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
Tell the truth
March 19th, 2011
12:07 pm
What are you 14 years old???
Tell the truth
March 19th, 2011
12:08 pm
He has been here less than a year and came from one of the absolute best programs in America. And you want to fire him?? That says so much more about you than him pal.
Tell the truth
March 19th, 2011
12:10 pm
When you grow up and actually learn something about sports come back and visit the blog- until then go take your milk and cookies and meds and lie down before you do your homework.
Vince
March 19th, 2011
12:16 pm
Mike-
Great post, right on, if McGarity can’t beat the good teams, get an AD who will spend the money on staff and facilities to get it done.
Larry
March 19th, 2011
12:22 pm
At 3-10 versus rpi top 50 b-ball, and 0-6 versus ranked teams football, you have to wonder, why are the basetball and football teams getting worse under mcGarity’s leadership?
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
12:28 pm
Mike = Dave = Money Talks = Vince = Larry
BUTCH THOMAS
March 19th, 2011
12:31 pm
Congratulations to Coach Fox and the basketball Bulldogs on a fantastic season! This is UGA after all where woulda, coulda, shoulda, and wait till next year are all you need to know. Come on down to Athens if you like to underachieve. Mediocre is our middle name. Yawn zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
12:31 pm
Trolls can’t type or spell
Mike @12:06 “marque” “mcGarity” “arn’t”
Larry @12:22 “basetball” “mcGarity”
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
12:37 pm
I declare, hereby, that all people who cannot spell perfectly, are in fact, the same person.
this theory make perfect sense to someone like me.
Equestrian Rules
March 19th, 2011
12:44 pm
The Ga equestrian team is one of the best—-those UGA athletic millions are paying off big. I’d match the horses at ga with any team in the SEC baby!!! McGarity—has it going in Athens. (I heard the tennis team may be good too, but keep this quiet for now).
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
12:47 pm
All people who spell perfectly on a blog, are the same person, no one spells perfectly on blog posts unless they’re the same person.
HAHAHAHA
March 19th, 2011
12:48 pm
Bark Bradley…I can’t believe you had uga beating washinton and then unc??? You can no longer deny that you are biased. Can’t blame you but still…
Im so sick of hearing people say that Felton is responsible for getting this team this far! Fox is an excellent coach that will do way better with his players than Feltons squad! Uga fans should be excited about the future!
Mike
March 19th, 2011
12:52 pm
Leadership comes form the top. If your 2 main programs, basketball and football, are a combined 3-16 against top ranked teams, look to leadership. Is Georgia’s spending in line, % wise, with other top programs? No, Forbes found Georgia was spending 25% as opposed to 42%. You have McGarity spending minimums on coaching staffs, attracting mediocre talent (Will Friend????), and investing minimums in facilities (we all remember the trailers from last season). Gators get Weis, Georgia gets Bobo.
George
March 19th, 2011
12:53 pm
HAHAHAHA = Equestrian Rules
Spelling is the giveaway.
playmeortrademe
March 19th, 2011
12:55 pm
Fox may be a great players coach, but his coaching ability in big-time games so far in his time with UGA has been lacking. It seems like he can’t draw up an offensive scheme against anybody with a halfway decent defense, and his teams don’t give 100 percent defensive effort or look lost on defense.
We’ll see how god or bad he is if he is ever able to put together his own roster with enough depth to play the style he wants.
SeattleBound
March 19th, 2011
12:56 pm
Out here in the upper left corner,, there was precious little information about Georgia before the game. One thing that impressed me was how the Georgia Dawgs owned the paint– those are some WIDE bodies! THe Huskies have never struggled as much for rebounds all season.
If you had bench, that game would have gone the other way, IMO.
christophorm
March 19th, 2011
12:59 pm
YAWN…UW huge offensive put backs …so move on… I hope my team gets the best NFL replacement players.
Dawgday
March 19th, 2011
1:05 pm
The Dawgs were doomed the day MB picked them to win. Thanks again jinxboy.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:09 pm
Spot the troll
Maybe some people can spell and maybe some people use google what has spell check built in. Maybe some people are smarter than AJ GREEN and your average dawg, Bama, or Gator fan.
