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Sonny Smart Passed Away Today

Sonny Smart passed away on January 4, 2025, at 12:15 a.m., surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children: Karl, Kirby and Kendall.

Sonny fell while walking during the day on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans and fractured his hip.  He was hospitalized and underwent hip surgery; unfortunately, complications arose.  He fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries.

The Smart family expresses their heartfelt gratitude to the Ochsner hospital and medical staff for the exceptional care provided to Sonny.

Additionally, they ask for your continued prayers for those affected by the tragic events that occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The Smart family treasures everyone’s thoughts and prayers and now prays for God’s comfort, strength, and guidance.

MBB: Georgia Begins League Play Today vs. Ole Miss

Georgia (12-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. No. 24/23 Ole Miss (11-2, 0-0 SEC)

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Time: 12:00 p.m. ET

Venue: SBJ Pavilion (9,500)

Location: Athens, Ga.

TV: SEC Network (Richard Cross, play-by-play; Pat Bradley, analyst)

Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 380 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, producer)

• Georgia opens SEC play on Saturday at No. 24/23 Ole Miss looking to extend its best beginning to a season in 94 years. The Bulldogs are 12-1, the first time they have started as well since 1930-31.

• Seven out of the Bulldogs’ eight January games are against teams ranked in this week’s AP poll, including back-to-back outings against No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Auburn and additional dates with No. 6 Florida and No. 10 Kentucky. 

• Georgia has turned into the “Dunkyard Dawgs” this season. A nation-leading 19.7 percent of the Bulldogs’ field goals have been dunks, and Asa Newell ranks third nationally with 34 slams. 

• The Bulldogs’ balanced offense features nine players who have combined to post 57 double-figure scoring outputs, led by freshman Asa Newell’s 12 double-digit performances.

• Georgia entered the weekend ranked among the nation’s top-50 teams in 12 stats, including top-20 marks in blocks (No. 5 at 6.0 bpg), FG percentage (No. 12 at .507), rebound margin (No. 12 at +10.4 rpg), scoring margin (No. 18 at +18.5) and 3-point FG defense (No. 16 at .280).

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