied after 20 minutes. UGA did their classic collapse that they just couldn’t over come in the end. If Washington shoots that bad in the 1st half against UNC the game could be over before it gets started.
GTfan
March 19th, 2011
10:39 am
Congrad to Coach Fox & Team. I’m very proud of what Coach Fox and players have done. They have made the State proud.
ATLfan15
March 19th, 2011
10:41 am
i didn’t think for one minute that the Dawgs were gonna win, but they kept it close. like Katherine said above, this loss doesn’t even compare to the Vols laying down for Michigan.
@TampaDAWG: spot on comment about no bench. that was their downfall.
Gator Gus
March 19th, 2011
10:47 am
Tune in to the game to watch the Gators close out the Bruins. Watch how the team finishes. A thing of beauty. We enjoyed beating Georgia both times we played them, had a couple of good players, seemed gassed, and the coaching staff was weak.
Gator Gus
March 19th, 2011
10:49 am
And Florida continues to dominate Georgia.
Chomp!
big time
March 19th, 2011
10:51 am
sorry–fox is not a big time coach. He had more talent than washington, but lost. In the NCAA, coaching matters big. Ga better hope he takes the nc state job—then they can hire a real tournament type coach.
dh
March 19th, 2011
10:53 am
@TampaDAWG: I agree w/ATLfan15. That is an amazing stat about the bench points. For Georgia to actually have a chance to send it to OT at the end says a lot about the starters playing their hardest right down to the end. Believe me when I say to you this is a lot coming from me because I despise UGA as much as any Tech fan, and for the main reasons (in-state rivals, Tech can’t beat them, etc.). But UGA has nothing to be ashamed of for this season.
stonemntman
March 19th, 2011
10:55 am
Thanks CMF for another great year, this program has improve each year under your leadership, it will only get better each year, now you can tell a recruit what you accomplish last season by going to the big dance. Commenting to UGA a young man will be part of UGA exceeding this year’s win total next year. Go DAWGS
Boise Dawg
March 19th, 2011
10:55 am
Mark, I take issue that this team underachieved. In your words it had the most talented duo since Wilkens and Fleming. Thompkins is a special player but Leslie isn’t quite there yet. He is an incredible athlete and can perform spectacular dunks in 2 on 1 situations, but he is not a consistent scorer or creator against a half court defense. Mark Fox got the most out of this team and we should be proud of what he is building.
Also, it takes a lot more than two players to have a complete basketball team… and the reality is this was a flawed team all year that didn’t have a bench or a back court that could contribute consistently. The fact is this team as a whole can’t even come close to comparing to Harrick’s team in 2003, with Rashard Wright, Ezra Williams, Steven Thomas, Jarvis Hayes and Jonas Hayes…. not to mention key contributors like Chris Daniels, Fred Gibson and Damien Wilkins.
Jimmy Chitwood
March 19th, 2011
11:02 am
Old habits are hard to break…and unfortunately Trey and Travis still are Liabilities on defense. Sure Trey dropped 20+…but he also constantly leave Jeremy in bad defensive situations, and leaves Jeremy to do all of the dirty work. Travis, inexplicably did not dive for that loose ball in the 2nd half, and constantly leaves his man or spot in the zone to “Get out” on the break early. These types of defensive efforts in the 2nd half killed the Dawgs, along with our inability of the guards to get us in to our early offense and Triangle sets.
Having said all of this, I still think this team played hard and came a long way…and the program is in good hands with Fox. But…I do agree, this team did underachieve to a small degree. Thornton should have got more time…I hope he is ready to play next year.
SAL
March 19th, 2011
11:05 am
No connemt!