George
March 19th, 2011
1:10 pm
Dawgday = all previous posts saying Bradley should not have picked Georgia.
All the same blogger.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:11 pm
I gave St. Johns to much respect, but thankfully I didn’t give many SEC much respect in my brackets.
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
1:13 pm
Anyone can compose a post off-line, run a spell check, and then cut and paste, but who, besides the troll, really cares about spelling on a blog post?
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
Why would somebody post under 5 or six names to argue with themselves? Do we have fans like Hershel Walker? Many different personalities maybe?
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
1:14 pm
Delta Stewardess = Dawgday
src
March 19th, 2011
1:15 pm
My question is this: what positions are Thompkins and Leslie going to play in the League?????
Thompkins is not strong enough for a PF and not quick enough for SF. Leslie is a SG playing SF in college. He can’t dribble, especially with the left. Who wants a SG that can’t dribble? If they both take huge strides this off season, they could get much better. I think our whole team is lacking the “it” factor of winning tough, close games. I don’t know if you can teach that. I am hoping everyone comes back and gets better, and hopefully learn how to win the big/close ones. I am hopeful!!! Fox seems to be a good one.
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
1:15 pm
You can’t explain why an irrational person spends 20 hours a day blogging to himself, under multiple names. There’s no reason that is rational.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:15 pm
@Spot the brightest Dawg in the pen
Try Google Chrome. It spell checks while you type your post. You are not too bright or just lazy.
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
1:18 pm
Generally, good spellers do not have high IQ’s.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:19 pm
Sorry @Spot the Brightest Dawg in the Pen I only post under 3 names, but they are for different blogs.
I use a different name for the Entertainment Blogs and the Political Blogs.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:22 pm
Kentucky could go down today. They sucked the last 4 minutes of the first half.
O-me
March 19th, 2011
1:30 pm
Lowcountry..maybe its because he has no bench to depend on. You can bet he works on that problem.
chad
March 19th, 2011
1:33 pm
Id like to see UGA just finish one single game without running out of timeouts. 8 minutes to go and you have one time out left! There is a TV timeout every four minutes, and you get 5 time outs for the game! So technically you get 13 timeouts per game and you only have 1 with 8 minutes to go?!? Brilliant.
Katherine
March 19th, 2011
1:38 pm
You know what I think is funny…fans of other teams coming on a blog about the dawgs just to spew their miserable crap….people that try to make others feel bad to make themselves feel better are pathetic. Only one team is going to be the champion and everyone else is going to be disappointed. The basketball program at UGA had a very good year and can build from that….babysteps. If you don’t like UGA that’s fine…..but here is a suggestion…worry about your own team.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:41 pm
Kathrine This is Mark Bradley’d Blog not a UGA blog. Mark needs hit from more people to get and keep advertisers. That is how a blog works.
Jimmy Chitwood
March 19th, 2011
1:41 pm
You have to play with heart, like Hickory High!
Katherine
March 19th, 2011
1:48 pm
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
1:41 pm
Kathrine This is Mark Bradley’d Blog not a UGA blog. Mark needs hit from more people to get and keep advertisers. That is how a blog works.
Thank you for your input…but it doesnt change what I said. It’s still pathetic.
ed f
March 19th, 2011
1:54 pm
Did anyone really expect any other outcome. This is a Good 13/14 seed team at best. UGA gave all they had. Great season for a Change. Need a few Better developed Players to advance.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
March 19th, 2011
2:20 pm
Mark:
Now what were you saying a few days ago about UGA defeataing UNC? You have to get there first, right? One and out….Go Dawgs!!!! LMAO!!!
Mike Bobo 1717 INT
March 19th, 2011
2:21 pm
Mark:
Now what were you saying a few days ago about UGA defeataing UNC? You have to get there first, right? One and out….Go Dawgs!!!! LMAO!!!LMAO!!!LMAO!!!LMAO!!!LMAO!!!LMAO!!!LMAO!!!
