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
CT
March 19th, 2011
3:56 pm
NICE ROAD WIN AT CLEVELAND STATE FOR BOBBY CREMINS AND C OF C TODAY, WILL PLAYER WINNER OF VT/WITCHITA STATE
SadDawg
March 19th, 2011
3:56 pm
This time next year, Mark Fox will be lamenting an early exit from the tournament, Except that it will be the NIT and he will be coaching NC State.
kral
March 19th, 2011
4:00 pm
there is something to be said for the good things life brings…UGA in the dance…Braves make play-offs…you know you always want more , I promise it is better to enjoy the memories of the good things than linger on the bad..enjoy the times…do not beat those down..you will never be happy…words of wisdom from one who has experienced alot as a fan and a human being
McDawg
March 19th, 2011
4:01 pm
well said
Get Real
March 19th, 2011
4:03 pm
Do you think UGA can beat UNC in the tournament? Oh yeah! They don’t even get to the round to play them! Wishful thinking on the part of the delusional fans.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
4:11 pm
@kral I am sure Damon Evans sees it like that. He remembers getting the red panties just not th red lights in his rear view mirror.
kral
March 19th, 2011
4:15 pm
take a long flight on southwestern DS
Skeezix
March 19th, 2011
4:18 pm
At least the program is headed in the right direction.
BYRDDAWG
March 19th, 2011
4:36 pm
GO DAWGS!!!!!
kral
March 19th, 2011
4:39 pm
oohhh…markie a chance although a failed one is better than none at all
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
4:44 pm
@Skeezix how do we know the program is headed in the right direction? Richt did make a few changes from coaches to players, but how do we know anything will be better? Our starting QB still has not beat a team with a winning record. Bobo is still the Offensive Coordinator .
Al
March 19th, 2011
4:47 pm
No bench depth. I saw at one point late in the second half that our bench had zero pts. This explains late game losses. The starters had a lot of heart, but our program under Fox was too young to have a deep team in place to support the starters. It will come!!!
kral
March 19th, 2011
4:48 pm
ds did the altitude get to you I think skee was referring to bb
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
4:53 pm
These are the DAWGS we will never be a Kentucky of Florida. The only PROGRAM we care about is FOOTBALL. The other good programs are Lady’s Basketball and the GYM Dawgs.
kral
March 19th, 2011
4:59 pm
no wrong again ds..I care about them all…and if you do not care about UGA BB adios I think that is what this is about could be wrong….dumb blonde…knows her stuff…or full of it
kral
March 19th, 2011
5:03 pm
you got brown-eyes…ds…just wondering..checkyour ears..nothing brown running-out…looking for a side-line reporter job or knowest very little of what thou speaketh of
Bradleysmels
March 19th, 2011
5:15 pm
Yeah great job making it to the dance…. Great job being one of the top 5 athletic programs financially and top 64 in basketball. I would only expect uga to make the dance with their kind of backing and position.
kral
March 19th, 2011
5:18 pm
no comment bs smells…heck that was a comment
Trolls R Us
March 19th, 2011
5:19 pm
More bad news.
Gators to Sweet 16.
2 Dance wins to your 0.
Will Fox ever be the game day coach Donovan is?
Please.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
5:24 pm
KRAL
How many Baseball games to you go to a year? How many basketball games do you attend? How many years would it take for mens Basketball and Baseball to draw the number of fans that 1 season of Football brings in?
I have been to more Tech Baseball games than UGA basketball and baseball games combined. Dawgs were lucky to make it to the Dance. We were 10-10 in our last 20 games. That is not a NCAA Tourney team I am sorry to say.
Einsteindawg
March 19th, 2011
5:33 pm
Thanks BB Dawgs for a great and exciting season…wish everyone the best in the future. Fox is a very good coach. Give him a few years with his own players and the NCAA tourney will be part of our regular season.
kral
March 19th, 2011
5:39 pm
first of all little darling…family was a season ticket-holder for about 15 yrs…father grad..there with masters in ag…mother grad.. there with a spec…reading degree…daugther grad..there mbs…alsowas named greek woman of the year….brother grad.. there in chem…i got my masters in spec. ed at VSU..undergrad at GSU never taught a day of pe…coached for around 15 years…worked aloong side a coach in the ALA..hall of fame…taught sp. ed 29 yr ..oone other coach worked with has a prestigious baseball hs..named for him…went ot UGA games for years..tough trip close to 250 miles…your the fan am just a blogger..who you made a smart comment to again take a long fligght…buying a ticket to something does not mean you actually know anything…sorr for the life ed..synopsis
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
5:45 pm
karl
How you type, spell, and sentence structure I think maybe you have been taking Special Ed classes for 29 years; not teaching them. Now bag my groceries and carry them to my car.
kral
March 19th, 2011
5:50 pm
saw from the grass bank UGA beat the Bear an Bammmer 21-0….saw Buck Belue make the pitch from my seat in the great come back against Tech..it was a fake…was their when Scott Woerner beat Clemson all by himself…pratically..saw many a great HW games…would like to follow GA baseball when I can… nephew had a scholly there finished baseball career when he blew out his left arm at UGA
kral
March 19th, 2011
5:52 pm
darling darling edit what you like..you started this…an I appreciate constuctive critism…please point out grammatical errors but please also read for content
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
5:55 pm
OK……See….I….about.
kral
March 19th, 2011
5:59 pm
having a prolem with reading comprehension…tell what you do not get IIIIIIIIIIIII wiiiiiiiiiiiiil blogggggggggggg reallllllllllll slllooowwwwwwwwwww
Jim
March 19th, 2011
5:59 pm
Locker room material: “Nice game of keep-a-way maybe next year they can learn to shoot the ball!”