The Larry King-ish Stream of Consciousness Column for 3/19 | : : Lonely Tailgater : :
March 19th, 2011
11:11 am
[...] Fox has signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a shooting guard from Greenville High who should become Georgia’s first McDonald’s All-American recruit since Carlos Strong in 1992. (Louis Williams was a McDonald’s All-American but didn’t enroll; Damien Wilkins was but arrived as a transfer.) Put Caldwell-Pope alongside Thompkins and Leslie and you’d have a Top 10 team. But the probability is that Thompkins will leave, and with him would go any hope of such a lofty ranking. (AJC.com) [...]
bradleydamus
March 19th, 2011
11:11 am
Another spot-on Bradley prediction. Based on nothing but homerism.
dbc
March 19th, 2011
11:17 am
UGA exits early — what a surprise. That’s what happens when you play street ball which results in 3x as many turnovers as the opposition. This has been the Dawgs MO all season. I’m left scratching my head as to why Fox couldn’t or wouldn’t correct the sloppy passing and ball handling — don’t they watch game film? Practice? If I was an opposing coach, UGA wouldn’t be a very hard team to prepare for. In the end, just like football, all the talent in the world won’t cover up a lack of fundamentals. It stinks that Fox and Co. made such a big deal about making the tournament and then showed up as the same old team we’ve seen blow game after game this season. Hope Fox gets a lot of thank you notes from other coaches because they gave an awful lot of games away as gifts.
Tell the truth
March 19th, 2011
11:20 am
One stat tells it all- bench scoring Wash 28- Ga 0
absolutely no depth on the bench
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:22 am
Fox headed to NC State for $3 million. Tubby to Arkansas. Man, seen NC State’s B-Ball facilities? WOW!
HOOPS MAN
March 19th, 2011
11:24 am
WELL BRADLEY AND ALL YOU OTHER HOMER’S WHO COULD ONLY WRITE AND YAP ABOUT PLAYING NORTH CAROLINA, NOW YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY….
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:24 am
Thomkins held to 3 rebounds.
Washington shot 54% in 2nd half.
Wshington only had 5 to’s.
UW Dude
March 19th, 2011
11:25 am
It’s not how UGA lost. It’s how UW won.
Someone suggested UW was the 3rd or 4th best team in a bad Pac-10. Pac-10 was not great this year, but UW was the best team, by far, in the conference until injuries and a criminal matter changed things. Now the team is getting back on track. They won the Pac-10 tournament and with a break or two could be an elite-8 or final 4 team.
that is what happens
March 19th, 2011
11:26 am
when you have a school that has athletes AND students that have a difficult time of scoring 10 points out of 50 on an easy test like the Wunderlich test.
i took the sample test of 20 and got 19 out of 20 right in 5 minutes.
we always thought the dogs were stupid…. now there is indisputable evidence to back that up.
that is what happens
March 19th, 2011
11:28 am
whn you been bannded by bark madely
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:28 am
Mark Fox’s future home, NC State’s Reyonds stadium–unreal:
http://c.vrguild.net/c/star.pl?U=1009081629124084#
Dave
March 19th, 2011
11:28 am
First round loss. Not a top 30 program. Won’t be as good next year. Truth hurts.
Money Talks
March 19th, 2011
11:35 am
NC State’s arena is a palace, state of the art. UGa plays in an old rodeo barn—a dump that is the worst in the SEC. That’s why they can’t attract the top recruits. mcgarity needs to spend some millions and build a real arena if ga wants to compete with UK, Tennessee, Florida, etc.
SEC Fan
March 19th, 2011
11:36 am
Bradley, do you really know a good team when you see it? Georgia is/was not a good team, at best an average team. Why would a good team run their offensive sets from mid-court all night? The coach never made a change to move his bigs to the low post. You can not run half court offensive sets from mid court. Blocking out and help defense was terrible!! They did not look like a well coached or smart team.
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:36 am
Fire mcGarity, get an AD who knows how to win.
Hoops Dawg
March 19th, 2011
11:37 am
Boise Dawg is exactly right about this team not comparing with the Harrick bunch, who were actually much tougher than this assemblage. Can you imagine that team blowing a 14 point lead to Alabama, for example? Having said this, the team showed more toughness than usual during the frantic comeback in the last minute, and anyone who suggests that Thompkins and Leslie played soft last night is either blind or otherwise was not watching the same game I saw. It was interesting to note that Clark Kellogg of CBS kept commenting that having seen this duo in person for the first time, both were excellent BASKETBALL players who were a lot better than he had thought. Jimmy Chitwood is right, I think, in saying that Thornton should have got more time this year. Heaven help us next year if Thornton is not vastly improved. Otherwise our bench pretty much sucks. Isaiah Thomas made Brantley look like a statue on at least two occasions, as he blew right on by him for easy layups. Robinson actually did pretty well on Isaiah when matched head to head. And for those that consistently “hate” on Robinson, consider that he is the major difference between this year’s team and last year’s team, and the difference in the two teams’ records is not coincidential.
gcs
March 19th, 2011
11:39 am
How many NCAA Tournament teams finished the season with three straight losses?