UGASUCKS
March 19th, 2011
2:21 pm
LMAO!!!
Katherine
March 19th, 2011
2:33 pm
Paul N Destin
March 19th, 2011
8:45 am
The power if the SEC East ? Vandy,UGA,UT and KY….Perhaps the SEC should just have games of horse to select the teams that go to the big show. UGA and UT didn’t deserve to be at the Dance.
Well considering Kentucky just beat W. Virginia to go to the sweet 16 and georgia beat them once this season…i’d say they did deserve it. They didn’t have all the components (deep bench for one) to win it all this year….but it was a good start. Get over yourself.
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
2:37 pm
Katherine = ed f = Jimmy Chitwood = Delta Stewardess
All same person, having a fake conversation.
JSS
March 19th, 2011
2:43 pm
If you spent as much time posting something with an ounce of rational perspective as you do trying to figure who might be a “troll” or using multiple user names; this blog would flow along better…
NCAA selection committee
March 19th, 2011
2:50 pm
Georgia gone after 1st game. No surprise here.
Can we have a do over and take the team that went 12-4 in conference, 4-2 against the east, and swept Georgia twice in the last week?
With the loss Georgia ends the season 3-10 against the RPI top 50 and 5-12 against the RPI top 100. They never should have been in the dance to begin with.
FalconUGAFan
March 19th, 2011
2:53 pm
Congrats Dawgs for making it to the Dance! Clearly more work to be done, but nice to see a winning season and making it to the tournament…
1953 dawg
March 19th, 2011
2:57 pm
Once again fox’s shows he can’t make adjustments during a game. He is exactly like Richt. Neither have a clue on how to make adjustments, and both get out coached time and time again. Fox doesn’t know how to beat a press and teams have been pressing UGA in every game when they get a lead. Yet, all Fox does is stand there with his arms crossed and watch as Robinson&Ware play out of control and turn the ball over time and time again. This program is going nowhere with this coach. Next year will be a losing season in the SEC, and then you will hear all the uneducated UGA fans start to complain about this coach. After Leslie,Thompkins, Price, and Barnes are gone, this team will look like a high school team. THey will still have the 2 inconsistent guards, and nobody else. This coach has not recruited any talented players in 2 years, except for the one player coming in next year. Only problem is he is a shooting guard, which want help UGA in the paint. No threat of a big man to score inside, will =a disaster next year. Then, after next year, Ware&Robinson will be gone, and that will leave UGA with one player. Doesn’t look to promising to me. For a coach to recruit one good player in two years of recruiting is not a good coach or a good job. But, that is what UGA has, a coach that can’t recruit, can’t coach, and has nothing but “Brain Farts” in crunch time of big games. Sound familar? Yes, UGA has 2 coaches like that. At least Fox would not have kicked a fieldgoal on 4th and inches in the bowl game.He does have more balls that Richt, he even calls timeouts with 2 seconds left in a game. What a joke UGA has become. The only coach in the whole UGA athletic dept. that had balls and didn’t choke in crunch time was the old gymnastics coach, and now she is gone. Wish she would come out of retirement and become the watergirl, and kick Richt’s pansy ass during a game when he acts like the soft ass he is.
Katherine
March 19th, 2011
2:57 pm
Spot the troll
March 19th, 2011
2:37 pm
Katherine = ed f = Jimmy Chitwood = Delta Stewardess
All same person, having a fake conversation.
I am my own person..I have no idea who those other posters are but nice try. I post about a lot of sports…and I don’t have a need to make up fake identities..hence the reason I just use my name.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
3:07 pm
Kathrine didn’t you know we are a Sybil in the blogging world? We just love to talk to ourselves. HAHAHHA some people are just not that bright.
Taylor
March 19th, 2011
3:48 pm
So much whining and complaining. If the bloggers had it their way, UGA would fire a coach or AD every 2 years. so stupid. get a life!
radiowxman
March 19th, 2011
3:51 pm
Washington had 3 of the best 4 players on the court last night. The only reason this game was close was because the Huskies couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn in the first half — they got all the looks they needed.