Georgia’s seniors fought hard to fill void left by NBA defectors

ATHENS – They won’t go down as one of Georgia’s most accomplished bunches and many that should be among them won’t be when the Bulldogs’ seniors are honored before Saturday’s regular-season finale. But all-in-all they were darn good Dogs, according to coaches and teammates.

Four players will be recognized during Senior Day festivities before the Bulldogs tip off against South Carolina at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum. On paper they are a four-year letterman (Dustin Ware), a transfer (Gerald Robinson) and two walkons who stuck it out and earned scholarships (Matt Bucklin and Connor Nolte). But all of them are equal in their contributions to the team in the eyes of head coach Mark Fox.

“Because we lost those guys early, all the responsibility of leadership and scoring and teaching guys to defend all kind of fell on those seniors,” said Fox, who’s in his third season with the Bulldogs. “This has probably been as dependent as we’ve been on a senior group, ever really, even my time as an assistant coach. But I think at the end of the day it will have been a great experience for them.”

Guard Travis Leslie and forward Trey Thompkins each chose to enter the NBA draft a year early. Both were selected in the second round and ended up with the Los Angeles Clippers. However, Leslie, a 6-foot-4 guard, was sent down to the NBA’s Developmental League this week.

With them and last year’s 30.8 points and 14.8 rebounds, Georgia likely would have been headed to a second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Without them, the Bulldogs (13-16, 4-11) need a victory over South Carolina (10-19, 2-13) – coupled with an Auburn loss to LSU — to have a chance to finish 10th in the 12-team SEC

“I don’t think they handled it perfectly,” Fox said of the burden placed on the upperclassmen. “I thought Gerald and Dustin tried to do too much early. But I admire how they tried to do more than they should have.”

Robinson, a Nashville native whose father teaches and coaches at Tennessee State, started his career there before transferring to UGA and sitting out during Fox’s first season. He was able to play as a junior and was a big reason the Bulldogs earned an NCAA bid.

“Last year he was the difference in the team,” Fox said of Robinson, who leads the Bulldogs in scoring and assists. “He brought an element to the team that we didn’t have before and that helped us get into the NCAA tournament. It wasn’t the only reason we got into the tournament but he certainly made a huge difference. This year, I think he’s had a very good conference season. I think he has proven what he thought, that he could play at a high level.”

Ware has endured the worst shooting slump of his career a year after leading the SEC in 3-point shooting. But he remains a consummate leader and captain.

“Dustin has been a great model of stability,” Fox said. “He’s always been considered one of the hardest workers. You never doubted what kind of effort he was going to put in during the season, out of the season. He has been a constant performer in the classroom and you never worried if he was going to have success or not. He’s been a great citizen. He’s really epitomized what a student-athlete should be.”

Others who also could have been part of this class were Ebuka Anyorah and Drazen Zlovarich, each of whom transferred out.

Here’s a thumbnail sketch of each senior and what they’ll remember most about their time as Georgia basketball players.

MATT BUCKLIN

• G, 6-0, 170, Pope HS, Marietta
• Comment: Bucklin, whose brother Mike played for the Bulldogs, is a former walkon who made the team in an open tryout freshman in 2008. Will get his first start of his career on Senior Day, which will be the 24th appearance of his career.
• Most memorable moment: “No doubt for me it’s making the NCAA tournament last year. Hearing your name called like that, it puts things into perspective, everything you worked on, everything you did back in the summer, all the ups and downs you experience during the season. It all came together for a purpose and it’s a great sense of accomplishment. That’s something I’ll be able to hold onto forever.”

CONNOR NOLTE

• F, 6-7, 215, Milton HS, Alpharetta
• Comment: Nolte actually would have played more (20 games, 6.6 mpg) had it not been for a hamstring injury that sidelined him for a month. Transferred from Furman in 2009 and started first three games of 2010-11 due to Thompkins’ injury.
• Most memorable moment: “I came to Georgia as a walkon and I was trying work as hard as I could. But I still could not have imagined I would start my first three games as a Dog. That’s probably the most memorable thing for me. I remember, it was against Colorado and I’m getting ready for tip off and I look down and I see my reflection coming off the black paint in the G on the floor. I just kind of smiled to myself and remember being very thankful for the opportunity. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. I’ve been really blessed to play here and I’m just happy Coach Fox gave me a chance.”

GERALD ROBINSON JR.

• G, 6-1, 180, MLK HS, Nashville, Tenn.
• Comment: Robinson began his career at Tennessee State, where his father was a coach. But after being named Freshman of Year in Ohio Valley Conference, he transferred to Georgia in 2009 and sat out one season. As a junior he, recorded 133 assists while leading the Bulldogs to their first at-large NCAA tournament berth since 2002.
• Most memorable moment: “Just all the times I’ve had here with my Georgia family. It’s a family outside of my actual family; that’s the atmosphere we have here. I’m going to miss it when I leave. I’ll definitely come back and visit. It was an unbelievable opportunity the University of Georgia gave me to be a part of it. It’s a part of me now.”

DUSTIN WARE

• G, 5-11, 172, North Cobb Christian HS, Powder Springs
• Comment: Ware will have played all 126 games of his career – with 102 starts – when the Bulldogs take the court against South Carolina on Saturday. He led the SEC in the 3-point shooting (43.5 percent) as a junior and will average more than 30 minutes a game when his career concludes.
• Most memorable moment: “No doubt it will be when we made the NCAA tournament last year. It wasn’t even the game. I mean, obviously that was huge; it was a lot of fun and a great experience and all that. But the biggest thing was we were sweating it out on Selection Sunday, we’re sitting in the locker room and we don’t know what’s going to happen. All of the sudden our name comes across the screen and we almost tear the locker room apart. It was like some people won the lottery, honestly. It was just a moment with your team, the guys you’ve been in the trenches with all year, it’s just something I’ll never forget. Sometimes I still have dreams about that. It was an unforgettable moment.”