I am guessing one.
.
Charles
March 19th, 2011
11:40 am
Proud of the effort, men. This season was a nice first step.
We’ll be trading out Thompkins for Caldwell next year. Leslie isn’t going anywhere (if he listens to the right people) as he’d be at best a 2nd round pick. He has no position in the NBA at this point. Does not have the handle or the shot to play the 2.
Fox needs to put the pedal to the metal on the recruiting trail. He’s proven to be a very good coach – his coaching kept us in that game last night. Now we have to stock the cupboard.
Good season fellas.
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:42 am
gcs, that’s SO insightful. why post?
Paul in RDU
March 19th, 2011
11:49 am
NCSU men’s basketball team does not play in Reynolds Arena – haven’t played in it for 10 years. They play in the RBC Center
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:50 am
It’s a lot nicer facility than UGA’s. You missed the point, like you always do. Read for MEANING, not GRAMMUR.
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:53 am
Paul in RDU = gcs
same blogger, chatting with himself
Paul in RDU
March 19th, 2011
11:53 am
Even as a GT grad, I can’t believe that real UGA fans are posting some of the nonsense about Fox’ coaching and UGA’s performance. UGA never had either the guards or the depth to match up with UW in a fast paced game. UGA were a generally well-coached team that played hard all year – a good, not great, team with a good, not great, record. Fox’ challenge will be to repeat next year without his best player.
Paul in RDU
March 19th, 2011
11:55 am
I am not gcs
Mike – have you ever been in either Reynolds Coliseum or RBC Center? Any idea where they are relative to each other or to the NCSU campus?
Keep trolling – maybe you’ll post something with a fact in it next.
Pago Pago DAWG
March 19th, 2011
11:57 am
Can the DAWGS beat anybody in anything!!!! Dang, this gets old …..
Westdawg
March 19th, 2011
11:58 am
Congrats to Coach Fox and all the players.A very good season-not great-but given the circumstances and where UGA was 2 years ago…a great improvement.
Best of luck to Trey in the bigs,Travis,you need to stay and expand your talents to get to the NBA.
For all the poor mouthers and haters,you know very well(if you have any knowledge of basketball at all-and it’s obvious some of these morons haven’t a clue)that Fox is a very good young coach who will bring further success at UGA-unless he gets a lot of money thrown his way and leaves.
For the NC State folks, your BB program USED to be a great program,it has hardly been that for some time now.I hope you do get a good coach(and not Fox),but that AD is a problem and I doubt the BB situation will improve greatly till that issue improves.
For the GT folks, worry about who your next coach is gonna be…much more important than what you want to dish out about Fox and UGA.
For the Tarheel fans, you’re not getting to the final 4 this year and you know it.Bragging about your program vis a vis UGA is really stupid.
bradleysmels
March 19th, 2011
11:58 am
Mark Bradley > Fox News when it comes to bias, far fetched reporting
Tell the truth
March 19th, 2011
12:03 pm
Mike
March 19th, 2011
11:36 am
Fire mcGarity, get an AD who knows how to win.
Do you have any idea how ignorant that statement makes you look???
Mike
March 19th, 2011
12:05 pm
bradleysmels = Westdawg = Pago Pago DAWG = Paul in RDU
Same blogger, chatting with himself
Mike
March 19th, 2011
12:05 pm
Paul in RDU = tell the truth
PMC
March 19th, 2011
12:06 pm
Nothing really shocking, They were a 20 minute team all season. They played 20 minutes out of 40 again last night.
In the end, they have 2 pretty good players in Thompkins and Leslie and not much else. They were an ok team all year but they never did pull it all together and play a complete game well.
Mark Fox will get better. It will probably be a couple of years before they are back in the NCAA’s though.
Mike
March 19th, 2011
12:06 pm
McGarity 2 marque teams:
Football went 0-6 versus ranked teams
Basketball went 3-10 versus top 50 rpi
McGarity’s teams arn’t winning.
Fire mcGarity.