All that passing the ball around is fine if you are sitting on a BIG LEAD but when Washington can score 3 pointers at will, you have to press and drive to the basket. Oh well better luck next year
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
6:01 pm
WTF is this: “tell what you do not get”? prolem(?) is this Parole Them?
Dawg92
March 19th, 2011
6:01 pm
Great season for a team devoid of serious talent after the top 2 players. Anyone that thinks this team was ‘talented’ clearly didn’t watch many games, is just clueless or just a UGA homer. Trey Thompkins is a very good player and very talented. Travis Leslie is an athlete that can create scores off rebounds and fast breaks but he’s not a great basketball talent (don’t get me wrong, he’s very good and I pray he comes back next year but for a guard, he cannot shoot). Gerald Robinson is a human turnover and Dustin Ware, who is the best shooter on the team, simply cannot create a shot…he has to be wide open to knock anything down. And after those 4 there is a HUGE dropoff in talent…Jeremy Price was solid against terrible competition and just AWFUL against good competition. After that you have a bunch of guys that take up space and produced virtually nothing.
What Mark Fox did with this bunch is absolutely remarkable and Georgia fans should be very thankful that he’s there. He’s recruiting solidly and has things going in the right direction (when he was hired no one in their right mind thought the Dawgs would make the tourney in only his 2nd year). This was a great year given that Fox had to play with essentially 4 guys that were SEC-caliber players and with only 7 guys that contributed anything at all.
And for those crying about UGA ‘pressuring’, you have no idea what you’re talking about. UGA doesn’t have the players to do that. You can’t play a pressuring up-tempo game for 40 minutes when you only have 7 players that you trust to play. And if you think that UGA playing those guys at the end of the bench is a good idea, you’re out of your mind.
Great season Dawgs…Trey and Travis, please stay! And Julian Royal, come on over to Athens!
kral
March 19th, 2011
6:08 pm
you will have to simplify 6:01 blog..your to inteelgint for me…do not comprehend ds
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
6:13 pm
inteelgint? You really were a Teacher? It had to be at a Government school I am guessing.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
6:14 pm
kral
Try to download Google Chrome. I think it spell checks any and everything you type.
kral
March 19th, 2011
6:25 pm
first of all darling darling…hope you read that as condescending…atacking my grammar and my career is funny….do you not have more to bring to the table….if not you should excuse your self an leave…yes edicuct…but thanks for trying to improve me…I am trying the same with you
kral
March 19th, 2011
6:27 pm
I ain’t in to grammar rules…into content…where do you stand dizzyy ss
kral
March 19th, 2011
6:33 pm
to hopefully maintain your self-esteem…I will continue to make grammmaticl errors for you to correct…jump on them dizzy stew
kral
March 19th, 2011
6:41 pm
good- bye dizzy life is to short to waste anymore time with you…but thanks for the English lesson…bill me…you got me I give…
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
6:46 pm
I don’t care if you use grammar rules or not, but don’t tell people you were a TEACHER and college graduate with how you post. If you worked in Georgia or Alabama, then you are an example of why our Government schools are so bad at preparing students for life after high school.
Lagdawg
March 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
Don’t have a PG coming in, and we need one bad. We have a SG coming but, we need more outside shooters. Robinson played well at the beginning of the season and he disappeared the rest of the way. The guards need to work on their outside shooting and the team as a whole needs to become more physical. The play too timid and are very inconsistant. Good season, but should have been better. A lot of work ahead to get this program to be very competitive.
kral
March 19th, 2011
7:38 pm
oh.. dizzy…you do not know the tough times..I faced in my career…take a shot at me as an educator…laugh if you will…worked with mildly handicapped…behavior disordered…physically handicapped…emotionally disturbed…alternative school kids…retired an was honored you go girl…give out some cokes and peanuts..and call me laterr if you want to no more
The U
March 19th, 2011
7:58 pm
Trey give Tim Duncan a call for advise, a good role model stayed 4 years, came in the league ready tp play. Travis stay and work on the mid range and long range. The NBA is not the place to hone those skills. You have an opportunity to avoid the NBA’s D league. Stay and work your game.
kral
March 19th, 2011
8:22 pm
Dizzy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,get a life……………….you don’t have one and know nothing about the real world…………………GROW UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
kral
March 19th, 2011
8:23 pm
BTW DIZZY,,,,,I HAVE GOOGLE CHROME…..LAUGHS ON YOU!
kral
March 19th, 2011
8:23 pm
BTW DIZZY,,,,,I HAVE GOOGLE CHROME…..LAUGHS ON YOU!
Eric
March 19th, 2011
8:24 pm
Anyone know how many people entered the ajc hoops pickem contest?
kral
March 19th, 2011
8:39 pm
822 823 AN823 WERE NOT me ride some coattails buuuutte-hoke
Upstate Dawg
March 19th, 2011
8:42 pm
Although the result last night was disappointing, I’m glad I was there (as were 1000 or so other UGA fans). For those of us who have suffered for many years following Georgia basketball, this year was a welcome bit of sunshine. No, we didn’t win all of the games we could/should have but we were in every single game. And this team never gave up. They’re a good group of guys with a very good coach. Whether Thompkins or Leslie stay or go, things continue to look up for UGA hoops. Already looking forward to next year.
kral
March 19th, 2011
8:50 pm
I will ride some coattails and love doing it…..It is your wife………………………LOL
excessive celebration
March 19th, 2011
9:02 pm
I told you so! If you cant win the big ones in the regular season when the pressure is on against your conference foes, you sure cant do it on the big stage. So many missed layups!!! What a joke! We are supposed to be better than this.
Delta Stewardess
March 19th, 2011
9:17 pm
karl Bless Your Heart.